SALP Chapter 13

"Of course it's fine! Right, Sir Rix?"

When even Nina asked cheerfully, Rix rolled his eyes while brushing his finger under his nose.

"Even if you ask me..."

He mumbled with an unexpectedly simple demeanor that didn't match his appearance, then ran his hand through his messy hair.

"Do as you please, young ladies."

It was a surprisingly easygoing answer.

"See? Trust me, Lanthe sis. The lord entrusted me with showing you around, not Sir Rix."

Tap-tap, Nina's light footsteps sounded as she quickly bounded down the stairs ahead.

At any rate, he didn't seem opposed or inclined to stop them, so that was fortunate.

Lanthe followed Nina, who hopped like a rabbit, with a smile tugging at her lips.

The dining hall was extremely crowded. It seemed many people ate at this hour. The dining hall stayed open all day and served food whenever anyone came, a peculiar place—she'd never encountered so many people there before.

She went to a corner seat and ate quietly. No one approached to speak or disturb her. Even Rix went to where the other knights were and waited quietly. She found herself somewhat proud that she could eat properly among the knights, then chuckled at her own silly thought.

"Let's go, let's go! To Aden Square!"

"What does the philosophy gathering do?"

"We share delicious food and chat!"

"That sounds like an excellent gathering?"

"Hehe! I'm going to the square with Lanthe sis!"

Following Nina, who was excited and bubbling with anticipation, Lanthe laughed and said, "Let's go!"

Finally, she was going outside the castle. Though she'd be accompanied by surveillance-slash-escort. While she'd taken brief walks in the gardens outside the building, this was her first time crossing the castle walls.

She clutched her thick coat tightly like armor, holding both anxiety and curiosity within.

"Hello, I'm Lan..."

"So you're Lady Lanthe!"

Princess Ana was a woman with brilliant orange hair.

"I've been dying to meet you!"

Her refreshing, bright green eyes reminiscent of a summer forest were captivating. She had a petite build and radiated an overall brilliant light, giving an impression unlike the Penmark people Lanthe's preconceptions had defined.

"I was so curious! I heard Lord Vigo caught a pretty mermaid princess in the Northern Sea!"

But her voice was startlingly high.

"What...?"

Caught what?

"Did you get caught in one of Lord Vigo's flimsy nets? Or was it a harpoon... oh, that's terrible, never mind!"

Lanthe received her embrace in a daze. Even though she'd never been weak when it came to strength, her body swayed at the woman's vigorous hug.

"Sniff-sniff, you smell nice too. I like you very much."

Princess Ana buried her nose in Lanthe's shoulder and murmured, then suddenly lifted her head.

"But you really are a pretty young lady! Look at that silvery hair sparkling like winter moonlight! I thought only our Lord Vigo had exclusive rights to amethyst eyes like that, but I guess not? What happened to your fins? Did you decide to live on land from now on? Do you like the human world?"

Fins? Land? The human world...?

"If Lord Vigo ever treats you poorly, tell me."

She rattled off incomprehensible words, then smiled brightly.

"As his betrothed, I'll give him a good scolding."

His betrothed...?

Lanthe's mind, which had been growing confused by her rapid speech and unique accent, went completely blank.

"Ah, yes..."

Vigo's fiancée...?

"See? I told you she'd like you."

Unaware of Lanthe's inner turmoil, Nina poked her side lightly with a finger and laughed.

"Princess Ana is King Kian's daughter. Logen people have strong accents and speak quickly, so it's a bit hard to understand at first, but you'll get used to it soon."

I see. He had a fiancée. Well, he's twenty years old. It wouldn't be strange if he were already married...

But that wasn't entirely without problems.

Even though he had a fiancée, had Nina been pairing them this whole time, saying they were first loves, that you never know what the future holds?

Vigo was an even more serious problem. A man with a woman to marry casually saying they used to sleep together often in the old days, what's more, acting like it was nothing to sleep in the same room with an unrelated woman.

"Do you like wine? Try a warm cup."

"I'd love to hear poems or songs Lady Lanthe enjoys."

"The Northern Sea couldn't be your homeland. Shall we hear about Lady Lanthe's hometown today?"

"Oh, I..."

People began speaking to Lanthe one by one. The philosophy gathering in Aden Square seemed to be a meeting where they lit bonfires and shared food in a building that resembled Newbella's temple.

Even while exchanging greetings with various people, Lanthe's attention was fixated on one person.

Princess Ana. The young lady betrothed to Vigo.

And... the daughter of King Kian, who ruled Logen.

No wonder the name had sounded familiar. While Lanthe didn't know Princess Ana, she had heard of the territory called Logen and King Kian's name.

He was a member of the allied kingdoms. The Penmark Allied Kingdoms. King Kian was one of the twelve kings, including Derek.

"How is it? Wine imported from Logen. Sweet, isn't it?"

Someone allied with Derek.

"...Yes, it has a lovely fragrance."

Princess Ana was such a person's daughter. She seemed cheerful and affectionate on the surface. But what kind of person was her father? Did she know her father had joined hands with an evil man? What did she think about it?

Lanthe felt a chill in her chest and smiled awkwardly.

The sweet wine's fragrance resembled what she'd drunk in Newbella.

"Wow, did you just hear thunder?"

"Looks like it'll pour, doesn't it?"

The gray sky drew people's attention.

"It's not time for snow yet, is it?"

"Give it a few weeks and everything will freeze solid."

"Rain instead of snow in this cold—I hate it."

"Right, remember King Kusante died from lightning on the battlefield just before his perfect conquest? It was around this season too, wasn't it?"

Suddenly banging the table to gather everyone's attention was Princess Ana, who'd been playing around with cookies with Nina until then.

"If he'd lived and won, could we really be gathered in Aden Square today, eating and drinking meat and wine while chatting? Ever since I learned about King Kusante's story, I've come to enjoy thunder and lightning."

"Hmm. The great Penmark unification."

"Would an emperor even emerge in this era? If anyone claimed to be an absolute monarch, they'd be assassinated before they could even build a palace."

The topic naturally shifted from weather to Penmark politics.

"What nonsense! Emperor Yebel, who once ruled all of Oden, was the monarch of all kings, but not a dictator. A good and capable absolute monarch benefits the world more than multiple kings putting their heads together."

"What about the head of the allied kingdoms? He doesn't seem to have emperor ambitions."

"King Pavel is too moderate, don't you think? He became head because his family is so large, but his temperament is too gentle and he lacks charisma."

"I think the allied kingdoms themselves won't last long."

People treated Princess Ana as a person of high status, yet spoke their opinions freely.

"What do you think, Princess?"

"I don't really care who becomes emperor or king."

Even she herself felt that way.

"If I'm not becoming emperor, it's all the same to me. Either way, my future won't change—I still have to marry a promising man and help my father. If I were emperor, I'd abolish all the other annoying laws and legally guarantee every woman the right to marry a handsome man."

She spoke matter-of-factly and tossed a cookie into her mouth. Rather than seriously dominating the conversation's flow, she seemed more dedicated to tasting the drinks and sweets laid out on the round table.

"Then loyalty to Empress Ana!"

When someone shouted, the women echoed one by one.

"Loyalty to Empress Ana!"

"Loyalty!"

"What loyalty, everyone? The number of handsome men is limited. Would you vote for a candidate making impossible promises?"

"It's that critical an issue. If I had to choose between being empress or a handsome man's wife, I'd be a handsome man's wife."

"What about an empress married to a handsome lord?"

"If that handsome man is the Lord of Hermea, you couldn't have both. The marriage would turn savage with power struggles. Our lord isn't the type to sit quietly under anyone, is he?"

Lanthe found it strange that she could be part of this gathering. Sharing food amicably with Penmark people she'd called demons of the outside world and regarded as monsters, listening to their current affairs.

And that there were people who spoke as if they knew Vigo well, whom she hardly knew.

"Come, Lady Lanthe, move closer to the fire. Your lips have gone blue."

They were kind and courteous people. No one pressed her with questions or made difficult demands when she couldn't shake off her wariness.

"...Thank you. It's a bit colder here than where I used to live."

The overcast sky soon began pouring rain.

Those heated by conversation held their ground, responding to the pounding rain with shouts and laughter that pierced through it. Stories of living in the world. Stories of a world where diverse people lived in diverse ways—stories she'd never heard in Roas or Newbella—were fascinating, so Lanthe listened intently while hugging the drowsy Nina.

The sweet smell of rain-washed earth and the savory scent of burning firewood spread in all directions. Even covering the fragrance of the intensely aromatic wine.

She was gazing at the rain as it descended on land near Lake Eründel.

The scent of nature she'd forgotten in Newbella, where she'd always stayed indoors on rainy days, was comforting.

Lanthe carefully recognized the sensation—warmth.

It was strange. Despite being in the middle of an unfamiliar land.