Ch.12Festival (2)

The Empire’s Foundation Day was considered the most important event within the empire, incomparable to any other celebration.

The week-long festival celebrating the beginning of the empire naturally attracted a great deal of attention.

The problem was that this year’s festival was being held simultaneously in both Duke Yuris’s territory and the capital,

and because the Duke had gone to the capital, Irene was left to handle everything alone.

Seeing Irene grow increasingly gaunt day by day, to the point where one could truly feel a person withering away,

those closest to her like myself and Rofena could only feel helpless concern.

“Do you think she might collapse from overwork?”

“How many hours has it been now?”

“Well, she’s been like that since sunrise. Excluding meal times, it must be at least 10 hours.”

Oh dear. I swallowed hard as I looked at Irene.

What was I doing when I was 15? Momentarily overcome by bitterness, I sighed briefly before tapping Rofena’s shoulder.

“What is it?”

“Bring her something sweet. Maybe some melted chocolate. Sweet things help when you’re exhausted.”

“Alright.”

After Rofena left, I stared intently at Irene, who was still sitting before mountains of paperwork.

In truth, I had been standing there as long as she had been working, but with my enhanced physique, I couldn’t possibly compare the fatigue I felt to hers.

If there was any consolation, it was that the festival’s opening ceremony would begin shortly.

At least it would give her a brief respite from those wretched documents.

“Hoo.”

After staring at the documents for a moment, she sighed, tilted her head back, and gently closed her eyes.

Seeing her massage her eyelids, she definitely looked quite tired.

“Are you alright?”

Startled by my question, Irene blinked her eyes and slowly moved her lips as she looked at me.

“…No. Honestly, I’m not alright at all. I’d like nothing more than to sleep right now, but that’s not possible, is it?”

“You have to give the opening speech in 30 minutes.”

“I should have learned magic. Then I could have sent a doppelganger in my place.”

She was truly exhausted. Normally, she wouldn’t have uttered a single complaint despite her grueling schedule.

After massaging under her eyes briefly, she sighed deeply and closed the documents.

“Where did Rofena go?”

“She went to heat up some chocolate. Sweet things are good when you’re tired.”

“…Thank you for your concern.”

“I’m not being considerate.”

After saying that, I shrugged my shoulders once and spoke with a grin.

“I’m just uncomfortable seeing you like this.”

Irene stared at me blankly for a moment, then lowered her head and murmured quietly.

In such a small voice that even I almost couldn’t hear it.

“…Thank you.”

She’s surprisingly shy. I could feel the corners of my mouth twitching involuntarily.

#

BOOM—

The sound of fireworks announcing the start of the Empire’s Foundation Day festival echoed throughout the duke’s mansion.

Rofena flinched at the sudden explosive sound, while Irene expressed her displeasure with an expressionless face.

“That sound is always too loud, no matter how many times I hear it.”

Since the festival was held every five years on a rotating basis, she had probably heard this sound several more times than I had.

Shaking her head as if truly tired of it, Irene grabbed the hem of her dress and smiled bitterly.

“Let’s go. Thousands of people are waiting for us.”

As she spoke wearing her magnificent golden dress, numerous people began to move behind her.

First was me, naturally, as her guard knight, then her personal maids who would hold her dress, and even knights from the order prepared for any contingency.

Until the Duke returned near the end of the festival, she was the master of Yuris, so this was probably to be expected.

However, despite being surrounded by so many people, Irene maintained her impassive expression,

leaving me to laugh helplessly, having hoped to perhaps see her show some nervousness.

Tap, tap.

At the entrance of the duke’s mansion, numerous knights stood in formation waiting for Irene.

The sound of spears striking the ground at regular intervals rang loudly, and as Irene passed through the entrance onto the red carpet, someone shouted.

“Salute to the Master of Yuris!”

“Ha!”

BUUUUU—

The trumpet sound vibrated through the air.

The overlapping footsteps, the clashing spear sounds, and the unified shouts from the knights’ mouths sent a shiver through my body.

There were hundreds of knights. While the rumored 20,000 knights wasn’t realized here,

the aura emanating from these elite knights was truly overwhelming.

My body trembled in response, standing at the center of that sound.

“Enough.”

But all that noise disappeared instantly.

When the ring symbolizing the head of House Yuris appeared in the air, all the actions that had dominated this place until now stopped with a snap.

Click, click.

She stepped forward. People held their breath as they watched Irene’s elegant steps, as if she were walking on clouds.

The Five Great Houses protecting the Empire: Roman of the Sword, Medive of Magic, Kilrog of the Eye, Hatan of the Shadow, and Yuris of the Shield.

Someone gasped in admiration at the sight of the master of Yuris, symbolizing the shield.

“Wow…”

It was worth admiring. Even I, who had been with her, felt my heart flutter at the sight.

If the title of nobility had to be given to just one person, it should have been given to Irene, so elegant was her appearance.

Finally, her footsteps stopped, and the countless crowds before her fell silent.

There were so many people that I wondered if everyone in the territory had come.

Gazes flew at her like arrows. Some cold, some filled with goodwill.

But most of the gazes were directed at Irene, and most contained a hint of expectation.

I thought they might be visitors from other territories.

They wanted to see how long she could maintain this appearance she was now showing.

And as if to fulfill that expectation, she scanned everyone looking at her and opened her mouth.

“Today is the day when the sun first revealed itself to the world. It is the day when glory rose in Evangelium, and the shield was raised.”

Her clear voice spread throughout the crowd. Despite not using magic, her voice reached everyone’s ears distinctly, and many nodded, focusing on her words.

Though countless people were present, they stood as if they were one body, showing no movement.

What filled this vast square was only silence, but that silence was controlled by just one person.

When Irene Yuris opened her mouth, her voice filled the square,

and when she closed it, what remained was a silence so complete that not even breathing could be heard.

Could this be called the talent of a leader?

I marveled at how she dominated the crowd with just a single utterance. It wasn’t something easily imitated. No, it was something one couldn’t even aspire to imitate.

Lord Chris, watching her, parted his lips slightly and swallowed.

“Impressive.”

Indeed, this wasn’t the kind of presence a young lady who hadn’t even had her coming-of-age ceremony should possess.

She was a queen dominating this place, truly fitting for the position of head of House Yuris.

After observing Lord Chris’s admiring eyes, I turned my gaze back to Irene.

Finally, Irene opened her mouth again.

“You have worked diligently for Yuris and the Empire, fulfilling your duties. Though I am merely the acting head, I stand here now as the Shield of the Empire and the rightful head of Yuris. I express my gratitude to you all and wish to grant you rest to lead the Empire’s glory anew.”

She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them and slowly spoke.

“For one week, enjoy this Foundation Day festival. Until you’re thoroughly sick of it.”

Cheers erupted. Cheers so massive that one might mistake them for an earthquake.

Rofena looked at the people with disgust and shook her head, while Irene observed them with an expressionless face.

But because the emotion hidden deep in that expression was joy, I watched her with a pleased expression.

“Glory to Yuris!”

“Glory to Evangelium!”

Whistle—

With the sound of whistles, the joyful cheers heated up the square.

The trumpet sounds that had stopped began again, and flower petals scattered toward the sky began to color the surroundings, blending with the autumn hues.

It was the beginning of the Foundation Day festival.

#

However, unlike the start of the festival, my situation didn’t change at all.

If anything had changed, it was that the shadows under Irene’s eyes were growing darker.

By this point, I was just worried. Was it really okay to leave her like this?

Even now, as the moon was full and dawn was breaking below, she still hadn’t gone to sleep.

Even though the festival had started and it was now dawn, the outside was still bright with torches and streetlights.

Indeed, with such brightness, I could understand why she had pressured Count Glaskan to obtain the magic stone mine.

Scratch, scratch—

Unlike the bright outside, Irene was looking at documents by the light of a single candle.

Her eyes seemed blurry as she removed the glasses she had been wearing, then sighed and turned her gaze to me.

“…There seems to be no end. By the way, where did Rofena go?”

“You told her to go to bed yourself earlier.”

“Did I? I’m not thinking clearly right now.”

“Shouldn’t you go to sleep now too? You can handle the rest tomorrow.”

“…Can you say that after seeing this?”

When I spoke, she pointed to her desk with her chin.

Seeing the pile of documents on the desk, I clicked my tongue, and Irene shook her head, put her glasses back on, and spoke.

“I can probably finish processing all of this if I stay up for about two nights. And once I finish these, another pile of documents will probably come to me.”

With a bitter expression, she drank her cold tea and tapped her pen, saying to me:

“If you’re tired, you can go ahead. I can protect myself well enough.”

At those words, I shrugged my shoulders, and Irene, without any reaction, began to focus on the documents again.

Standing for such a long time wasn’t difficult, but it was quite boring, so I was barely shaking off the boredom by counting the tiles on the floor.

‘Twenty-two, twenty-three…’

Thud—

A sound broke my concentration.

Raising my head at the sound of something falling on paper, I saw Irene collapsed on her desk.

“…She fell asleep.”

She must have been exhausted. She had given a speech, albeit brief, in front of many people, and handled important duties in place of the Duke.

In truth, she was already at her limit. It must have been hard enough just carrying out her already tight schedule, let alone taking on these additional responsibilities.

After looking at her with pity for a moment, I carefully removed the glasses next to her face, placed them aside, and covered her with a thin blanket.

Despite it being autumn, there was still a possibility of catching a cold.

Then I turned my gaze to look at Irene’s sleeping face.

She seemed quite tired; I could hear her soft breathing through her slightly parted lips.

How exhausted must she have been to fall asleep like this?

Her face, free from the cold atmosphere that always surrounded her and the pressure weighing on her shoulders, looked so peaceful that

after gazing at it for a moment, I quietly stepped back.

Hoo—

I extinguished the candle and covered the window with curtains, allowing darkness to instantly fill the room.

Although the light shone slightly through the thin curtains, it wouldn’t be enough to wake her.

Creak—

Opening the door slowly so as not to wake her, I took one last look at Irene and whispered quietly:

“…Sleep well.”

In your dreams, at least, may you rest peacefully.

Click—

And the door closed. All that remained in the place I left was only the small sound of breathing coming from the sleeping Irene.