Chapter 09
I was genuinely embarrassed.
No, because this was bullshit. How could someone not know the difference between pretending to dislike something because theyâre bashful and flustered and genuinely disliking it?
I mean, yes, how could a child realize the truth when all around her, everyone had been feeding her something like, âLord Raymon is in love with Princess Titania, but heâs pretending not to be because of his family name and blah, blah, blah!â
âIâm sure heâs quite flustered that the once beautiful princess has suddenly become so disheveled, and worse yet, sheâŚâ Cleoâs eyes narrowed slightly, her gaze sharp, like she was looking at something unpleasant, something unworthy.
My body instinctively shrank back. I could yell at anyone else, but my young body, which had never known love from an âadultâ, froze when she criticized me. Especially as it was someone who had been pretending to care about me and like me.
âNo matter how beautiful you are, you shouldnât be dressed like this. As an Imperial Lady, you should look more noble than anyone else.â
ââŚDid I make a mistake?â
âWell, Iâm afraid so. As you know, Lord Raymon is a very remarkable young man. Itâs not uncommon for him to pose as a substitute for the head of his House, even though he has yet to come of age. No matter how secretly he may have been liking the princess, he must feel angry that you would test him like this.â
âTest him? Angry?â I opened my eyes wide with a feeling of âOh, I wouldnât have ever imagined that!â
Yeah, I really couldnât have imagined thatâŚ
I thought Cleo would try to cover it up with some kind of rationalization! I didnât expect her to pull something like, âYou know better than anyone that I love you, how dare you test me like this in front of everyone, did you think my heart was so light?â
âYes, the princess did something wrong.â
ââŚOh, no, I did something wrongâŚâ I repeated the words like an embarrassed child desperately clinging to each of her words. âWell, then, what can I do to make him less angry?â
As if she had been waiting for that very question, Queen Cleoâs face flashed with satisfaction. She paused for a moment, then spoke.
âHow about we give him a present to show that youâre sorry?â
âA presentâŚ?â
Oh, thatâs a little harsh, I feel like I was about to be handed over a bomb. Why did it feel like I had only two seconds left on the timer, but I needed to pick it up and dump it out of the way somewhere in order to live?
I opened my eyes wide, trying to hide my burning heart, and outwardly pretending to care about what it was.
âI have just acquired a very valuable sword. Hmm⌠I was thinking of giving it to my precious Prince Brian, but, oh well, since sweet Titania is so heartbroken, Iâll take care of her.â
The Queen finally spoke up, looking all smiles, she tilted her head as if it were an incredibly valuable treasure. She seemed very proud.
âThe swordâs name, they say, is Berispaccio. Doesnât the name alone give off a sense of nobility?â
I almost lost my cool and cursed out loud.
- Excuse me, thatâs a Demonic Sword.
* * *
Just as there were ancient weapons that could harness the power of the gods, there were also weapons that could harness the power of the devils. There were divine swords and there were demonic swords.
The Berispaccio was a sword originally named the Beris-Paccio.
The sword was created in an attempt to combine the powers of the demonic Beris and the divine Paccio, but it failed. If wielded for too long, it would consume its wielderâs mind and lead them to ruin.
If I recall correctly, Prince Brian in the novel ended up killing himself while wielding it⌠And that incident drove Queen Cleo half-crazy.
âWith that sword, even Lord Raymon wouldnât be able to accept it without letting go of his anger.â
ââŚâ
âŚYou would give a demonic sword to a Castraine, a House that was practically the only one in the empire who could still discern and use divine power? It was so outrageous that I wondered if Queen Cleo didnât know the truth and, if she did, wanted to send me back to death.
No⌠It was more likely that she was trying to bribe me into doing something for her, but heyâŚ
âBut I canât just accept something so valuable from her Highness, the Queen, without a second thoughtâŚâ I timidly apologized, and the Queen snorted.
âNo, Iâm serious, do what youâve been meaning to do, give it to your son, whoâs your little darling, donât give away your greatest sword to Duke Castraine and earn ridicule (and death)!â
As if she had been waiting for that reaction, the Queen continued.
âDo you really think so, Princess?â
âUm, yes?â
âThen will Titania go to the Consecration Festival this summer, on behalf of Prince Brian?â
âAhâŚâ
Aha, now I know what the Queen was up to.
Every summer and winter, the Imperial Family would send a member of the immediate line to the two shrines at the poles of the empire, to observe the ceremonies. Hundreds of years ago, it was a big deal, with the emperor personally going out and hunting down nearby demons to cleanse the area.
Nowadays, however, that would literally amount to sending the Imperial family on a shopping trip. It took over two weeks to travel from the Imperial Palace in the capital to the shrine and back. The rituals took almost a week, so all told, it took nearly a month.
So the Queen, who was already busy planning for his future, was reluctant to send her son, Brian, there. But if he didnât go, Prince Adrian would. She didnât want him to go, even if it killed her, so she probably decided that sending me, a young, nearly-dead princess, instead was a good idea.
If I went this time, perhaps she would decide to send Titania all summers and winters in the future. Well, I would be happy to go, it was a great place to spend time. It was so frustrating being a princess who couldnât leave the palace on her own.
However, I averted my eyes as if I were uneasy.
âBut, um, but, Your Highness, itâs the end of the empire, and itâs scary, and thereâs a lot of demonic beasts on the wayâŚâ
âUh-oh! Titania. Titania is the empireâs only princess and a direct member of the Imperial family, right? The princessâs fiancĂŠ, Lord Raymon, is contributing to the empire by defeating those very same demonic beasts. If you whine like this, youâre going to disappoint the young Lord Raymon, right?â
âYesâŚâ
It was funny how a child, who had never left the Imperial Palace, was expected to agree to go, alone, to a dangerous place that she had only ever heard about. As I backed away with a deliberately frightened expression, Queen Cleo sternly called after me.
Oh, the work of the great, mighty word âRaymonâ. It was like a magic cure-all, but it did shut the old Titania up for a while.
But that was not the real problem.
In fact, the Consecration was an annual ritual to strengthen the bonds that sealed the Darkness and kept it at bay.
So even though the Imperial Family was one of the Five Great Heroic Houses, as the wielder of the all-encompassing power of light, they used to take the descendants of the other Heroic Houses and use their power for themselves.
There was a theory that there had actually been six heroes, including the first Emperor. Supposedly, it had been a Dark Hero who was forgotten because their power was similar to that of a demonic beast. However, the Imperial family, which had begun to lose its light, intentionally buried the truth and turned the ritual into a mere ceremonial event. Furthermore, the other Heroic Houses, once famous across the Empire, slowly fell into decline until even their names were no longer recognized.
House Castraine, the only one that had managed to preserve its power, endeavored to protect the descendants of the other falling heroic houses and preserve the bloodline through marriage. So, now, the power of the gods ran in their blood. As a result, the Castraine familyâs members were born with the potential to perceive almost all of the divine powers, except for the power of light. Of course, that doesnât mean they can use them all, just that they have the potential to.
Thanks to the Heroic Housesâs decline, the power of the barrier weakened every year, so how were the ever-rising demonic beasts fought off?
House of Castraine took care of that.
Who cleaned up the mess of a ritual that was supposed to be a five-person proof of power, but went awry because the others didnât do it right?
House of Castraine took care of that.
It was like organizing a group project where almost the whole team had gone missing.
They couldnât ever break away from that duty, for if the bond were to be broken, the demonic beasts would pour in and the empire would become an absolute hell.
The rituals, especially in the winter, were performed entirely within the territory of House Castraine. Needless to say, the Northern Boundary was the key to all seals. The summer consecration at the southern end was a stopgap as useful as pissing on a frozen foot.
ââŚâ
âŚWhich means that at this rate, I would have to visit the Castraine estate during the winter, whether they wanted me to or not. Wasnât that a different method of suicide?
A member of the Imperial family cannot stay in the house of any random noble. I have to go to Duke Castraineâs estate, no matter what.
Taking advantage of my daze, Queen Cleo spoke hurriedly, as if to push the matter.
âIâll just rely on the Princess then, Iâll send a priest to heal you, groom you, and get you all ready to go, as is a womanâs virtue.â
ââŚYes, Your Highness.â
What was that bullshit about a womanâs virtues, you were just trying to treat me like a Titania doll!
My vision turned blurry as I stared at the retreating figure of the Queen, and I mumbled to myself. Lonely or sad, I wonât cryâŚ. Iâm not crying again, why bother crying⌠Letâs run while laughing and hear the sounds of the wind⌠Letâs sing while looking at the blue sky, my name isâŚ
My name is Can⌠no, Titania⌠Damn.
âI want to go home.â
Are you listening, sir? Whatever mysterious force or god or whatever put me here in this body. If youâre listening, please send me back home to my previous life, where my cunning mom made me miso stew and my idealistic dad was waiting for me at the dinner tableâŚ
