Chapter 68

It was the first time Eugène had witnessed the ceremony of Grand Feaute this close-up, so everything was new to him. When he lived in the capital, life was too hectic to enjoy the festivities, and since leaving for the West Coast, he hadn’t bothered to come to the capital during the festival. Like other fallen nobles, he was a nobleman only in name and had little experience living an aristocratic life.

The Emperor, clad in his familiar ceremonial robe, stood out all the more for his extraordinary beauty. As this was a formal ceremony, he wore the rarely seen triple crown, which only heightened his overwhelming majesty.

However, Count d’Estuaire’s presence was not overshadowed by the Emperor. If ordinary nobles had stood in front of the Emperor, they would’ve been invisible to everyone else, but Count d’Estuaire was one of the most beautiful among the nobles.

Perhaps because of his attire, he looked much more elegant than usual while he knelt in front of the altar in a figure reminiscent of a mythical knight as the citizens gawked. The way he placed his elbows on the altar and clasped his hands together was so modest that he even looked like a priest offering a prayer to God.

Important imperial events were always accompanied by court painters, and today was no exception. A few of them had positioned themselves at a respectful distance so as not to disturb the ceremony, busily sketching in order to preserve the day’s scenes as part of the historical record.

When Eugène saw that, he suddenly wondered. What will future generations imagine when they see this classically beautiful scene?

Though they may be able to guess much of the day through the records left by the painters, this subtle but profound smell created by the mingling of the daffodils’ fragrance with the fishy odor of whale oil candles would forever elude them. Nor could they know the constant rustling of linen as people moved about, or the cautious hollow coughs so as not to disrupt the ceremony.

The cathedral was packed with so many people that it was never completely silent, even during an important ceremony. Some whispered while some dragged chairs. Even the gentle chant could not drown out the lively noise of the crowd.

As the evening sun faded, the bright shadows slowly receded, and a veil of soft darkness descended. Acolytes in light green vestments lit the candles one by one, illuminating the cathedral. Following the cardinal’s lead, the noblemen performed the rites by touching their foreheads and shoulders with daffodils or tapping their chests.

As this was part of the oath of allegiance, it was originally an act to be performed directly by the Emperor. However, with so many oath-takers, even he could not personally bless each one. Eugène watched as the Emperor dipped his fingers in holy water and traced the sign of the cross upon the Count d’Estuaire’s forehead with his thumb and forefinger, and sensed the ceremony was nearing its end.

“By the authority of Saint Eustace, in the capacity of his deputy,We, Lord of Three Kingdoms, Ruler of Two Rivers, and Protector of the Sacred Lex Ardica, do hereby confer upon Oscar Valentièe de d’Estuaire, Lord of the House d’Estuaire, the title of Duke of La Mer and appoint him Guardian of the East.”

“I will fear God, obey the law, and be loyal to the empire.”

“Duke of La Mer, stand up.”

Oscar Valentièe, who came in as a Count and went out as a Duke, rose from his position at the Emperor’s command and turned around.

House d’Estuaire regained the title of Duke, but without their territory in the East, they could not be restored to the same title. They deserved the title of Prince-Elector but had no merit to legitimately restore their demoted title. From the Emperor’s point of view, it would have been burdensome to return the Duke of d’Estuaire’s name, even if it would be nothing more than a paper tiger.

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The Emperor lifted the sacred ears of wheat and conferred his blessing before casting them into the brazier at the altar’s side as an offering.‘We return to You the fruit of the miracle You have granted.’As he recited the sacred words of offering, the nobles rose to their feet, repeating the same phrase in unison.

The Grands were the first to step forward among those who stood up. One by one, they threw daffodils into the brazier and lined up in front of the Emperor.

First, the Duke of La Mer, no less than today’s protagonist, kissed the back of the Emperor’s hand. As he went down, Prince Sigeber, the highest-ranking of the Emperor’s children, approached, quickly kissed his father’s hand, and retreated. Next was Prince Louis-Philippe, the son of Countess Patrí, followed by the Emperor’s eldest daughter, Princess Anne Merodith.

The Emperor had two more children, but they were too young to walk on their own. Thus, the one to follow after them was Prince Merrick, who, after a long period of confinement, had only recently been released from his house arrest. The young nobleman, looking more gaunt and sharper than ever, most probably due to all that he had suffered in the past, approached his dignified maternal cousin and kissed the back of his hand in silence.

“Are you feeling well?”

The touch of his lips on the back of the Emperor’s hand was too dry and cold. Ebroin V lightly greeted the parched figure, as lifeless as the ears of wheat that had been offered as a burnt offering. Prince Merrick answered his question softly, without raising his head.

“Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I am getting better, little by little.”

“You are a person of great value, so you must always take care of yourself.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Prince Merrick replied grimly, then turned and walked away from the Emperor. The Emperor followed his back with only his gaze.

The words of concern uttered by the Emperor weren’t simply for show. Though the ambitions of Grand Duchess Alienor had put them at odds, Prince Merrick was his only cousin. Even for the cold-hearted Ebroin V, the thought of having the blood of such a close relative on his hands was not a pleasant one.

The Emperor knew well that Prince Merrick was not a man of exceptional caliber. He was prideful but incompetent and lacked the guts to scheme a huge accident solely out of greed. The Emperor understood perfectly that, so long as his mother left him to his own devices, he would live out his days in quiet mediocrity. It was for that reason that he consistently showed him favor to keep him from harm’s way as much as possible, though even that would depend on Merrick’s own choices.

Even after such consideration, should he harbor other intentions, as the Emperor, he would no longer be able to turn a blind eye.

I shall have to take a closer look at his surroundings.

He didn’t know what had happened during the period of seclusion, but Prince Merrick had changed somehow. It was understandable that he would sink to such a low point after all he’s been through lately, but the momentary hostility that flashed through him the moment he kissed his hand was too much for the Emperor to tolerate.

The Emperor, shrewdly noticing this, was deeply lost in thought as he looked down at the nobles who had followed him and were concluding their pledges of loyalty. His eyes shone coldly as he hoped that Lord Merrick would not make the wrong choice.

The half-day Grand Feaute came to an end with all the male nobles present at the ceremony kissing the Emperor’s hand. When the ceremony was over, the nobles’ carriages, led by the Emperor’s carriage, lined up one after another and returned to the Imbert Palace.

Unlike when they came, the street cleared easily since most of the onlookers flocked to the Belle Vine Square on the other side of the Imbert Palace.

If the Grand Feaute was a ceremony for the nobility, theFeast of Fire, held as an afterparty, was a festival purely for citizens.

Even from the other side of the street, the lights of the firewood piled up in Belle Vine Square were visible. The firewood, piled up high enough to exceed the height of any two-story house, was already burning brightly, illuminating the night sky.

The smell of roasted meat wafted through the night breeze. It was because the cattle and pigs donated by the wealthy merchants and community leaders were being roasted whole over the fire. It was not only the Belle Vine Square where such a scene unfolded. The same scene was playing out in every square of the capital.

The amount of meat prepared for this year’s feast was said to be about one hundred and fifty cows, two hundred pigs, and two hundred sheep and goats each, and it was impossible to count other poultry such as turkeys, chickens, and ducks. This was nearly twice as much compared to the previous years, probably because the merchants and community leaders in the capital felt the need to flatter the Emperor, who had returned from victory.

The Emperor was customarily in charge of the festivities, which included things made from grains, such as flatbread to be eaten with meat, honey bread for dessert, pies of various kinds, and malt beer, while it was up to the wealthy to enrich the table by providing meat and other accouterments.

In the capital, Ash Week unfolded as an age-old festival presided over by the Emperor, and the grandeur with which it is held often served as a measure of his reign. Thus, the notable people of the city could not help but remain keenly mindful of the Emperor’s favor.

The largest continent in the world was Ladivenia. Currently, there were only twelve nations, but during the period of chaos, it was once home to over two hundred countries that had established their own kingdoms.

The Estina Empire, which occupied nearly half of this huge continent, was a unified dynasty that united the five principalities and 26 counties into a single empire.

This allowed the Estina Empire to be self-sufficient, unlike many of its neighbors, with only what was produced within the empire. Until the pirates infested the coasts, they were not interested in nurturing a navy since there was no need to do so.

Since the land was vast, the timing of harvest varied. In the warm and fertile eastern territories, harvesting began in mid-July, whereas in the colder and barren northern territories, it only commenced around the fourth week of October. Due to such circumstances, Ash Week, the festival of thanksgiving observed throughout the empire, was celebrated in the imperial capital city of Michéle over the course of four full months.

But no matter how wealthy an empire was, it had its financial limits, so the entire period was not wasted as a festival. Oaths of allegiance in regions without a Prince-Elector were made at intervals of one and a half months, depending on the harvest season of each region, and were abbreviated except for the first and last week.

The reason such an oath of allegiance could be simplified in this manner was in part due to the gradual decline of the Prince-Elector houses once entitled to partake in the grand procession. In some rare cases, such as that of House Benoist, the right still remained, yet the family chose to forgo the honor of their own accord.

Will he ever be satisfied with that?

In the swaying carriage, Eugène fell into deep thought, his eyes haunted by the last image of Oscar he saw before leaving Notre Magnat Cathedral.

Oscar Valentièe, Duke of La Mer, had a calm expression showing no sign of joy as he was congratulated by the nobles. While most people seemed to recognize this as a nobleman’s stoicism, as he didn’t show his true feelings easily, Eugène felt somewhat uneasy.

For a typical noble family, today’s event might have been the family’s glory. Not only had he been given the title of Duke, the highest title a noble family could hold, even if it came with no territory, but he had also left a deep impression with his performance in the excellent procession before the citizens of the capital.

However, Oscar would not be satisfied with this if he still harbored any hopes of regaining the influence that the d’Estuaires once held. For all its glitter, the honor bestowed upon them today was little more than an empty show.

Had I been the head of House d’Estuaire, I would never have made such a choice. I would have ceded the right of ordination over the Tuler Territory to the Emperor instead, in return for a tangible grant of land and a more solid foundation for the future.

Eugène, who had been thinking up to that point, suddenly realized something, and his heart sank.

… But could a man as clever as Count d’Estuaire not have thought of such a thing?

It couldn’t have been…