"That was perfect. Daniela. Thank you so much."
"This is what you wanted, isn't it?"
Daniela gave a little wink as she smiled, and I couldn't help but feel genuine gratitude toward her. I had needed a pretext. Anything that could appropriately bridge the North and the South would do. The justification for protecting Daniela and supporting her people was solid. And the other nobles would have no grounds to interfere.
*The North is dangerous. There's no reason to allow passage from the North all the way here* — arguments like those would be swept away by a sufficiently compelling pretext. Daniela is in the North.
It wasn't simply a matter of marriage. The mere fact of her being there would silence anyone who might object. We needed markets, and we needed a foothold of influence in the South.
And House Barth, for their part, would need someone to serve as their patron in place of the Imperial family. A mutual win, one might say.
"Are you all right?"
"In what sense?"
"Right now, I mean. With House Barth, and the Crown Prince."
I was concerned. No matter how much I tried to lift her spirits, I would have abandoned the plan if Daniela herself couldn't go through with it. We had returned to Daniela's room. She had already guided us there quite naturally. Leo, as ever, stood guard at the door, allowing no one to enter.
"Doesn't black suit me rather well?"
"Hm? It does. Black. It suits you. You could wear it often from now on."
"I'll have to thank my brother."
Daniela's brother. I was hearing of him for the first time. The brother who had died in childhood, they said. The second son of House Barth, who had never even entered the Academy before he died. I didn't ask why — there was no need to pry. But it was because of that coat that Daniela had been saved. Though, of course, she had saved herself.
Daniela sat down beside me again. At the edge of the bed, she laid her hand over mine.
A few seconds of eye contact, nothing more. Yet within those blue irises, I couldn't help but feel there was something genuine. I had gained a great deal.
"And to the Grand Duke as well."
"To me?"
"Of course. You landed quite the blow on her behalf. There's only one person in this place who could have done that, isn't there?"
I nodded. I felt oddly embarrassed. Needling Kartina had been satisfying enough, but it had felt like exacting revenge on the Crown Prince as well. Daniela's eyes said as much.
"So — do you feel better now?"
"Thank you. Grand Duke."
"There was something I wanted to ask you, but it seems I no longer need to."
"What was it?"
"If you wanted, I was going to leave you here. This is home, after all, isn't it?"
Daniela nodded. It had only been a little over a month — one couldn't quite call the North entirely *home* yet. But now, leaving Daniela behind was no longer an option. The timing had simply gone awry, that much was certain.
"It can't be helped, then. Grand Duke."
"Indeed. It seems I have no choice but to take you back to the North."
"It seems so."
The mood was peculiar. As though she had already cut her ties to the South. I couldn't ask her about it in detail. Her actions had already told me everything. The cropped blond hair, the trousers, the black coat — to anyone's eye, she looked unmistakably connected to the Grand Duke of the North. I didn't want to spoil Daniela's mood either, not when she was humming to herself with such contentment.
"Grand Duke."
"Yes?"
"House Barth has a lovely flower garden — would you care to take a look?"
"Flowers? I'd love to."
Daniela was the first to rise. I let her take my hand and followed along at her pace. When she opened the door, Leo turned around in surprise. As we walked down the corridor, Daniela did not let go of my hand. The warmth of it came through clearly.
The hands of Northerners were cold. Always. It had nothing to do with the climate. Hands that gripped hard iron, hands that longed for something to hold onto — they were bound to be cold. It wasn't any physical ailment.
This hand was simply warm.
"W-where are you going, Your Grace! Grand Duke!"
"Just outside for a moment."
"I-I shall accompany you, Your Grace."
"Don't be so oblivious about it."
I said it with a smirk. But Leo remained oblivious to the end — though he kept his distance. A very considerable distance. It was also a signal to stay out of sight, and Leo had no choice but to nod.
The flower garden. Daniela mentioned that the Imperial Palace had a far larger garden than this — a place that bloomed with flowers in every season, green all year round.
The garden spread out directly behind the Barth family's castle. It wasn't particularly large, but it was filled with flowers one would never see in the North.
"Because it's warm, flowers bloom even in winter like this."
"Well... to be honest, they bought expensive mastone and used it for climate treatment."
"There goes the magic. Daniela."
"As long as it's beautiful, does it matter?"
Daniela and I strolled through the garden. It was filled with flowers of every color. It was undeniably more beautiful than the North — at least in this moment. The most beautiful of all were the violets.
Small leaves of deep purple, blooming in clusters — they were simply lovely. I lingered before them for quite some time.
Flowers blooming so unpretentiously that I wanted to bring them back to the North. Daniela skipped lightly through the garden, moving from one spot to the next.
The night had already grown deep; by rights, nothing should have been visible. But the moonlight had driven all the darkness from this corner of the world.
"You've been staring for quite a while."
"Yes. They're beautiful."
"I didn't expect this side of you."
"If I hadn't been born a Grand Duke, I think I would have done something artistic. Like Cart."
"It doesn't suit your face at all. Grand Duke."
I gave a slight start. Northerners aren't without feeling — the environment simply shaped them that way. And now, with the Central Furnace running, the streets had become quite full of warmth and life. Even if we were teetering on the edge of profitable bankruptcy.
"You called me gentle once, didn't you?"
"Mm, in spirit?"
"Unexpected. For a Northerner."
"For anyone on this continent."
We walked slowly through the garden again. We walked until well past midnight, and I watched Daniela delight in the clusters of flowers. Petals scattered with every step she took. I was glad I had brought her here. Perhaps, from time to time, something like poetry might find its way to me.
If that woman, drifting like a violet, had come and landed in my heart with a quiet thud —
Could I not be forgiven for such an illusion? *Ah. So this is what first love feels like.*
"Y-Your Grace. The night has grown very, very late."
"The mood was just right. What is it."
"I-I know, but you must return to the North tomorrow..."
"All right. All right. Just a little longer. Ah, and Leo—"
That night ended like that.
In the dead of night, an ominous sound of metal rang out. House Barth's security was in a thoroughly lax state. The Crown Prince and the various other guests had drawn the guards' attention in too many directions, stretching the perimeter of protection wide. Taking advantage of the gap left by the guards clustering around the Crown Prince, someone crept silently up the castle wall.
Daniela's room was not particularly high, so entering through the window from outside was easier than anything. A narrow room. And a figure lying in the bed.
The man in the black mask approached the bedside with careful steps. The dagger he drew from inside his coat was coated in poison. A poison that would leave no chance of survival from even the slightest graze.
He had no need to confirm the target. His orders were that anyone would do. Whether woman or man, whoever it was — he need only drive the dagger in.
He had been promised wealth beyond anyone's reach.
He crept carefully to the side of the bed. He was certain he had made no sound. Whoever lay there would surely die the moment he struck anywhere at all.
He drew the blade carefully and raised it —
"The Grand Duke's instincts are never wrong."
An arm shot out from beneath the covers. The hand that seized the assassin's wrist belonged to none other than Leo. The assassin's dagger plunged straight into Leo — but it was no use.
The leather armor Leo wore beneath the blankets. The Grand Duke had ordered him to put it on, just in case. *If they mean to make absolutely certain of the kill, they'll have done more than use a plain dagger.*
Moreover, by deliberately stationing the personal guard out front, they had led the assassin to believe that the Grand Duke and Daniela were the ones sleeping here.
Leo brought his fist down hard on the assassin's head. The assassin swung once, twice, trying to find a gap in the leather armor.
The sound of blades cutting air filled the room. He had to get out. The North's personal guard, alerted by the commotion inside, began flooding into the room.
Resistance was futile. Leo had to be careful, but the assassin couldn't reach the guards in their iron plate.
The assassin was soon pinned down. Leo leaned close and whispered to him. Even if the assassin tried to beg the Grand Duke for his life, he would never lay eyes on the Grand Duke again.
"I will not ask where you came from."
"P-please spare me! Your Grace, Grand Duke!"
"I will not ask who sent you. But this crime must be paid for with your life."
"Your Grace! I truly didn't know! Someone told me I'd be paid if I drove in the dagger! Please, just spare my life! Grand Duke!"
The door to the room closed.
"The world has all manner of things happen in it — but this sort of thing doesn't come along often, does it?"
"Do you really think an assassin will come tonight?"
"Well, if one does, Leo won't be getting any sleep."
The guards' quarters. It was where the personal guard took turns resting, but within House Barth's domain, it was perhaps the one room under the North's influence. It would be uncomfortable for the guards, but they had been given a noblewoman's room — that ought to be enough to satisfy them.
"For the Crown Prince to do something like that..."
"It won't be the Crown Prince. It'll be that girl from House de Bosch who arranged it — if an assassin comes at all."
"Do they hate us that much? I don't quite understand..."
There are people in this world who simply cannot bear to feel slighted. And Kartina — that girl from House de Bosch — would have exactly that sort of temperament. My guess, at least.
"It won't matter. Don't worry."
Everything would be fine.