The pain was so sharp that tears sprang to his eyes, and Teron Meyer shot upright into a sitting position as if flung there.
“Get out of my sight.”
Irritation surged, and he issued the order to leave, but it did no good at all.
“I have something to say.”
“Say it now and then get lost.”
“The royal family is summoning you, Teron. They said they'd like to see, at least once, the commoner boy I'm sponsoring.”
The royal family? He faltered for a moment, but when he thought about it, Leopold Deluah was the royal family itself. It was so absurd that a deflated sound escaped him on its own.
“I wonder which noble personage wishes to see me.”
“Rhea wants to see you.”
“...Don't make excuses. I'm not going.”
“It's the truth. And I intend to grant my little sister's curious little request.”
“Ridiculous. Am I some monkey in a zoo? A single commoner has to travel all the way to the palace just to put on a show of reading? So that's the beautiful world His Highness the Prince desires.”
The venom came flying, but he was unfazed. Leopold gestured with his eyes.
“Let's go. A carriage from the palace is waiting.”
Teron very nearly loosed black magic at Leopold on the spot.
“I have classes tomorrow. I truly cannot make sense of what Your Highness is saying.”
“Tomorrow's the last day of the term. As student council president, I'll make sure that one day's absence won't cause you any trouble, so don't worry.”
At this point it was a command, but Teron Meyer trembled with rage.
Grinding his teeth, staring at the floor as he tried to swallow his fury, Teron was offered a single line by Leopold, meant to soothe him.
“I'll get you into the Grand Library. As far as justification goes, it's perfectly doable.”
“...Really?”
His eyes went wide. Leopold smiled and nodded, then urged him along as if to say let's go now.
Before he knew it, Teron had risen from his seat and followed him after all.
The palace was a familiar place to Teron.
Not merely familiar, either. By his own reckoning, it was a space he had lived in until only a few months ago.
After his liege took the throne, Teron had assumed the office of chancellor, overseeing the affairs of state. His liege had in truth held no interest whatsoever in running the country, so the one who handled the bulk of the work was him.
Five years. For five years he had lived shuttling between the palace and his own estate. He'd dragged out his existence, enduring tearing agony day after day. Living alongside bone-deep regret, right around the time he'd begun to wish for death, he had suddenly been sent back ten years into the past.
The palace was still excessively opulent. It was a world apart from the slums that appeared after only a short ride by carriage.
Golden ornaments glittering in the sunlight adorned the entire palace like works of art. The grand buildings, unmistakably the fruit of plunder, loomed overwhelmingly before his eyes.
When Teron stared fixedly at the imperial palace, Leopold explained.
“You'll be staying in Radhi Palace, where the noble guests lodge. The building over there, beyond the left.”
Leopold personally raised a finger to point out the location. Beside Radhi Palace stood one small building, and this was the Grand Library itself.
He'd thrown fits the whole way in the carriage, but doubt still lingered. The Grand Library was an important place that, by rights, only those with royal blood could enter. It was obvious that the moment some commoner, not even a noble, was caught having gone inside, his head would be struck off at once, so just how did Leopold intend to get him in?
Leopold had, of course, answered him nonstop the entire way. Since he had the achievement of rendering an immense service to the royal family, it would work out as a matter of course. Just as Teron Meyer was about to lose his temper yet again, a knight and several attendants swept in, seized their luggage, and guided them to the palace.
A headache came on, and Teron followed quietly. He had a great deal to do.
He had to set off somewhere to bring a large-scale magic circle into being, he had to go to the northern mines, he had to hurry and bring his mother back, and he had to secure an estate on the outskirts of the capital. This was no time to be doing this.
Quite apart from all that, his feet were steadily carrying him along. Once they arrived inside the palace, Leopold entered the room into which he had herded Teron and then drove everyone out. He asked Teron,
“Would it be better to have someone attend to you?”
He'd made progress. In the past, he would surely have stationed an attendant in the room and driven Teron Meyer into a rage from head to toe. That he now even asked for his opinion was no doubt the result of several months of dealing with Teron.
“No need. Please see to it that no one is allowed in.”
“All right, understood. If you need anything, pull that cord to summon an attendant, then make your request.”
“What am I supposed to do now?”
Leopold gave a mischievous grin, then perched himself on a chair at the tea table, legs crossed.
“Shall I show you around the palace?”
“No. Cut the nonsense and hurry up and get me into the library.”
“All right. Teron, I have some things to attend to today. I'm sorry to leave you to your own devices, but could you rest in this room, just for today?”
Teron was irritated, but he stretched his patience to its very limit and nodded.
Leopold left Teron in the room and departed. Having nothing in particular to do, Teron passed the time reinforcing his black magic until he ended up falling asleep. Since he had no potions, he did the work gently enough that healing magic alone could handle everything.
Lying, for the first time in so long, on a bed of unrivaled luxury, the time slipped by quickly. Without even realizing when it happened, Teron had fallen into a deep sleep. A little while later, a knock roused him, and, not yet fully awake, he let the visitor in. Fortunately, it was Leopold who had come.
Leopold, upon seeing Teron changed into the new clothes the palace had provided, gaped for a moment. Having only ever seen him in the worn uniform or plain clothes he always wore, encountering this sight felt somehow novel.
Leopold murmured,
“I'll have to buy you some clothes...”
“Why have you come here, First Prince?”
The First Prince beckoned. It meant let's go to the Grand Library.
When they went outside and walked, passersby bowed their heads at the sight of Leopold. With the Founding Festival not far off, it was a period when nobles had begun, one by one, to take up lodging at the palace.
Each time Teron saw a noble, he obediently bowed his head and held his tongue. Occasionally there was someone who asked who Teron was, but most had no interest.
Leopold, dumbfounded, found himself sneering before he knew it.
“You've got quite the good sense of judgment. I'd even imagined some disaster breaking out from you running your mouth at the palace folk.”
“Do you take me for a madman?”
“I thought you were. But now that I think about it, you're only this insolent in front of me. That makes it all the more galling.”
“All thanks to a certain someone's boundless generosity.”
Teron seemed to be in a good mood. He didn't react sharply to Leopold's needling, and even fired back with a joke. It was quite rare for him to show this side of himself. And whenever he did, Leopold found himself enjoying observing even the subtle shifts in Teron's expression.
Right now, he was gazing at the Grand Library. A tiny spark of life kindled in Teron's dim, ashen eyes. Leopold wondered whether he was marveling at its grandeur, but strangely, Teron showed little reaction even to the sight of the palace. So most likely he was excited at the prospect of the books.
When Leopold got Teron inside the Grand Library, he now looked visibly pleased. Leopold clapped Teron on the back and steered him into a corner. Any other time he'd have thrown a fit about where do you think you're touching, but Teron said nothing. He merely followed where he was led.
“It's here, that book.”
It was the book on sword masters that Teron had once searched for. It was a book Leopold had spent hours tracking down the last time he'd stopped by the palace.
“The building's so vast it was a pain to find.”
Teron glanced at Leopold once, then simply opened the book. And he plopped down right there and, sitting, began to read the text.
Leopold stared at him in disbelief, but there was no response. So, with no other choice, he sat down beside him, leaned his back against the bookshelf, and just watched Teron.
After a good long while had passed, Leopold, unable to overcome his boredom, finally poked Teron and spoke up.
“Done reading?”
“......”
“I asked if you're done reading.”
“......”
“Are you going to pull an all-nighter here?”
Teron snapped back.
“Don't disturb me.”
“...The nerve, after I got you in here, not even knowing how to be grateful.”
The moment Leopold said it, he flinched despite himself. It was because he was afraid Teron might get angry. But there was no reaction at all. Leopold let his mouth run recklessly.
“Is it that good?”
“......”
“Ignoring people like this isn't a good habit, Teron. If you want to have a conversation, you have to answer.”
“You're being ridiculous.”
Irritation flared in Leopold for an instant, and a hollow laugh slipped out. He poked Teron once more.
“Don't touch me.”
“And if I don't want to stop? Answer me and I won't touch you.”
“...You really are the pinnacle of childishness. I never dreamed the dignity of the royal family amounted to this.”
“I knew it did, so it's strange to me that you didn't.”
At last Teron's eyes turned. His gaze, brimming with anger, glared at Leopold, but the golden-haired boy merely shrugged.
He smiled brightly and commanded.
