Ch111 - Volume 5 Final

Eugène knew full well that what he was hearing was no illusion. It was merely the pounding of his own pulse echoing through the cartilage of his ears. This is madness. His blood was racing so fiercely that he even felt a faint dizziness. Eugène swallowed hard, his throat bobbing with a dry gulp. He had always known that His Majesty possessed a rare talent for setting ambition alight.

A precise judgment. If the law fails to keep pace with a changing age, then the legal order of the empire is doomed to natural obsolescence.

Surely, the previous Emperors had not been entirely blind to that fact. With even a modest degree of insight, they would have seen that the foundations of the empire were becoming a house of cards.

But they had neither the boldness to pursue reform, nor the ability to carry it out. In recent history, the only ruler with the capacity to push forward a reform this radical, Eugène believed, was none other than Ebroin V.

Yes. This was the man.

Just as he had felt the first time he resolved to serve the Emperor as his lord, Eugène now sensed his heart pounding violently in his chest. Throughout his life, no one else had ever stirred his heart so fiercely.

“Would you ask those nearby to step away for a moment?”

It was for that reason that Eugène could no longer play along with the Emperor’s rhythm. Before their bond veered into some unintended direction, he had chosen to serve Ebroin V as his lord. That choice remained valid even now, despite the intimacy that had grown between them. He still bore the duty of guarding his sovereign and preserving his honor.

“Is it a must?”

The smile that had lingered on the Emperor’s face moments ago was gone without a trace. Even so, Eugène did not waver in the face of his suddenly cold response. Whether it had been intended or not, their meeting had been forced upon a man who had long evaded it with excuse after excuse. He had not brought up this subject while being unaware that His Majesty would find it unwelcome.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Have you heard everythingWehave said so far?”

“I did.”

“Yet you still insist on being stubborn?”

Since the moment Eugène had taken his seat, Ebroin V had been speaking in that refined courtly language, conveying, in essence,‘I have no wish to hear whatever it is you intend to say, so let us speak of other things instead.’Now he looked at Eugène with the weariness one might reserve for a particularly intractable nuisance. His lovely, no, his stern, obstinate, and hopelessly upright lover, who could never be distracted once his mind was set, met his gaze with a straight-backed stare that looked as though it might snap if touched.

Ebroin V let out a deep sigh as he met those firm eyes of deep silver-grey. The Caliph of the Eastern Empire, Shaak, it was said, had taken as his concubine a beautiful half-sister so lovely she was nicknamed ‘Eye of the Lake.’ By contrast, his own lover was a grim and fearsome pirate, called ‘Eye of the Hawk’ by privateer captains across the seas.

Eye of the Hawk.The name sounded noble, but Eugène had only earned that title after a brutal affair involving a privateer named Nelken or something of the sort. Eugène had pursued him relentlessly for three months before finally capturing him, gouging out both his eyes, severing his tongue and wrists, and hanging him alive in one of the harbor’s pirate cages until he mummified.

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Even while rejecting every attempt to meet, he had remained under daily surveillance, and the Emperor had been receiving reports on his movements. At last, with a lowtsk, Ebroin V clicked his tongue and motioned for the others to withdraw.

“Your stubbornness is truly unmatched.”

Once all attendants had withdrawn to a distance where they could no longer hear, save for Baron Bouilhet, the Emperor finally voiced his complaint aloud.

“Do you truly believe this is worth going so far?”

“Even if it goes against Your Majesty’s wishes, I believe this is a matter worth insisting upon.”

Eugène replied with a faint, bitter smile.

“And why is that?”

“Were the timing less critical, it might not be something worth unearthing at all. But the movements of the Eastern nobility faction, led by the Duke of La Mer, are anything but ordinary. Your Majesty is already aware of this, is that not so?”

Ebroin V neither confirmed nor denied the question.

“I understand what troubles Your Majesty. But my fixation on this matter does not stem from personal reasons alone.”

Setting down the pewter cup he had been holding on the side table, Eugène clasped his hands together. Resting his elbows on his thighs and leaning forward at the same angle as his torso, he addressed the Emperor in earnest.

“I have long sensed a certain intent behind their actions. But I have never been able to grasp anything concrete. This is only speculation, but the hint dropped by the Duke of La Mer seems closely tied to their ultimate motive. What moves an individual is personal gain, but what moves a faction is justification. I must know what cause it is that they are moving toward.”

Indeed, Eugène harbored deep suspicions, not just about the Duke of La Mer, but about the movements of the Eastern nobility faction as a whole. Their presence kept surfacing in places that, on the surface, seemed completely unrelated. It was difficult to believe that they were directly connected to Grand Duchess Alienor, who was notoriously known for her outright loathing, if not contempt, of the Eastern nobles ever since the late Emperor’s reign. But at the same time, there were simply too many unexplained links to dismiss the possibility altogether.

“If it troubles you so greatly, thenWeshall give the order to Adelphe instead. Gathering intelligence is his area of expertise, after all. He would be more efficient at it than you.”

Though he had in truth already issued such an order long ago, the Emperor feigned ignorance as he attempted to placate Eugène. He was a man of keen perception. Long before Eugène had voiced his suspicions, Ebroin V had already been keeping a close eye on the dubious movements of the Eastern nobility faction.

Still, the reason why he had feigned ignorance before Eugène was that he wished to keep him from being entangled in the mire that was sure to follow.

“He must already be burdened with more urgent duties. In times like this, dividing his attention unnecessarily is not a wise idea.”

“Excuses, nothing more.”

“Please entrust this matter to me just this once.”

“Why must it be you, in particular?”

“Then why must it not be me?”

Faced with Eugène’s sincere question, this time it was the Emperor who fell silent. Eugène looked at him quietly, seeing how no ready answer came, and finally called to him in a weary voice.

“Your Majesty.”

Taking a deep breath, Eugène met the Emperor’s gaze head-on and asked, voice steady and composed.

“Do you intend to make me a bird in a cage?”

“……”

“I am a soldier of the empire. I swore to be Your Majesty’s sword and shield, and I believe I have done my duty to the best of my ability. But what of now? Am I fulfilling my role as I should?”

Ebroin V found himself unable to speak. For Eugène’s words were the plain, unvarnished truth. He did not want to send Eugène out into the field. He did not want to see mud stain his boots. He did not want to watch him become entangled in some matter that had nothing to do with him and be placed in danger. Before he was an Emperor, he was a man, and to protect what was his was simply the most instinctive desire of any man.

The problem was that the very person the Emperor sought to protect, Eugène, was, fundamentally, a man as well. A man who took pride in the place he stood, and who wished to safeguard his honor by his own hands; strong, unyielding, and self-possessed.

“I do not wish for you to change.”

Rationally speaking, his words were entirely sound. However, on a more emotional level, Ebroin V could not bring himself to accept Eugène’s stance. Eugène was a man of uncommon scruples. He was harder on himself than on anyone else, and the flexibility he showed in his dealings with others seldom extended to his own conduct.

Was he not someone who, precisely because it was a weakness, straightforwardly came to confess even weaknesses that could be his fault? And with someone like that, it was painfully clear what would happen the moment something began to trouble his conscience.

The Emperor’s palms grew damp with unease. The feeling of something precious slipping through his fingers like grains of sand was utterly unbearable.

“Whatever truth may come to light, it does not matter. My loyalty will always remain with Your Majesty.”

Loyalty, yes, that much was certain. But what of your heart? What of your intimate feelings that had been inching closer, step by step?Ebroin V clenched his molars, holding back words he must not say aloud. He could not bring himself to expose such a pitiful part of himself before Eugène. He did not want to reveal such a pitiful inner self to anyone, not just Eugène.

“Are you confident you can bringUsthe resultsWedesire?”

“I will do my utmost.”

“If there is anything you need, do not hesitate to ask.Wetrust you, andWegrant you permission, so act as you see fit.”

At this point, there was no other way. Ebroin V managed to maintain a calm expression while putting on a show. He deliberately wore a look of annoyance and waved his hand lightly, as if to tell him to leave. Fortunately, Eugène sensed only the displeasure behind the gesture and did not grasp its true meaning, accepting the order without question.

“I will not fail to repay Your Majesty’s trust.”

Not merely pretending, but genuinely vexing his heart, his lover Eugène bowed deeply in respect. Ebroin V cast a weary glance at the crown of Eugène’s head and sank deeply into his chair.

There was surely no one else in the world who did as they pleased quite like him.

<To be continued in Volume 6>

T/N:here’s a new link to my discordserverif you haven’t joined yet and would like to be pinged for updates!