"W-What," Orba faltered as he tried to answer. Finally, after repeatedly gulping back his own saliva, "What do you mean by that?"

He just barely managed to grind it out but in that instant, he had been so surprised that he thought that his heart was going to stop. The "mask" he had intended to maintain was crumbling and his real face was flickering into view.

Vileena gave Orba a searching glance, "it means what I said. You cannot be the Crown Prince of the Imperial Dynasty of Mephius."

The heart, which he had thought about to stop, was once again pounding fast and furiously. The face and limbs his blood was flowing through were becoming hot.

"T-That... why?"

"Oh, but it's very simple," for some reason, Vileena's tone and manner towards the disconcerted Orba closely resembled those of Ineli Mephius, "Lord Gil Mephius recently fell to the bullets fired by General Oubary murderous subordinates. Since then, he has not been seen. No matter where he was searched for or how many times his name was called, he did not appear. In other words, Lord Gil has pa.s.sed away. Should I be in mourning? But then, given that we had not formally been married, it was, after all, someone else's problem, so should I have speedily returned to Garbera?"

"Princess"

"Do not speak to me so familiarly!" Vileena's manner made another turnaround.

While he was wondering if she had suddenly become enraged, she dipped her hand under the table. When she raised it back up again, she was clasping a handgun. It was as though that series of actions had whipped up an ominous wind.

The muzzle was perfectly still and was aimed directly at Orba's chest.

"P-Princess…"

"I told you not to speak to me familiarly."

Vileena's eyes were smouldering palely. Recognising that those eyes were glittering with an urge to kill that was completely unbecoming of her flower-like countenance, Orba gulped again.

This isn't in the category of getting hit.

Vileena adjusted her stance to hold the gun in both hands. In a way, the contrast between the dazzlingly snow-white arms extending straight out from the sleeveless dress and the brutal black sheen of the handgun held at their extremity was more horrifying than an encounter with a vulgar a.s.sa.s.sin would be.

While maintaining her stance, Vileena drew one step closer towards...o...b... And then asked -

"Who are you?"

In that split-second, even though the trigger had not been pulled, Orba was certain he felt the touch of steel gouging through his chest.

"I'm…"

His voice shook as it slipped past his lips. Vileena's expression did not alter. She looked at him as she would a bitterly detested enemy.

"I'm what?"

"I'm…"

Gil Mephius in person. Those simple words would not come out. It had been the same thing not so very long ago. Then too the other person had been a princess.

"Oh my, was it by mistake that you called yourself Gil Mephius just a while ago? Indeed, if by chance you are Crown Prince Gil, you must be a ghost which slipped away from the afterlife by mistake."

"I'm…" Orba just managed to grind the words out in a somewhat pained voice. "No, I am certainly the Gil Mephius that you know. There was no other."

"Then you must have some way of proving that. Please do tell me, you who were fired upon here in Apta, what you have been doing until now and what led you to return?"

The muzzle was still being held up. Her fingers were constantly on the trigger.

Orba turned his eyes away from the muzzle, which was the equivalent of turning them away from Vileena herself.

"...You know that I ambushed Oubary's Black Armoured Division in a forest near Apta, right?"

Vileena neither confirmed nor denied it. But she and Ran had undoubtedly been present there.

Orba talked about his reasons for disappearing up until now as the thoughts occurred to him. Naturally, no matter how well he st.i.tched it together, it was all a lie. That was why he could not face the princess straight on.

"At the time, I deliberately let Oubary escape from the village. That was because I suspected that he had been given orders for something by my father... by the emperor."

"Oubary hadn't taken it upon himself to move his troops just to seal my mouth because I had been investigating about the past. In fact, he was probably going to burn border villages again in order to lure the west into taking action. Even then, Father wanted to take Taúlia in the west. That's also why he prevented my troops from leaving Apta and going in reinforcement to Garbera."

Vileena's lips remained pursed together. Regardless of whether or not there was any slip-up in Gil's words, she simply maintained the gun muzzle in an overly-cautious aim -

"I couldn't let them burn villages in Mephius' domains. So I stopped Oubary's violence and afterwards. .h.i.t on the idea of pretending to have been taken down by his men in order to leave Mephius. As things were, my father would probably have forcibly called me back to Solon and dispatched some other general instead who would have found some plausible reason or another to cross over the border. Taúlia couldn't possibly not retaliate against the attack. So I went over to the west ahead of it. I was going to send a call out to the various powers scattered throughout Tauran and gather them together in order to keep Mephius in check."

Although he shared the same thought that Princess Vileena had had a while earlier about how he sure was able to rattle on, neither of them realised that.

Vileena opened the lips that had long remained shut. "Did you tell someone about this before leaving Apta? Is there anyone who can serve as a witness?"

"...The only ones I told everything to were the Imperial Guards Gowen and s.h.i.+que. I needed their cooperation for the plan to work."

"Oh," Vileena's eyes glittered from the other side of the muzzle, "in that case, why not have added one more to those you confided in? Was Garbera's Princess Vileena Owell so unreliable according to Crown Prince Gil? Or was I so trifling and negligible that you never even considered asking for my cooperating from the start?"

Orba remained silent again. But not because he was thinking that one wrong word could lead to his death. Rather than fear, what he was feeling was, strangely, something closer to pain.

"...Taking a part in that plan meant..."

"It meant?"

"It meant deceiving the emperor of Mephius." The only thing in Orba's field of vision were his and the princess' feet. "I couldn't involve you, Princess, in that kind of plan. If it were exposed, it would not only be you but also Garbera that..."

Having spoken that far, his words failed him.

Right, this kind of reason - if he continued explaining like this, and even if he failed to convince her right now, once she calmed down it would still only be an excuse that would convince her for the time being.

But -

"Why have you fallen silent? Have you reached the limit of the lies you can tell? If you remain silent, I will definitely consider you to be an imposter and pull the trigger. Please, carry on."

"Princess, I'm..."

Unthinkingly, Orba stepped closer towards Vileena. Startled, she drew back, reversing her earlier action of shortening the distance between them. Once again holding the gun straight before her in both hands, she said -

"Who gave you permission to come closer? That is as..."

"I'm a coward."

"I know."

"Also, a liar."

"I'm well aware of that, too."

"It's true that I once ran away. From everything - from the emperor, from Mephius, from Garbera and Ende, and also, Princess, from you."

"But the one who called me back was also you, Princess. Things turned out like this because an idiot foolishly acted with idiotic naivety."

"Who's an idiot?"

"The biggest idiot on the continent. What with Ryucown and Zenon and you, Garbera is a complete nest of idiots. And Mephius is a hangout for fools. My father Guhl Mephius first and foremost!"

While he was talking, Orba's face had gone red. The restraint curbing his emotions had stopped working. Although he himself was not aware of it, it had been a long time since he had shown that aspect of himself to the princess. When they had first met, the two of them had often gotten into similar heated quarrels.

"Every last one of you does nothing but things I can't stand. That's why... so that's why I've had to resign myself to coming crawling back like this."

"Y-Your words... It's like you are saying that I'm responsible."

"As for responsible," Orba stamped his foot and opened his mouth wide as though to hurl more angry words but then suddenly lost his energy and gave a deep sigh. "There is no responsibility. If there is, it's mine to bear from now on. Princess Vileena, I won't ask you to believe in me one more time. But, although the directions we're facing aren't always the same, I definitely think that they're similar. So..."

"So?"

Right then, Orba raised his head and looked directly at Vileena for the first time since he had entered the room. The princess' eyes sliced through his heart with the sharpness of daggers. But this time, he was not intimidated.

"Please lend me your help."

His voice, like the heat of a flame, seemed to scorch his throat and lips.

There was a moment's pause.

Vileena continued to glare at Orba with eyes like the tip of a blade but -

"It's fine already," she limply lowered the handgun and shook her head without strength. "Please leave, Gil Mephius. I don't want to see your face anymore right now. Hurry and go."

"Princess"

"Hurry and go!"

Venting her feelings, Vileena stamped her small foot against the floor. Orba could only obey the orders of this very young princess.

A short while pa.s.sed after Gil Mephius left the room. Vileena was still in the same position as when she had driven the prince away.

A new visitor appeared. This time, the door was opened without a knock. Out of reflex, Vileena threw a stern glare at the entranceway, but in the next instant it was wiped away. Her drawn-down eyebrows rose and her eyes were suddenly filled with tears. She flung herself into the embrace of her new guest.

"Oh my, oh my. Now, now." Theresia caught the daintily-built girl's onrush with her full bodyweight and murmured in her ear. "My brave princess! Is today's battle over? How many enemies did you kill and how many allies did you save?"

Back when the very young Vileena used to be covered in mud and drenched in sweat after playing soldiers all day long with n.o.ble children of similar age, after harshly scolding her, these were the words that Theresia had always whispered as she embraced the sobbing princess.

"How long are you going to continue to make me worry! Can a child like you, Princess, even understand how I felt when I learned that you had disappeared from Apta?"

"What did you say, Princess? I didn't hear you."

"I-I'm sorry."

Theresia desperately fought back her own tears that were about to overflow and softly stroked the platinum hair that hung from her shoulders to her chest.

After a while,

"And?" gently pus.h.i.+ng Vileena away, Theresia asked the princess whose eyes were large with tears. "Did you give him a good, hard punch?"

"N-No, later."

"Hmm," Theresia nodded, imitating Vileena. "While that is fine as well, I will teach you something good."

"What?"

"Whether it's a punch or showing your tears, use it as a last resort. So as to make a man feel guilty. If you are feeling frustrated or sad, it is better to smile. Men are creatures who are terrified of having emotions thrown directly at them." Theresia's smiling face was actually startlingly scary. "Gentlemen, you see, have the impression that they have gotten off lightly if they are hit."

"Theresia, you're very wise."

"It's not for nothing that I have lived twice as long as you, Princess."

To say nothing of twice, it would not be too much to say three or even four times thought Vileena but she stayed silent.

Theresia produced a handkerchief from her bosom and held it up to Vileena's nose.

"Right, let's have your nose. Now blow."

"I-I'll do it myself." Hurriedly seizing the handkerchief, Vileena turned away from Theresia.

Outside the window, beyond the garden where the trees' leaves were rustling in the wind, the people of Apta was still caught up in their excitement and they could hear a mult.i.tude of voices singing and laughing.

You did well, Princess.

While listening to them, Theresia inwardly addressed Vileena's small back.

You endured well until now.

In this world, the princess was certainly the one who, no matter what anyone had said, had believed more than anyone in Prince Gil's survival. And she had respected his will more than anyone, willing to be condemned as a traitor by her home country and go alone to Taúlia's aid. Essentially, it was not surprising that when she had seen Prince Gil and heard his voice, the emotions that she had been repressing for so long, and which had been acc.u.mulating in her small frame, had been released with almost startling force.

Honestly, considering it's you, Princess, it wouldn't have ended with 'one punch'. By your leave, even I want to slap that gentleman's face. But…

But now - it was alright, Theresia thought from her heart. In place of the handkerchief which had been stolen by the princess, she wiped the corner of her eyes with her finger.

Roars of laughter could still be heard from outside. The mood in Apta would probably be like this all day.

But for those who understood the situation a little, there was no cause for feeling festive. Emperor Guhl had decided to invade Taúlia under the pretext of a war of revenge for the Crown Prince. However, the Crown Prince, who should have been dead, was alive and had crossed the River Yunos from none other than Taúlia.

There were probably any number of people who were deeply worried about the signs forewarning the great disturbances that would be arising from now on. The ones to both start a war and to end a war were the imperial family. And therefore, it was also the imperial family's responsibility to appease the feelings of the people about it.

Vileena Owell, who was currently intently blowing her nose, was of course more than aware of it.

After leaving Mephius, Orba had been involved in a series of life-threatening battles. Since he had never had a life of ease or of sipping ambrosia, even though it was not what he wanted, he was at least resigned to it.

The bill's come in to be paid.

Between riding headlong throughout most of the night, saving Vileena in the burning village while en route, and finally arriving at Apta, then almost immediately giving a speech to a.s.suage the excited people and being held at gunpoint by the self-same Princess Vileena, he had not had any time to rest.

There was a load of people that he had to meet with and talk to. According to what he had heard, two of them were undergoing medical treatment in separate buildings within the fortress.

One of them was Hou Ran.

He had learned from Rogue that a dragon that Ran had been taking care of had suddenly gone on a rampage and mauled a few of Nabarl's soldiers to death. Nabarl Metti had a.s.serted that this was the handiwork of westerners and had decided to execute the Imperial Guards who were rumoured to be in relation with the west.

"But, in all likelihood," Rogue Saian had lowered his voice -

It was said that Nabarl might have decided beforehand to execute the Imperial Guards and, because he wanted a commotion that would serve as an excuse for that, he had allowed his men to a.s.sault Ran.

Moreover, Nabarl had not subjected Ran to execution even though she was supposedly the cause of the incident. It was possible that he had it in mind to accuse her of a crime at some later date, or perhaps he had intended to give her as a slave to the soldiers for their outstanding service.

"At least let her receive treatment for her wounds." If Rogue had not expressly made that request, she would have been tossed into jail in the state she was in. Looking as though he found it bothersome, Nabarl had ordered that she be confined in a separate room. Rogue had sent a surgeon attached to his own division and had set up a strict guard in front of the room.

By the time Orba went to visit, the sun was already setting. Ran was lying on the bed but, as soon as he entered, she nimbly sprung up with the suppleness of a young, dark brown branch and asked -

"Can I leave?"

There were neither greetings for their reunion nor questions about how he had been up until then. That "Can I leave?" also carried the meaning of asking if she was now free.

Her strangely pale hair that was illuminated by the light from the single lamp dangling from the ceiling, her alluring skin, and her enigmatic beauty were unchanged. Orba stifled the urge to smile wryly.

"Yeah. But for now, go to sleep."

"I haven't seen those children for a whole day."

"The dragons are fine. And so is the Baian that you protected. I've said my thanks to Rogue and Odyne."

Orba had also recently suffered wounds in battle, but Ran did not lose to him in that respect. Her arms and legs were covered in bandages and more of them were wrapped around her from her cheeks to her forehead. She must be in considerable pain, and as proof of that, her eyebrows would sometimes draw together, but she looked as though she had enough strength left to go flying from the room at any moment.

"Act like an injured person for a bit."

"Humph," for now, Ran fell back onto the bed.

The expression on her face and her blunt att.i.tude were so exactly the Ran that Orba knew that the number of days that had pa.s.sed since they had parted seemed frankly unbelievable.

Ran looked around the room somewhat restlessly then beckoned him with her hand.

"Orba."

As he went closer, she waved her hand up and down in front of her face, with exactly the same gesture as for soothing a dragon. The meaning seemed to be that she wanted his eyes at the same height as hers. As soon as...o...b.. obligingly got down on one knee -

- there was the sound of a slap.

Orba staggered from a blow that was strong enough to jolt his brain.

Ran stared fixedly at the palm she had brought down on him.

"My hand hurts." From her tone of blame, she seemed to be saying that was also Orba's fault.

"T-Then use moderation!"

"There's a lot to pay back. Why didn't you tell me anything?"

"…I figured you might be angry like this."

"It's the same as with newborn dragons. Baians especially, when they do something wrong, they think that I'll get angry so instead they act violently and ignore me."

"Because Mommy Hou Ran is scary."

"Idiot."

Ran chuckled and poked Orba in the chest. Orba, without opposing any resistance, fell backwards. "Was there any other trouble?" he asked from behind the gap between his legs as he lay there, face up.

"Vileena asked all sorts of things about Orba. It was a bit troublesome but I soon got used to it. Have you seen the Princess?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, so you saw the Princess first?"

"What?"

"Nothing. How long are you going to stay there like an idiot?"

"Help me up."

Ran kicked Orba in the foot. He reluctantly stood up by himself. As he turned to look at her, she said -

"Anyway, you're still busy, right. Later, tell me what you've been doing until now."

"Sure. In exchange, listen to what the doctor says."

"Well, okay."

Her reluctant att.i.tude made it sound strangely like she was being forced. Even though it was her own health, it was as though she intended to leave the problem to Orba.

After leaving Ran's room, it was s.h.i.+que's turn.

This was something he had also heard from Rogue but s.h.i.+que was said to have been bedridden ever since he had careened to Apta on his orders. While leaving Taúlia, he had apparently been shot.

Back then -

Orba had heard a gunshot.

I was too careless.

He had become sentimental and had neglected to be vigilant about his surroundings, and so had failed to realise that he and his subordinates were being watched by Taúlian soldiers. Because of that, he had unwittingly sent s.h.i.+que into trouble.

In order to remain hidden, s.h.i.+que, just like Ran, had not taken a step outside of the room in which he was being treated.

However, when he opened the door, s.h.i.+que was waiting for him, his appearance from tip to toe that of a gladiator.

"Yo, I've been waiting impatiently for you," he swept back his shoulder-length hair and bowed, his entire face smiling.

Orba frowned at the gesture which was like that of an actor making a greeting on stage and said -

"I heard you were shot."

"I'm completely fine already. I just shut myself away because I wanted to make you worry. You were a bit concerned, weren't you?"

"Your face is a terrible colour. You should get more sleep."

"It's tedious," s.h.i.+que gave a yawn. "I've been locked up for more than three days. That's why my complexion is bad. Once I go out, I'll be just the same as before. More importantly..."

"More importantly?"

"There's a bigger priority than me, right? Have you sent out search parties for the Princess?"

"Every last one of you," Orba said bitterly.

After that, he explained about how he had discovered Vileena in a village near the Taúlian border and about how, just a short while ago, she had held him up at gunpoint.

"That..." after a moment of utter astonishment, s.h.i.+que immediately burst loudly into laughter. He was laughing so hard that his body was bent double and he had to wipe the tears from his eyes. "That must certainly have been quite a sight."

"It's no joke. With that princess, I wouldn't be surprised if the bullets were fully loaded."

"But of course they would have been. And thus, the chronicles of the hero would have come to a speedy end."

Just like Hou Ran, s.h.i.+que was the same as always. Before coming to see him, Orba had been intending to apologise meekly, but by now he had already been completely caught up in s.h.i.+que's pace.

"You're no doubt busy right now but later, when you've got a bit more time, you should go and greet the Princess, but as...o...b.. the Imperial Guard."

"What?"

"The one who saved the Princess wasn't Gil but the masked swordsman Orba. It would be unnatural if Orba didn't show up. Honestly, whenever it involves the Princess, your wits go wandering."

"I don't want to hear that from you…"

"Weren't you the one who said that the injured needed to sleep? Ow, ow, talking makes my chest hurt."

Really, I wonder what he will do about things like this in the future... - he added in a low voice while jokingly pretending to be in pain, but Orba didn't hear it.

"Did you say something?"

"I was saying that from now on, things are going to get tough." s.h.i.+que smiled and abruptly changed the subject. "There were difficulties in the west too, but they can't compare. At any rate, this isn't on any ordinary level since the reason the Crown Prince came back was to rise up against the current Emperor."

"Yeah."

"Right, well since you're going to be walking a path of bloodshed from now on, let me act like an elder for once and give you a piece of advice."

"There can't be that many things you can teach me."

"It's not something you should be so quick to make fun of. Do you know about the 'flames of Laskeid'?"

There was a short pause. "Yeah," Orba nodded but s.h.i.+que's smile got broader. That's lie - his expression seemed to say.

Orba's face went red. "I have heard of it!"

"Now, now. Don't get upset. It's an old legend. Older even than the Magic Dynasty apparently."

It was a story about flames that burned blue.

Had the flames of a colour which should not exist in this world been created by magic, or had they come flying from the abyss of s.p.a.ce, guided by something towards this planet? Whatever the case, in a quiet corner of the world, they continued to burn blue.

There had been a time when it was a rumour widely taken as truth that whoever absorbed them into their body would obtain a power greater than that of the Dragon G.o.ds who had once dominated the world.

"At the northern edge of the world. The one who found them at the bottommost level of a cave ravaged by ice and snow was a carpenter's a.s.sistant named Laskeid. His family was poor, he had lost his job and had given up all hope for the future, so rather than saying that he believed in the legend, it was as a desperate gamble that he boldly took the flames into his own flesh. And when he did so, just as the legends had said, he obtained an immortal and ageless body.

However, the condition for having once absorbed the flames was that that body would forever more emit flames that would burn all those who approached him. In exchange for obtaining wealth, power and everything that he desired, he lost everything that he had until then. Family, lover, friends - and all the happiness that he might have had in the future.

Eventually, unable to bear his never-ending solitude, Laskeid increased the flames himself until his body was burned to nothing. Although he could have become a king that ruled over the world for all eternity, the one thing he could not endure was being alone in that world."

"Oh," Orba interjected to show that he was still listening, at which s.h.i.+que smirked even more.

"Do you remember now?"

"More or less."

"Ha ha, when you're the prince, you're vigilantly cautious and choose your words, but when you're with someone you trust, you just become childish."

"I don't remember trusting you."

"Fine, fine. Now then, you're busy, right? Go on, hurry off."

Having kept him in conversation for a long time, s.h.i.+que now drove him away. Orba stood up huffily, but it was true that he was pressed for time.

"Rest up for a while," with those parting words, he left the room.

s.h.i.+que stared at the closed door for a while then suddenly collapsed back into the bed as though he had been attacked by dizziness. He coughed violently two or three times.

After his fit had quietened down, he wiped his lips.

"Well," he said, gazing at the palm of his hand, "Orba has reunited with the Princess. For now, it's the same as before. As for what comes after, well, let's see from here on."

It was the evening of the day that Gil Mephius returned to Apta.

Having been informed that the preparations for his chambers were complete, Orba headed towards the largest room on the fortress' uppermost floor. It was an area that had collapsed at the time of his bombing raid and, since being restored to a barely usable shape, Nabarl had been using it these last few days. Nabarl had vacated it - be it of his own free will or digging his heels in all the way - and furnis.h.i.+ngs and artworks suitable for the lodgings of a prince had been moved into it.

When he saw the very first face that was there to greet him, Orba unintentionally called out in surprise, "Dinn?"

He was the page who had taken care of his everyday necessities back in the time when Orba had been a body-double.

From what Orba had heard, ever since he had faked his death and left Apta, Dinn had been attending Gowen under the false name of "Reeno". He had not returned to Solon. Dinn had originally been the servant working for Fedom Aulin, the lord of Birac, who had been a.s.signed to Orba on Fedom's orders.

In other words, he was one of the few people to know that 'Gil' was a body-double.

Because of that, Gowen had been worried about the boy's safety. He was afraid that Fedom, having learned about Gil's death and dreading that the fact that he had installed a body-double and was planning to take over Mephius would come to light, might silence those who knew about it. And so, Gowen decided that Dinn's whereabouts would become 'unknown' and he refas.h.i.+oned him into his own chamberlain under a deliberate alias.

Dinn did not offer any long, drawn-out greetings. He simply bowed deeply and said, "Welcome back, Prince Gil."

Orba gave his head a light rap.

After which, he went to the table which had been prepared. Two wine cups had been set out. In a few hours time, Rogue and Odyne would be arriving there. The two generals would, of course, be coming in order to discuss what to do from now on; but before that, there was one other person that he would be talking to.

When it was time, a soldier standing on guard outside rang a bell to indicate that the visitor had arrived.

It was Gowen who entered.

He did not express any words of greeting either. He simply raised his hand then quickly sat in a chair.

After filling the wine cups and exchanging eye signals with Orba, Dinn withdrew.

The one-time gladiator and former overseer of slaves, who was also the commander of the Crown Prince's personal Imperial Guards, silently took a cup.

"Well then." After draining its contents in a single gulp, Gowen began to talk. It wasn't exactly in order to rekindle an old friends.h.i.+p, but Orba had made up his mind to telling this long-time acquaintance most of what had happened in the west, but - "have you set your mind to rest?"

He furrowed his brows at the unexpected words. "What do you mean?"

"Thanks to you coming back as the prince, I, all of the men, and also Ran were saved. For that, I dutifully give you my thanks. But you shouldn't stay here for too long. We'll figure something out for what comes next. You wait for the right time and escape from Apta."

"Gowen, I didn't come back just for the sake of saving you all."

"Oh?" the former overseer of slaves made a face that seemed to be saying that he had heard something surprising. "Then why? Was the luxurious life of a prince that unforgettable? Did you run out of spending money and came here to scrounge for it?"

"Don't be stupid."

"You can't possibly be thinking," while pouring himself a second cup of wine, Gowen turned his forceful gaze towards...o...b.., "that you'll be playing at being the Crown Prince for a little while again?"

"And what's wrong with that?" Orba asked irritably, unable to understand why the other was suddenly becoming belligerent. Across from him, Gowen shook his grey head.

"There's something wrong with you. The Crown Prince is already dead. Even though you went to all that trouble to set up that 'death' and succeeded pretty well on the whole, why have you gone and raised the dead from under the grave? This time, you risk having your real ident.i.ty as a slave revealed and ending up hanged by the neck."

"Gowen, you must know that Mephius has attacked Taúlia. It has to be stopped. If the emperor's tyranny goes beyond..."

"What's that got to do with you?"

"What?" Orba was finally provoked into open anger. "What's that supposed to mean? You're the one who's got something wrong with you, Gramps. I'm the one who decided to negotiate peace with the west. You said it yourself, didn't you: I have a responsibility. I'm here to see it through."

"You threw away that entire responsibility once before."

"So I'll..."

"Yeah, it's fine. So you're saying you'll carry the weight of it once again. So you're saying you'll call yourself Gil Mephius once again. Then tell me, how long are you planning to do it for this time? Until you've stopped the invasion of Taúlia? Until you've had your wedding night with Princess Vileena? And when it's over, will you drop everything again and run away somewhere else?"

Gowen's tone also hardened. At that point, Orba realised what the other wanted to say and suddenly closed his mouth. In the short silence that arose from this, the commander of the Imperial Guards, regaining his composure a little, drained his second cup then gave a heavy sigh.

"... I won't say anything bad. Get out of Apta quickly. Out of Mephius too. I heard about it from s.h.i.+que earlier but it seems you've become known in the west as well. If you don't like that, go to the north, or the south, or wherever you want. There's no place for the gladiator Orba here."

"Gowen, listen to me! I didn't march back without thinking it through." Orba's fist slammed against the table. The wine in his untouched cup spilled out. "I saw all sorts of things, met various people and thought a lot. And I came to a conclusion. I... I won't run away anymore."

"You were playing at the Crown Prince because of revenge, weren't you?"

"I've already gotten my revenge."

"No," there was no trace of a smile on Gowen's tanned face, "Oubary is alive."

"What!"

"Not only that but he's only just been released from prison. Yeah, he wasn't executed. On top of that, do you know what excuse the emperor used to violate Taúlia's border? That the Crown Prince's a.s.sa.s.sination was the west's doing. In other words, it was revealed that Oubary had no part in the crime and he was acquitted."

Orba's fist which had been resting on the table clenched tightly. He did not even realise he was doing it. He heard then about how Mephius' army had reorganized its troops under the pretext of a war of retaliation for the Crown Prince.

His mind revived once more the gruesome scenes from the past. The figures of his brother, of Alice, of his mother whirled before his eyes and terrific speed.

"Can you leave that man be? Or will you find some reason to strike him down again? Becoming the prince means having enough resolve to forget about revenge."

"Let's hear it. If it's not for the sake of revenge this time, then what is it for? For the people, for Mephius, for the princess? Do you feel like being praised to the skies as a hero? You're just a former gladiator, don't get c.o.c.ky."

"Gramps"

As...o...b.. leaned forward and seized him by the scruff of the neck without thinking, Gowen sneered at him.

"Humph. If you take up the t.i.tle of Crown Prince, then the people of the Imperial Dynasty, no forget the Imperial Dynasty, you'll have to deceive the people of all the surrounding countries. If you get upset just from hearing that Oubary is alive and fly off the handle with only this level of provocation, you won't be able to do it. Your true colours will show within two or three days and your head is bound to be cut off. And the Oubary that you hate so much will be laughing as he watches," he coldly a.s.serted.

Still leaning forward, Orba went rigid. He stayed that way for a long while, having lost all notion of time.

After a while, the soldier outside the door announced visitors again. Rogue Saian and Odyne Lorgo had arrived.

Gowen calmly rose from his chair.

"You've driven those two men into a corner too," he added. "On the Emperor's orders, their families are being forced to remain in Solon. Don't know why… They haven't tangled with Mephius' forces yet, so for now, there's still just barely time. Including Nabarl, the combined forces of the three generals can still invade Taúlia and get the capital to surrender."

"… I won't let that happen. I've decided I won't let that happen."

"Then forget about Oubary. Forget about the family you lost and about the name 'Orba'. Don't casually call me Gramps. And me, from now on I'll… I will henceforth serve you as though you were Crown Prince Gil."

And then, crossing by Gowen as he left, Rogue Saian, general of the Dawnlight Wings Division, and Odyne Lorgo, general of the Silver Axe Division, entered the room.

"You were talking with Sir Gowen?"

"Oh, it looks different from when it was Sir Nabarl's room. Your Highness… Your Highness?"

Orba was still in the same position.

"… Thank you for coming." He turned towards the two generals, his face pale even as he smiled.

He clapped his hands to summon the page, Dinn, and had him prepare more alcohol.

"Thank you for believing me and waiting," Orba then said, plastering an expression suitable for Gil Mephius onto his face. "I heard about your families. I've gotten the two of you involved in trouble."

"As for that…"

"We were brought to our senses by the Crown Prince's words. If - I mean no disrespect - but if Your Highness had not come, we would still have taken action. For ourselves, for Mephius, and to show the true meaning of pride to our families."

Both of them had clear gazes.

Orba remembered Rogue's family. When he had still been a body-double, right after the end of his first campaign, he had been invited as the Crown Prince to Rogue's house. Rogue's young wife and very young son had been there.

Once more he tightly clenched the fist that he had lowered to his waist.

I get it, Gramps.

Even now, when he closed his eyes, images of flames and blood were still whirling around. Within the s.p.a.ce of a heartbeat, they merged together and turned into a dark red wave that threatened to pierce through his eyelids and overspill beyond them. But unlike before, these scenes were not only of when Orba's birthplace had been torn apart.

For now, I'll forget about Oubary Bilan. This isn't just anyone's war anymore. This is Gil's - 'my' - war.