Chapter 66

The brilliant irises that radiated out like sculptures symbolizing the sun had darkened and shrunk, giving way to a black rim around the edges. The eyes that shone brightly like pure gold had deepened to a near-amber color, perhaps due to their richness in emotions.

It was an impressive sight, almost as impressive as a solar eclipse if it were shrunk down to the size of a human eye, but Eugène could not afford to enjoy its beauty purely. He froze on the spot, immobilized by the Emperor’s gaze. The emotions that the Emperor was revealing were much deeper and heavier than Eugène had expected, and he could barely conceal his own expression.

“…Wewere under the impression that you did not know anything, but it seems that that was not the case.”

The Emperor, seeing the expression on his face, murmured in a low, almost husky voice.

“It was not that you did not know, but that you pretended not to?”

“Your Majesty-.”

“Well, what can you do about it, now that you have been caught red-handed.”

Eugène could not bear the embarrassment of his question and tried to turn his head. But the Emperor did not allow him to escape. Ebroin V grabbed his chin and pulled him toward him with a force that was almost like a yank.

In an instant, Eugène’s heart sank. This is because a disconcerting premonition flashed through his mind that if he made a mistake here, he might be kissed.

However, the Emperor did not kiss him. He whispered softly, never quite bringing their lips together, though the heat from his lips was close enough to tickle Eugène’s.

“There is no need to worry, Baron Amieux. I would not commit the discourtesy of kissing in the presence of other people’s eyes.”

Their lips were so close that their breaths interlocked with each other’s. The Emperor, keeping his distance cunningly, just inches from touching, traced his lips over Eugène’s and murmured in a voice that only he could hear.

“Of course, things will be different if you allow it.”

Eugène looked at the Emperor with a steady gaze. The Emperor was as splendid and fragrant as a rare tropical orchid. When he was near, his gaze could not help but be drawn to him, and when he stood still, he could not help but be swayed by him.

Eugène didn’t know what to make of the fact that this breathtakingly mesmerizing man was sincerely courting him, when from all perspectives, Eugène should be the one courting him.

Despite his words, the Emperor had no intention of kissing Eugène in the public eye. The first kiss was forced without permission and was meant to be seen by others. Therefore, it was the Emperor’s honest feeling to keep the second one only between the two of them.

He slowly raised his tilted head as if regretfully, and pulled himself away from Eugène. His thumb gently stroked Eugène’s lower lip before it left his chin and fell off. The way he turned his body could not have been more nonchalant, but the warmth on his lips betrayed a hint of regret.

sAmJt mCJ aoRJtOt CNz hOoRLJmJLe mDtyJz NtODyz, mCJ mJyIfOy ENI tJLfJFJz. WCfLJ CJ CNz OyLe mODhCJz aDqèyJ’I hCfy Nyz LfRI, CfI ECOLJ gOze mfyqLJz. vm ENI NI fA mCJ tJoyNymI OA mCJ fymJyIJ IJPDNL mJyIfOy mCNm IJJoJz mO gDty CfI yJtFJI EJtJ ImfLL LfyqJtfyq fy CfI gOze.

“Wedid not even receive a compliment, let alone a kiss, so it isOurone-sided loss, butWehave something to give anyway. To be frank,Wecalled you here today becauseWehave a gift for you.Weplaced an order a few days ago, and it was only finished today.”

GCJ aoRJtOt tJmDtyJz mO mCJ ofzzLJ OA mCJ tOOo mO ImNyz NI mCJ oOzJL Nyz IfqyNLJz mO mCJ NmmJyzNym. GCJ NmmJyzNym ECO tJhJfFJz CfI hOooNyz RtJIJymJz aDqèyJ N IRLJyzfz LNhUDJtJz gOP. aDqèyJ mOOX mCJ LNhUDJtJz gOP, ECfhC ENI CJNFfJt mCNy fm LOOXJz, RLNhJz fm Oy CfI LNR, Nyz LOOXJz gNhX Nm mCJ aoRJtOt.

“What is this?”

“Open it.”

Eugène did as he was told and opened the box. Inside the box, lined with red velvet fabric, contained a beautiful pistol with a barrel forged from high-quality steel and finished in silver and ivory at the handle.

However, this pistol was shaped differently than most. Not only did it have no place for a flintlock, but it also had a rounded cog on the top of the trigger, so it had a distinctive look that could never be forgotten once seen.

“Your Majesty, this is-.”

Eugène had seen this pistol a few months ago when His Majesty was reviewing the budget for the Imperial Academy. The latest type of pistol with a revolving cylinder and continuous firing. As His Majesty pointed out, it was a product that was secretly coveted because the idea was so innovative, even though it was suspected to be useful in practice due to its structure.

“There are two gifts.”

Eugène swallowed the words he was about to say and looked down at the box again. Upon closer inspection, he saw a piece of fine parchment, folded in half, lying beneath the pistol. Eugène picked up the parchment and read the contents.

It was a deed of entitlement. The deed, clearly stamped with the daffodil pattern symbolizing the Emperor, granted him the right to carry a loaded pistol inside the court and in the presence of the Emperor.

“-Is this not too much?”

Aside from the fact that he had been given a rare and hard-to-find weapon, the content of the deed surprised Eugène even more.

Only a select few members of the Emperor’s Guard, whose status and loyalty were recognized, had the right to possess a gun in the Emperor’s presence. However, the only time they were allowed to do so was when they were guarding the Emperor, and Eugène’s deed of entitlement did not even include such restrictions.

“Do you like it? If you did not, your response would have ended in a narrative tone rather than an interrogative one.”

The Emperor responded to Eugène with a renewed sense of realization that he had no knack for being a paramour. He hadn’t expected him to be smiling and hanging around his neck like the other concubines, but perhaps this was the most unexpected and uninteresting response he’d ever gotten.

“It would be ridiculous to say that I am displeased. How dare I feel that way after receiving such a precious gift? However, I-.”

“There is no room for objections here, so do not bother. Before anything else, take care of yourself first.”

The Emperor replied dryly, looking straight ahead as if he didn’t care. As he resumed his stance, a couple of attendants quickly approached him, smoothing out his cloak, which had become unruly as he moved.

Eugène looked down at the box on his lap, feeling a subtle emotion that even he couldn’t quite put his finger on. In retrospect, the favors he had received from the Emperor so far were innumerable.

For Eugène, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity when His Majesty first took notice of him and selected him from among the many talented people scattered throughout the empire, followed by the many other thoughtful gestures, such as the provision of a room at court and a political foothold.

While the expensive items such as fashionable clothing and jewelry may be overlooked, the things that he was given, such as attending political meetings to develop his perspective on the overall state of affairs, discussing important political issues, and listening to his opinions, were not to be taken lightly.

His Majesty even went so far as to save him from being framed at the cost of his own honor, a debt that was hard to bear, even for Eugène who had spent his entire life striving to live independently.

But these gifts he received today were unlike anything he had ever received before. If the things he had received so far had been a reward or a debt for an act, what he had received now was closer to a pure favor.

“… Thanks to this, I will have to avoid Count Charmille for a while.”

To be honest, Eugène felt more burdened by that. It is said that paying off your debts is all that is necessary, but what can be done for a favor that has no requite? However, it was an insult to the Emperor to not accept and return a gift once given, and Eugène did not want to offend the Emperor in such a foolish way.

He sighed silently and muttered jokingly, realizing that he could no longer refuse. Count Charmille, whom he mentioned, was the Commander of the Imperial Guard, politically belonging to the central aristocratic faction, but he rose to that position in recognition of his faithfulness to his duties.

As the Emperor’s hand-picked statesman, he was competent, but he was also fundamentally a principled man, and as such, authoritarian. If such a Count Charmille knew that Eugène had been given rights beyond his authority, he would not sit idly by.

In fact, from the point of view of the Emperor’s Guard in charge of his life, it would be unacceptable for a person who was not even a member of the Emperor’s Guard to have the right to possess a pistol in the presence of the Emperor. Since he could only imagine how they would react, Eugène felt uncomfortable in advance.

“If that is the case, then you have not two, but three gifts fromUs.It is not every day that you get the chance to be treated as a political opponent by the Commander of the Imperial Guard.”

Ebroin V, who could not be ignorant of Eugène’s troubles, chuckled leisurely as he teased him.

***

Saint Eustace, the patron deity of the imperial House Ardi and King of the Gods of the Ladivenia continent, was the God of Agriculture.

He was the grandson of Saint Regire, the Mother Goddess of Creation, and was the sole offspring of Saint Altamia, the God of Land. Born at the end of the Celestial Age, he hid in his father’s garden throughout the war of the gods, where he learned and mastered everything his father left behind.

Hidden as an infant, when he emerged into the world as an adult, everything in the world had been destroyed except for his grandmother, the Goddess of Creation. What unfolded before him was an era of cruel destruction. The splendid cities of the sky fell and disappeared into the turquoise waters and all knowledge that had once shone and been beautiful was destroyed and forgotten.

The young god decided to recreate the world in place of his grandmother, who was too grief-stricken by the loss of her children to orchestrate it any longer. However, since he was not an ancient god, born directly from the Goddess of Creation, he could not wield as much power as they did.

He scooped soil from his father’s garden to create a giant continent on the ocean and brought life back to the earth by breeding the plants and animals Altamia had hidden with his son. The last thing he did to recreate the world was to scatter the twelve pairs of dormant humans across the earth to give rise to human civilization once again. For his deeds, Saint Eustace was known by humans as the “Kindler of Embers” or “The Conductor”.

‘Ash Week’, also known as Grand Feaute, was a festival to commemorate Saint Eustace. The date varied from province to province because it originated as a thanksgiving festival, but it was transformed into one gigantic celebration when House Ardi ended the Prince-Electors’ Era and conquered the entire continent.

The imperial House Ardi used the local harvest festivals as a tool to elevate the status of the imperial family by cleverly linking them to pledges of loyalty from the local Prince-Elector, and to do so, they appended the name of Ash Week to the Grand Feaute.

Hundreds of years have passed and the distinction between Ash Week and Grand Feaute became meaningless. Most people, ignorant of historical facts, thought that Grand Feaute was another name for Ash Week.

The capital city was bustling with the return of the festival after much effort. Beautiful, colorful flags fluttered in the wind on the streets. Most of the shops, except for the restaurants, were closed for the holiday, and instead, lavish stalls were popping up all over the square.

From rarely seen local specialties to cheap and pretty knick-knacks that have no use but are easy to buy on impulse, the merchants who come to enjoy the festival display their wares in the most visible spots, adding to the festive atmosphere.

It’s not just the merchants who were excited about the festival day. Traveling troupes and clowns, who had arrived in the capital earlier in the day, took advantage of any open space they could find and settled down to show off their tricks.

The capital’s citizens took to the streets in the best clothes they had, most of them flocking to Lacte Street, from the capital’s eastern gate to the Notre Magnat Cathedral, to watch the procession of the Eastern Prince-Elector, which resumed after decades.

It was a sweltering day, and street vendors everywhere were selling sweet fruit wine. Most of them were apple or grape-flavored, but some vendors also sold raspberry or cranberry-flavored wine.

The well-dressed children stared in fascination at the colorful bottles, then ran back to their comrades. Then, when the girls with the alms baskets raised their voices, they turned around and chased after them.

“This is honey bread distributed by House d’Estuaire. Today, House d’Estuaire, the Prince-Elector of the East, who have been allowed to march, will distribute honey bread to the citizens of the capital!”

“We are distributing meat pies in the name of His Majesty the Emperor. His Majesty Ebroin V is giving out meat pies to his subjects!”

It was an old tradition, dating back to before the empire was founded, for lords and wealthy landowners to distribute precious foods that were not normally available to the poor during Ash Week. Most of the food distributed as charity consisted of flat, unleavened honey bread and meat pies stuffed with various meat parts. The Emperor took on this role in the imperial territory near the capital.

Poor children rarely had the opportunity to taste sweets without such philanthropy. As such, there was often a scene where a group of young children were chasing after each girl with an alms basket.