Not a single piece of filth was to be seen. The ordinance had taken root in the city with remarkable speed.
More than anything, there were quite a few people who simply didn't want to ruin roads that were already clean.
According to Dorgon's report, many residents said they'd rather walk all the way outside to dispose of their waste than dirty the streets.
As we walked along the road, I bought some fruit. It was fresh, though still quite moist. I wiped it on my sleeve and handed it to Daniela.
"Want to try it? It's a fruit that only grows in the North's winter — it'll be sweeter than any southern apple."
With a crisp crunch, Daniela's expression scrunched up. I suppressed the urge to ask, *Good, isn't it?* We walked on for a while amid the lively bustle of the road.
"Well?"
"It's incredibly sweet. Grand Duke."
She nodded, juice smeared around her mouth. I pulled my sleeve across briefly and wiped it clean. Daniela flinched slightly but stayed still as my hand moved. There — much better.
A short detour off the main street led to places with a rather pleasant atmosphere. Cafés, as they ought to be called. They sold food as well as tea, though most of their patrons came for the tea.
Farming is impossible in winter. In the old days it was so bitterly cold that even when spring arrived, there were countless years when crops simply wouldn't grow.
But now the furnace warmed the earth, and at least some semblance of a growing cycle could be maintained.
Even so, winter remained a hard season.
Farmers tended to rest through the winter, or set off to mine mastone. Mastone fetched good money. But what was different from the past was this:
A certain degree of *wealth* had begun to accumulate in the North.
"Welcome — Grand Duke?"
"It's been a while, Madam. Have you been well?"
"Welcome, Your Grace. What brings you all the way here?"
"I came for a warm cup of tea. And to listen to some music."
The café's proprietress came rushing out to the door to greet us. There are days when one wants to escape being the Grand Duke of the North, or days when one wants to quietly listen to what people are saying.
This place was just right for that. Not too far from the main street, the tea was excellent, and people came often.
And best of all, the proprietress's daughter had a remarkable voice.
"P-please, come right in. I'll have your usual tea ready at once."
"Don't rush. You'll startle the other guests."
Daniela and I took the seats the proprietress guided us to. In the mornings, her daughter practiced her singing and gave a small performance. It was the best seat in the house — nothing between us and the stage.
"I've... never been to a place like this before."
"It's nothing strange."
The moment we sat down, the curtain on the stage was drawn back. It wasn't a grand stage, but it had a decent size to it.
Under ordinary circumstances Daniela and I would have sat facing each other, but thanks to the proprietress's thoughtfulness, we were seated side by side.
The chairs faced the stage directly. To a round of applause, the proprietress's daughter stepped up onto the stage in a dress.
The singer began scanning the room. She was probably looking for us — *the Grand Duke of the North is here, so give it your all!* — that sort of thing.
"I have never been so nervous standing on this stage as I am today. But for all of you who have always been here to watch over me, I will give everything I have."
The singer bowed her head low. The performance began. There was no grand accompaniment — only one or two instruments — but her voice was truly beautiful. Just the thing to enjoy alongside a cup of tea.
The singing continued, and by the time a cup of tea was finished, one song had ended. Each time a song concluded, applause rippled through the room.
I would ordinarily have clapped as well, but today I found myself watching for cues. The cues of the person sitting right beside me.
I kept my hands folded quietly in my lap without applauding. *Did she not enjoy it?* I watched her carefully. Or was it the opposite? I couldn't tell at all.
"Mm. The singing was rather good, wasn't it?"
"Pardon? Ah — yes, it was, Grand Duke."
"That's a bit formal, suddenly. You can be at ease. You're a guest."
After listening to several songs, we were treated to a few pieces of cookies the proprietress had baked specially. Since I have a great love of sweets, her cookies were always wonderfully sweet.
While I crunched through the cookies, I studied Daniela's expression carefully.
"Is something troubling you?"
"Ah — no, not at all. The cookies are very good."
"Aren't they? The proprietress here has a real gift for food."
It would have been lovely to wander about until evening. Regrettably, that was not to be.
We were just stepping out of the café when one of the guards, lightly dressed, came running up in a breathless hurry.
Dorgon had come to the Hall of Winter with something to report.
Under normal circumstances I might have told him to wait, but I thought of it as an opportunity to show Daniela the North at night.
"We'll need to head back to the castle for now."
"Yes — yes, of course."
From the moment we'd sat down in the café, Daniela's manner had been peculiar. Whatever I asked, she answered in single words, or kept stumbling and speaking in roundabout ways.
Perhaps she needed a moment to rest. Or perhaps the North didn't suit her.
It might simply be that the North was less developed than the South. If I'd known it would come to this, I might have considered attending the Academy when I was young.
Come to think of it, that hadn't been an option either. I'd had to inherit the title of Grand Duke of the North straightaway.
"There's an arts performance in the evening — let's go see it. Plenty of nobles will be there, and many others besides. I'm sure you'll enjoy it."
"I am grateful for your generosity, Grand Duke."
"Ha ha ha..."
The moment we entered Winter Castle, I made my way to the Hall of Winter first. Daniela kept her head bowed the entire time. I'd quietly asked Alfredo whether there was any way to find out what was the matter with her.
"That sort of secret would be found out far more quickly if Your Grace simply asked, rather than having me dig around behind the scenes."
"Easier said than done."
"Is a woman's heart not always difficult to read?"
"...You're mocking me, aren't you?"
"Please do hurry along. Dorgon is waiting."
In the Hall of Winter, Dorgon was kneeling on one knee, waiting. Tucked firmly under his arm was an enormous stack of documents.
The documents were passed to me through the guards. One page, then another — I read through the contents slowly. The picture became considerably clearer.
"Upon reviewing the joint petition, it appears that exactly four factions have formed. One of those factions seems to be plotting rebellion as well."
"Rebellion? Who is leading that faction?"
"House Kandal and the houses surrounding it. There are rumors that they have already begun securing provisions, but those have been confirmed as false."
"The other houses are all doing their utmost to extend their own influence. That much is certain. That's what you're telling me."
The documents that followed only confirmed it further. There was no definitive word yet that any house had begun raising troops, but the problem lay in the outskirts of the Imperial capital. It wouldn't be just one or two houses turning.
"There is also an investigation into House Barth, so if you would take a look..."
"Ah — well done, Dorgon."
The current state of House Barth had not changed. The prestige of a marquis house would remain intact. But in the matter of factions, they were not free from trouble — belonging to none of them. And on top of that, the Imperial family was harboring some rather cunning designs.
"The Imperial Palace intends to divide up the gold vein that House Barth holds?"
"The announcement will likely come very slowly, while the groundwork is laid quietly behind the scenes. It seems they have already chosen which house the gold vein will be transferred to."
"Underhanded business."
"House Barth will not be able to resist. They have no faction, and there are limits to how many mercenaries money alone can buy."
"No support, and they'll be slowly strangled. Utterly underhanded. Underhanded, the lot of them. Those Imperial family wretches."
I handed the entire stack of documents to Alfredo. A new board had been laid out. The Imperial family, intent on diminishing House Barth's influence while preparing for the coming rebellion. And the young lords of certain houses, mad with desire for women and ready to start a war over it.
And what would the North do?
"Dorgon, make a trip to the Empire this time. Take the Foreign Minister with you."
"Understood."
"Let's make sure our name earns its full worth."
As the number of nobles desperate to grasp at any lifeline grew, the North would act accordingly. Even a single sheet of paper bearing nothing more than a name could earn quite a tidy sum. It had been a while since I'd had the chance to fill the coffers so handsomely.
"Your Grace, as to how much authority I may act upon..."
"You may use the Grand Duke's name in full."
"It shall be done."
By the time Dorgon withdrew from the Hall of Winter, evening was already drawing near. I set out for the performance hall ahead of the others.
I had wanted to make this a place worth living in. The North of the past had been a terrifying place. A place where people killed and were killed.
Winter had been the same. A place full of people dying from the cold, and people who had to take from others just to survive.
It had taken nearly twenty years to mend that North. Even so, it was a stroke of fortune that it could be mended at all, given enough time. The weight of the Wintergard name had helped enormously.
Building something like a hall of the arts had been an extension of that same policy. To make a place where people could live well.
"You're here already."
"Oh — ah! Grand Duke."
"A guest doesn't need to say such things. Well — quite a fine seat."
It cost a fair amount, but it was a fine seat indeed. We were seated on the second floor, looking down over the performance. An opera. It had been worth it, taking in those musicians who had been driven out of the Empire.
In the middle of watching the performance, I turned to Daniela.
"You seemed a little out of sorts today. Are you all right?"
Daniela, who had been watching the performance, turned to look at me. There were faint tears gathering in her eyes. Music filled the hall to the brim, and the sound of applause drifted up from time to time.
Daniela murmured something. I leaned my ear close to hear her properly. She cupped her hands around her mouth and spoke.
"It's... radiant..."