By Zephyria Leonardo, his eyes wide, looked at the empty air and let out a puzzled breath.
“Huh?”
Hugo, who had been concentrating, turned his head halfway, following his gaze that had shifted to the side.
“What is it?”
“Is that a turtle?”
The gesture pointed to the sculpture. Hugo, who had his arm over the back of the chair, narrowed his eyes and replied.
“It seems so. Is there a problem?”
“Ah, no. It’s not that…”
‘Why is that there?’
Perhaps because he had found something related to the topic he was just about to talk about, the corners of Leonardo’s lips hesitated. If it was really related, then one more story he could tell this person would disappear.
Suddenly wondering if there were any other sculptures like that, Leonardo looked up at the tops of the pillars on either side. However, there were only reliefs that added to the luxurious atmosphere; there were no animal sculptures. In other words, the turtle existed on only one of the six stone pillars.
Usually, when decorating landscaping, isn’t uniformity important? Why is there only one?
Besides, a turtle statue, is that commonly used for decoration? I’ve seen lions and eagles quite a bit…
Even as he tried to hide his puzzled expression, his mind was racing. Then, Leonardo’s view, which had been focused on the turtle, widened a little more. Then, the building of the villa, draped in the background, seemed to fit together like a backdrop.
At the same time, the flickering memory became clear, and the scenery inside the old castle he had been about to describe unfolded.
One hall in particular, which had been especially special, was projected before Leonardo’s eyes.
Marble pillars and golden candlesticks lined up regularly, and there was a waterway on the floor. It was like a temple surrounded by a lake. There, a bizarre sculpture was located, a meticulously scaled-down model of the old castle. It couldn’t be said to represent a real turtle, but its overall appearance, if compared to an animal, resembled a turtle.
Just then, a train that had come running from afar passed under the piloti of the old castle, thanks to the appropriate perspective.
Regarding that, he had said this:
“A turtle riding a train.”
Hugo’s eyebrows rose slightly at the one word he uttered like a sigh.
Leonardo slowly retraced the scene he had seen at the time and looked around. Pillars, the waves on the floor, the lake. And the turtle, the turtle.
The only turtle that existed up there was located in the center of the arching structure in terms of composition. To be exact, it was in the center of the glass dome that he had looked up at from the bathtub. It was as if it were riding on top of a long structure.
As the pieces fell into place one by one, goosebumps gradually rose on Leonardo’s arms. He, who had been gaping without a word, hurriedly asked Hugo.
“You said this place is old, right? More than a few hundred years old.”
“Well, as far as I know, yes.”
“Then do you know what that turtle… means?”
Hugo, straightening his upper body, gauged Leonardo’s reaction with a strange look.
“Why are you suddenly curious about that? I’m more curious about your story.”
“…It’s related to that.”
“Hmm.”
Soon, Hugo, who had been thinking deeply, opened his mouth.
“Turtles are often regarded as symbols of patience, so perhaps it contains a meaning related to that. The aesthetics of waiting and leisure… or perhaps it’s a wish for longevity, immortality.”
“…Immortality?”
One of Leonardo’s eyebrows rose.
“To talk a little politically, before I bought this place, the owner of the villa was a distant relative of the Imperial Family.”
As soon as he heard the word ‘Imperial Family,’ Leonardo’s expression noticeably hardened. Hugo, quietly observing him, refilled the empty glass and added.
“Even if they’re relatives, they’re only related to the current Imperial Family by a distant degree. Moreover, it’s someone who died half a century ago, so in fact, the title was unclear. Their descendants are close to commoners, unrelated to the core power.”
At the words that followed as if to reassure him, Leonardo once again looked around the scenery of the villa. Come to think of it, he seemed to have heard the words ‘a place recently acquired secretly’ in the waiting room the other day. But for something like that, this villa was very similar to the current owner’s style.
So much so that he couldn’t imagine the previous owner being someone else.
“The villa wasn’t originally owned by your family?”
“Originally, it was. You have a good eye. At first, it was owned by the Agrizendro family. But since Rogia remained a Duchy for quite a long time, they had to offer some land and a detached palace to the Imperial Family as a sign of loyalty. This place was one of them. A few months ago, when you were looking for a place to stay, I bought it back.”
To understand the story that His Excellency was telling, he had to go back further into the past. The beginning was the long history of when Laina and Rogia were integrated, and Rogia was recognized as a Duchy in the old lands of the kingdom in exchange for Laina seizing imperial power.
While the Imperial Family treated the Rogia royal family with respect, the hereditary autonomy of the Agrizendro family was maintained within the existing territory. Thanks to this, Grand Duke Agrizendro held the position of both a direct vassal of the Emperor and the Monarch of an independent Duchy. This was because the peace treaty included the provision that ‘the autonomy of the Duchy is guaranteed by treaty, and even the Emperor cannot directly abolish the treaty without the Grand Duke’s consent.’
Even without that treaty, Rogia possessed three times the territory of Laina’s old lands and a proportionate military force. Therefore, even Laina, who had seized imperial power, would have had no other way to protect the integrated empire without recognizing Rogia’s legitimacy.
Thus, until the Monarchs of the two countries who had made the agreement no longer existed on this land, the system seemed to be maintained like an immutable law.
But there is no such thing as eternity in the regulations of human affairs, which are not truth.
Several centuries passed, and an era arrived when all those who had experienced the transitional period of the two countries’ merger had died. It was a time when nobles from Laina, who regarded Rogia, which was attached to Zodiac and competed for power, as a thorn in their side, gradually increased their power.
From this point on, Rogia was required to have a stronger loyalty to the empire, and in order not to be accused of treason, they had to offer a certain amount of gold and land as tribute every year. Naturally, within Rogia, a royalist faction emerged, advocating for independence from the empire and enhancing the prestige of the Rogia royal family. On the other hand, there was also a pro-government faction that wanted to maintain the current system at all costs and avoid being targeted, due to the already reduced military power and territorial issues.
Since there was a common target for checks and balances, the two opinions within one family were not in sharp conflict, but about three centuries ago, there was an incident in which the Grand Duke of Rogia, who had been falsely accused, humiliatingly bowed his head before the Emperor under the pretext of responsibility for the rebellion.
As a result, the Grand Duchy was demoted to a Duchy. The conflict of opinions within the family also intensified, but by then, the Emperor’s power was soaring to the sky. Rogia had no choice but to endure the humiliation in order to prevent disintegration, and from this period, forces within the family openly rejecting the Imperial Family emerged.
The one at the apex of that force at this point was Gladias Agrizendro. Of course, Hugo did not utter this fact.
“My great-grandfather wishes to regain the lost land and honor of Rogia. I don’t know how it will be seen externally, but I understand and respect his heart. After all, he is taking the lead to love and revive the family.”
Hugo continued, gazing at the unfolded lake.
“Therefore, from the generation of the previous Duke Agrizendro… my father’s generation, we gradually began to recover the land that had been confiscated under the name of tribute. The former owner of this villa was a distant relative of the Imperial Family with divided roots, and the reason I bought this place back was for that reason. Of course, it had been empty for half a century, so I thought it would be a safe place for you too. It was especially beautiful, and especially warm.”
Leonardo, who had been listening blankly to the low voice, swallowed hard. It was because he never expected to hear the history of the power struggles within the Agrizendro family, which he had only speculated about with stories that were always heard as rumors, directly from the Duke’s mouth.
“Is it okay for you to tell me these things?”
Hugo, resting his chin on his hand, tapped his lips before meeting Leonardo’s eyes.
“Why, are you uncomfortable?”
“…No. I’m just worried it might be dangerous.”
“It’s okay. The recovery of land rights in a legal way was permitted by the late Emperor. And… everything we share in this place is our secret, isn’t it?”
His blue eyes curved pleasantly. Before he could even think that he should agree, Leonardo nodded as if possessed.
“We digressed for a moment, so, we were talking about the turtle. The reason why the turtle might mean immortality is, as you know, the long-cherished wish of the previous owner, the Laina royal family, is―.”
“Eternal life.”
Leonardo interrupted in the middle. Hugo, who had stopped talking, gestured with his eyes and replied.
“Yes, eternal life. You know the huge structure located on the way to the Imperial Palace, right? ‘Porta Aeternitatis,’ the Gate of Eternal Life.”
“…Yes.”
“Perhaps they projected the desire to make the impossible possible onto the turtle. I don’t know when it was placed there, but there’s a theory that turtles live for hundreds of years. Sometimes even longer than that.”
Leonardo quietly stared at Hugo, who said that and then drank from his glass. He seemed to think that the turtle was made by a relative of the Imperial Family who had owned this villa for a short time. That was probably because, unlike the old sculptures located elsewhere, the turtle alone seemed to be living in a different time, and its exterior was clean.
Like an old castle in the mist.
Logically, it might be right to judge that it was made relatively recently, but Leonardo’s thoughts were different. It would have been in that place from the beginning.
If the time he had spent in the old castle was not just a dream.