By Zephyria “So, I want to hear the rest of your story. You said you went to a strange old castle.”
“Ah, uh.”
Hugo brought the timing of the utterance, which could have been glossed over, back to the table. He felt a determination to hear the other person’s story no matter what. Knowing that, Leonardo also wondered if he should talk about this topic, but finally made up his mind and opened his mouth.
“The shape of that castle resembled a turtle. The name of the castle was ‘Romance.’”
“Romance? A romantic name.”
Hugo used the spoon he had been using to scoop up the octopus dish he had put on his own plate. Then, he naturally brought it to Leonardo’s mouth, who was sitting across from him.
“But was that castle also within my territory? That’s mainly a word used around here.”
Leonardo, who had lowered his eyes following the spoon, pulled his chin back and made a troubled expression. But as Hugo, who gestured with his eyes as if telling him to open his mouth, shook his wrist and urged him, he slowly moved his lips.
“It’s not that…”
Two slices of sliced octopus leg were pushed into his narrow mouth, taking advantage of the gap in his words. The spoon, which had gone in deeply so that he could properly taste the sauce, swept over his upper lip, following the curvature of his mouth, and then slipped out.
Hugo, who had succeeded in feeding him by hand, smiled contentedly. Leonardo, who had been caught off guard and accepted the food, covered his mouth with the back of his hand and chewed the food in his mouth.
While feeling the chewy and savory flavor of the octopus, he glared at the other person, who was stirring the plate as if he was going to feed him again, with a sullen look.
“I prepared it with care, so I’m worried it might get cold. So?”
As Hugo asked with a small laugh, Leonardo cleared his throat.
“In what situation do you think the words ‘my romance’ would be used?”
“My romance?”
“Yes.”
At the unexpected question, Hugo’s hand stopped.
“…Since the name of the castle was Romance, is the owner expressing affection for the possession?”
“Uh, it could be…”
When an answer different from what he had expected came out, Leonardo belatedly added some information. In fact, it seemed that the castle was a gift from someone to someone else. Inside and outside the castle, there was a stone tablet that allowed him to guess the situation at the time the castle was built, and the content written there was like a kind of letter, and among them, the phrase ‘my romance’ seemed to refer to the other person in context, and he explained abstractly, leaving out facts here and there.
“Giving a castle named Romance as a gift, and calling the person to whom the letter is sent my romance…”
Hugo mulled over Leonardo’s explanation, but also extended the spoon with the food on it once more. Although the servants were far away, Leonardo, who was conscious of the attention, hesitated this time as well, and awkwardly accepted the food. Only then did Hugo put down the utensils and carefully answer.
“It seems to have a double meaning. It’s too close to convey it to a friend with the same meaning, and it’s distant to be a poem dedicated to a lover. Is it a word for someone who cherishes longing and ideals?”
“Distant to be in a relationship? Why?”
“‘Romance’ means a wish you want to realize. To be clear, it’s closer to a romantic ideal that hasn’t been achieved yet. If they were in a relationship, they would have already reached an emotional conclusion, so I don’t think they would express the person they gave the castle to as romance. Well, that’s just my opinion.”
“Hmm…”
Since he had already heard Signe’s words that the contents of the stone tablet were like a love letter, Leonardo made an ambiguous expression at the conflicting opinions.
Hugo, who had been carefully watching his unsatisfactory reaction, tentatively added.
“If we focus on the relationship, it could have been a cautious relationship where they couldn’t easily express their feelings, or it could have contained the lingering feelings of a love that never came to fruition. Whether it’s a breakup or a death… Well, I’ve answered sincerely, so will you tell me the correct answer now? At this rate, it doesn’t seem like this twenty questions game will end.”
Leonardo flinched and lifted his eyelids. It seemed that His Excellency had already noticed that he was only leaking some information. He gave an awkward laugh, bit his lower lip, and answered.
“I guessed that the person who received the castle as a gift was the first Emperor of Laina Rogia. The person who was called my romance.”
“The first Emperor? Theodore?”
The unexpected names made Hugo’s eyebrows rise. Leonardo sipped his juice and nodded.
“It’s been a while, so I don’t remember the details, but it seemed like all the phrases engraved on the stone tablet were pointing to him. The reason I asked you about the turtle was because I thought the old castle I saw and this villa might be related. If this place was built at least a few hundred years ago, the timing would be roughly similar.”
“……”
“If there was someone with wealth and power and a close relationship enough to give the first Emperor a castle at that time, and if they were also related to your family…”
At the following guess, Hugo was lost in thought for a moment.
Was it because he had come out after asking about the secrets of the peninsula related to the first Emperor in front of the Emperor? He was also puzzled by Leonardo, who suddenly brought up a topic related to him and delved into it, and he was also worried that he seemed to be crossing a dangerous line.
As his concern subtly showed in his eyes, Leonardo, who had been listing things with feigned curiosity, trailed off.
“…Well, you might discover something new. Most records related to the first Emperor have been lost, after all.”
Gold Eyes glanced at him, gauging his reaction. Hugo, who had been listening, rubbed his lips and replied,
“Aetas Agrizendro Rogia. Only him.”
“Aetas?”
“The last King of Rogia who signed the peace treaty with Theodore. After the era of Laina Rogia began, he also became the founder of our Agrizendro family.”
Leonardo’s eyelids fluttered slightly. It wasn’t because he was hearing the name for the first time, but because he had assumed that the person who gifted Theodore with his surname was his lover. But according to His Excellency, the Kings of the two countries who signed the peace treaty…
“Lovers? Those two?”
It wasn’t an entirely impossible hypothesis, but it wasn’t easily convincing either. The accepted theory was that Laina and Rogia had been in fierce opposition until just before the two countries were unified.
The serene road that passed through the eastern Gate of Zodiac and headed towards the western Gate of Agrigento Territory remained as the grand tomb of their ancestors and a place of harmony for that reason. More than a thousand years ago, that place was all battlefields, so it was hard to believe that the Kings of two enemy royal families had feelings for each other.
“Considering the two of them, their relationship would be more complicated than lovers.”
But Hugo brought up a slightly different perspective.
“Historians from my family have long questioned the founding of Laina Rogia. Even if it’s not just my family, anyone who can objectively view the situation would have had similar thoughts at least once. Why did Rogia, which had far superior territory and military power than Laina, become a mere Duchy in the treaty process?”
“……”
“According to the records left in the mansion, our King was an exceptionally wise and promising Monarch who possessed both literary and martial skills. Sometimes he cared for all people with wisdom and gentleness, but at other times he straightened out state affairs with cold reason and cool judgment. Such a person made a treaty with the King of Laina and became a vassal, not an Emperor, so his descendants couldn’t understand it at all. No matter how powerful the Sun King was, our founder’s power and influence were no less than his, and above all, the military strength of the two countries was incomparable. But if the two were in love, it would be somewhat understandable.”
Hugo said that if a country that had won a war using military force tried to absorb and merge, the first step would be to behead the King of the defeated country, uproot the foundation, and eliminate the descendants to prevent future troubles. It might be considered inhumane now, but in those days, that was the natural course of action. Leonardo almost added that it wasn’t much different now, but stopped himself.
So, if Aetas had any feelings for Theodore, whether it was love, sympathy, or admiration, he would have avoided starting a war to unify the countries. Hugo expounded on his opinion.
“Perhaps he gave up the chance to become Emperor, the hegemony of the world. For the King of Laina.”
Leonardo nodded, listening to the quite persuasive words. With that assumption, it would be closer to the ‘lingering feelings of unfulfilled love’ that His Excellency had mentioned earlier. Like Romeo and Juliet, the interests between the two countries, beyond the two families, would have blocked their feelings with the wall of reality.
‘But in the end, isn’t the founding of Laina Rogia itself the result of their love? But why couldn’t it be fulfilled?’
Did Theodore die first? Or was it because they had to leave descendants?
Leonardo’s eyes, widening his imagination, wandered in the air. At that time, Hugo gently urged.
“Leo, it’s good to be interested in history, but don’t go into suspicious old castles carelessly. You never know what dangerous magic might be cast. And the fact that historically valuable records have been lost means there’s a reason for it.”
“…There’s a reason?”
“It means don’t dig too deep. I’m worried about you. There are many truths controlled by unseen hands in the world. If you really want to see related historical materials, come to my mansion. Of course, if you promise me that you won’t take any newly discovered facts outside.”
Hugo poured orange juice into Leonardo’s empty glass and continued.
“I have what is believed to be Aetas’s… handwritten letter. Of course, this is just my guess, but that’s how I felt the moment I read it.”
“You have something like that at your house?”
He had heard that secrets and ancient documents that could not be revealed to the world for various reasons lived with the mansion for a long time… He didn’t know that there would be relics from that era. As surprise spread in Leonardo’s eyes, Hugo cut a large piece of steak and placed it on his plate instead of answering.
“I’ll tell you more when you’ve eaten it all. There’s an order to everything, isn’t there?”
Leonardo blinked, looking down at the plate that was being pushed at him again. Even so, he soon chuckled and picked up the neatly arranged cutlery. He had forgotten because he had been talking, but on second thought, it was not polite to leave the food like this in front of the person who had prepared the meal.
Leonardo, choosing a fork and knife of the right size, skillfully began to cut the steak. Creamed spinach and pickled tomatoes were placed on one side of the plate by Hugo.
Hugo, staring at the quite elaborate knife work, asked.
“I’ve been thinking about it for a while, you’re very skilled in dining etiquette. Have you ever learned it?”
Leonardo shrugged casually.
“When you’re a soldier, you sometimes have to dine with important people. As I attended such events, I just naturally got used to it.”
Tick, tock―
The sound of the ticking second hand echoed through the heavy air. The Duchess’s servants, who were on high alert, stood in neat rows, silently bowing their heads and waiting. Even Flynn and the head butler could only respectfully put their hands together and watch for any cues.
In the middle of the dark room where not even a breath could be heard, there was a plush and elegant velvet sofa. Gladias Agrizendro was sitting there, staring straight ahead with her piercing blue eyes.
She crossed her arms and counted the passing time with her fingertips, staring at the clock on the wall.
Even if they assumed that the happening, which was thought to be an explosion, had been taken care of, it was too late. It had been four hours since she had arrived at the mansion under Flynn’s guidance after hearing the Duke’s orders.
Gladias, who had been waiting for the Duke and replaying his last words, gestured to the highest-ranking butler of the mansion standing next to her, as if telling him to come closer.
“Yes.”
She coldly recited, caressing the jewel covering her finger.