Re:Zero EX: "Iris and the King of Thorns (Part 1)"

—An old tale tells the story.

It is the story of a solitary King and a single girl. A story of how a King who was alone met a girl and was alone no longer.

Everything was a memory as fleeting as a blink, as passionate as a fire that burns everything to ash, as vivid as something one would trade the world for, and a story that continues into the future beyond everything sacrificed.

For a long time, it has remained in the hearts of the people as a strong, powerful flame—the story of the King and the girl. This is the ancient tale, containing the unwritten historical facts of that chronicled story.

△▼△▼△▼△

—The Nineteenth Prince of the Sacred Vollachian Empire, Eugard Elkanthi.

The infant who would later be called the "Thorn King" was born into the Elkanthi family as the nineteenth male child to inherit the blood of the honorable Emperor Radokain Vollachia.

The Elkanthi family, one of the prestigious houses that had served Vollachia for generations, was a rare house permitted to engage in work other than warfare in an Empire where the iron-blooded law of "Imperial citizens must be strong" breathed. Originally, in the Vollachian Empire, which was harsh toward those who could not prove their bravery on the battlefield, only the Elkanthi family was granted the status of Special Senior Earl for their political prowess and multifaceted connections.

Such special treatment of the Elkanthi family was not pleasing to other houses. If it had only been backstabbing rumors about weaving schemes and currying favor with the Imperial Capital, it might have been one thing, but this friction between nobles did not subside until blades were drawn.

—In the end, it remains unclear to posterity whose plot it was.

What is certain is that the malice of someone who wished to eliminate the Elkanthi family turned its spearhead toward Eugard Elkanthi while he was still a young child. And that malice resulted in decisively twisting Eugard Elkanthi's life, the history of the Vollachian Empire, and even the fate of the world.

△▼△▼△▼△

A small, unremarkable village on the edge of the Elkanthi family's territory was attacked. That the village, which had no particular distinguishing features, became the target of bandits should be called the result of a convergence of misfortune for both the victims and the perpetrators. Attacking a village that was not wealthy yielded little profit even for bandits and was a dangerous act. Even so, the fact that the bandits did it was proof of how cornered they were, and it just so happened that the village was within reach.

—And the fact that the Elkanthi family's standing army was conducting drills near that village changed the fates of the village and the bandits in stark contrast.

Flags bearing the Elkanthi family crest were raised throughout the village, and once the remains of the bandits trampled by the regular soldiers were burned all at once, a banquet was held in the village. It was a gathering to welcome the territorial soldiers who had offered to help with the village's reconstruction after the bandit subjugation. Not wishing to rebuff the villagers' kindness, the soldiers were treated to wine, food, and song.

"――――"

Listening to that clamor from afar, Eugard Elkanthi stood alone on a hill. While letting the stars guide him to distance himself from the songs and laughter carried on the night breeze, Eugard found himself standing on a small hill before he knew it. His figure, unable to mingle with the festivities, looked unreliable; surely no one would think he was the young lord of this Elkanthi territory.

However, Eugard, who had turned twenty years old, was unmistakably the lord of the Elkanthi territory and the key figure who had prevented the crisis of the village being attacked by bandits.

There had been rumors lately of a group of outlaws ravaging adjacent territories. He had caught wind of rumors that a mixed group formed by outcasts from various lands was flowing into the Elkanthi territory. There, Eugard had arranged to patrol the vicinity of the most likely villages under the guise of drills for the standing army, leading to the subjugation of the bandits this time.

Of course, Eugard did not go out of his way to flaunt such facts. It was enough that the peace of the territorial citizens had been protected before it was fatally broken. There was no need to make the citizens more aware than that. —Of the "Thorn King."

"――――"

Those who draw near to Eugard are tormented by the shackles of thorns. That was a fact that had not changed since Eugard could remember, an inescapable karma that followed his life for unknown reasons. The shackles of thorns, which wounded biological family, servants, territorial citizens, and criminals alike without distinction, caused people to call Eugard the "Thorn King" and forced him to live alone. Therefore, even now, Eugard remained alone on the hill, away from the clamor of the people's joy.

"――――"

He could not join the banquet, but there were many things Eugard had to do. The drills he had insisted on accompanying—as far as he could see from a distance, the territorial soldiers had all been seriously engaged. Even in the subsequent bandit subjugation, their performance was remarkable. Since he could not offer them words, he had to reward each one fairly with compensation.

Yes, even alone, there were many things to do.

"Rather than staring into the pitch-black darkness, doesn't it put your mind more at ease to count the stars in the sky?"

It was while he was lost in such thoughts that a voice called out from behind him. Eugard felt a shock as if struck by lightning and deeply regretted his carelessness. It had been a long time since he had let someone get this close to him so defenselessly. As a member of the Vollachian Imperial family, as the "Thorn King," it was an inexcusable blunder. However—,

"Um, you're the one in charge of the soldiers, right? Doesn't it feel lonely being all by yourself in a place like this?"

In the vision of Eugard, who turned around instantly, stood a simple-looking village girl with flaxen hair tied back and pale skin devoid of makeup. Strangely, she stood there composedly, while about a dozen black sheep crowded around her waist.

"Why..."

"Yes?"

"Why are you surrounded by so many sheep?"

To the girl who embodied the expression "pastoral" to the highest degree, Eugard, still not recovered from the shock, asked the question exactly as he saw it. Normally, Eugard would have had to distance himself before the thorns shackled the girl's heart. But to Eugard's question, the girl said, "Well," while stroking one of the sheep pressing its nose against her waist.

"...Virtue, I suppose? I've always been well-liked. By animals."

"I see. ...So virtue is something that applies even to animals."

"Oh no, he took me seriously...! No, it's because I usually take care of them. Feeding them and taking them for walks is the job I've been entrusted with."

The girl stroked a sheep with one hand and waved the other hand back and forth as she answered. Then, she turned her gaze toward the village, toward the banquet where bonfires were lit.

"Um, do you soldiers not like animals? Is that why you're away from the village, just spacing out here alone?"

"—. No, I did not leave the village because I dislike sheep or cows. For your village, wool and milk must be indispensable sources of income. Continue to raise them even more and even larger in the future."

"You're thinking seriously about the village's wallet..."

When he stated his personal opinion on the village's livestock industry, the girl was greatly surprised. He reflected on his response to that reaction, but found nothing strange. In the first place, Eugard lacked the knowledge and experience to judge what was strange.

"If my words have offended you, I apologize. I had no intention of insulting you, nor did I intend to object to the annual plan for the livestock industry that the village must be setting for the future."

"Not at all, not at all! It's not that you offended me... also, I don't know the results of the discussions about how we're going to market the village's wool from now on!"

"What? But in a small community like a village, is it not unnatural for such policies not to be shared with you, who are in the position of one of the workers? ...Could it be that you do not get along with the people of the village?"

"I-I don't want to be worried about by someone who was moping alone on a hill!"

"――――"

"Ah."

After saying it, the girl covered her mouth with a look that said she shouldn't have. But words once spoken cannot be taken back. Not for the girl, and not even for Eugard.

"That is reasonable."

Leaving those words, Eugard turned his back on the girl, who seemed to have taken offense after all. He should have done this from the start. It was a precious opportunity to exchange words with another at an unexpected distance, but as expected, the "Thorn King" should not interact with people—,

"Wait!"

—The moment he reached that conclusion. His sleeve was grabbed by a hand that reached out unexpectedly, and this time, Eugard was truly speechless.

"—!"

Just by drawing near, Eugard's thorns were things that shackled others. Much less, what would happen if someone actually touched him? What came to mind was the figure of his wet nurse, vomiting blood and writhing in agony. The end of the wet nurse who, while suffering from the shackles of thorns, continued to interact with Eugard while hiding that fact—since then, Eugard had never touched anyone. There was likely no other member of the Imperial family who even did their own changing and room cleaning besides Eugard.

She had touched Eugard and stopped him. Unbearable pain would erode the girl, and a scream that cursed the world would rise from that slender throat—,

"U-Um, is something wrong?"

It should have been. But the girl, who should have been eroded by thorns and writhing in pain, was looking at Eugard quizzically. Her hand was unmistakably pulling the sleeve of Eugard's clothes.

"Why..."

It was impossible. The impossible was happening. Why was this girl able to touch Eugard without being tormented by the shackles of thorns?

"Ah! Hey, you guys!?"

As if in answer to Eugard's question, the black sheep that had been clinging to the girl cried out all at once and fled from the hill as fast as they could. Eugard's shackles of thorns did not distinguish whether the target was human or animal. Even the heart of a small bird that landed seeking a perch would be stopped without mercy by the thorns. So, there was nothing strange about the sheep running away.

"Geez! What's gotten into them all of a sudden?"

"The one who is strange is you."

"Eh, how rude all of a sudden...!"

"Mu, no, that is not it. That is not it, but..."

To the girl who pointed at her own face, looking offended, Eugard trailed off. He wanted to choose the right words, but could not find them. When in a predicament, one relies on past empirical rules, but Eugard had no accumulation of successful or failed experiences within him. That was why he didn't know. He didn't know, but—,

"Um, are you not angry?"

"Me? Rather, I am the one who made you angry."

"Why would I... ah, no, so you're that kind of person. Goodness, both of us cautiously testing each other... it's like we're idiots."

The girl giggled, putting her hand to her mouth. At the girl's smile, which was natural and devoid of forced strength, Eugard felt a sense of relief. It seemed he had not made the girl angry. Besides, the figure of the girl he saw up close enough to touch like this was—,

"You are lovely."

"Ha-eh? Wh-What?"

"—? I said you are lovely."

"You said it twice without any shame!"

Quickly letting go of his sleeve and jumping back, the girl cupped her face with both hands. Seeing her cheeks and ears turning red, Eugard was surprised, thinking she was a girl whose expressions changed rapidly. It was the first time he had ever watched someone's joy, anger, pathos, and humor from so close.

Even when he exchanged words with someone out of necessity, he was only ever shown faces of fear toward Eugard or expressions of enduring the pain of the shackles of thorns. He had no memory of anyone's smile, other than seeing blurred ones from a distance. And, he thought.

"You told me to count the stars."

"Ugh, this is bad for my heart... Eh? Ah, yes, I said that. I think I said it."

"You, what is your name?"

"You're someone whose conversation just jumps all over the place! —It's Iris."

"Iris."

The girl who introduced herself while her face was still slightly red—Iris. He rolled that name over his tongue. It felt to Eugard like a name that was soft yet had a core.

"It is the name of a flower with orange petals that blooms in the western part of Vollachia. It is something seen scattered here and there in old poetry, but it suits your hair color well. It seems your parents who named you were people with deep insight into flowers."

"I heard I was given my great-grandmother's name, though..."

"Then, your great-grandmother's parents had deep insight into flowers..."

"I don't think it has such a deep meaning! Honestly, what is with you!"

At the girl's reaction, which seemed to say he was being tedious, Eugard fell silent. First, he had done as he felt and wanted to praise her name, but it seemed Eugard's compliment was off the mark. But that might have been a blessing in disguise. Because, what Eugard wanted to continue was—,

"—The star is you, Iris."

"......Ha-eh?"

"You told me to count the stars. You are my star."

If the star was her, it would be confusing if the subject he wanted to tell that to was the owner of a name derived from a flower. Neither stars nor flowers had any superiority or inferiority in their beauty. He did not want to do something like comparing them. Much less when Iris's own smile was lined up there as well. Stars, flowers, and smiles—there was no way he could put them in order.

"――――"

At Eugard's words, Iris made her round eyes even rounder. Receiving that gaze head-on, Eugard slightly lowered the corners of his eyes.

—He did not know the reason why Iris was not eroded by Eugard's shackles of thorns.

He didn't know, but he was afraid to delve into it and have the situation change. If this was a whim of the thorns, it wouldn't be strange if it were lost the moment Eugard embraced hope. There was a fragility like a freshly blown glass ornament in this moment.

"—. Strange person."

After a brief silence between them, Iris suddenly muttered that and smiled. The smile she had shown unexpectedly was lovely, but in this smile born within the silence, he felt a warmth like sunlight filtering through trees. Therefore—,

"My star."

"Th-That's a way of being called that I don't think I'll ever get used to...! What is it?"

"I do not ask for much. But, may I think that I would like to speak with you again?"

"—. You don't have to go out of your way to ask permission for that."

Taking a step back, Iris changed the hue of that smile again. This time it was a smile that seemed to contain a bit of exasperation; while finding that change repeatedly pleasant, Eugard also responded with a short "I see" and nodded.

△▼△▼△▼△

—An old tale tells the story.

It is the story of a solitary King and a single girl. A story of how a King who was alone met a girl and was alone no longer.

In this way, the solitary King and the single girl came to know each other under the starry sky. The King who was alone saw another's smile for the first time, and the single girl saw the King's first joy.

The "Thorn King," who should have been unable to avoid tightening his thorns around anyone, met Iris—the only one he could avoid tormenting with those thorns—and they shared a tryst on a night they would never forget.

That was the beginning of the story, and from here, the story would begin to move as if in an instant.

△▼△▼△▼△

"...He's not coming at all, not at all."

Squatting in the meadow, Iris muttered as she rested her chin on her hands placed on her knees. In the warm sunlight, the highway where a lukewarm breeze blew was empty again today. All was peaceful in the world; Iris was enjoying a day in her hometown where nothing happened. That was greatly to Iris's dissatisfaction.

"Even though he said he wanted to talk to me again..."

Iris grumbled with her chin in her hands; the cause of the wrinkle between her brows was a single young man. It had been about twenty days since the bandits who attacked the village were subjugated and she met the young man on the hill during the banquet—since then, that young man had not visited Iris's village even once.

"Well, I suppose the Lord is busy."

She learned the identity of the person she spoke to that night later. However, even now, after being told by the pale-faced village chief and her parents, Iris still couldn't quite believe it. After all, Iris knew the rumors of the "Thorn King." The Lord of the Elkanthi territory where Iris lived, a terrifying Prince without blood or tears who ruthlessly tormented both friend and foe—that was the reputation of the "Thorn King."

"But that person, who couldn't even join the banquet out of hesitation, where is he a scary Lord?"

It went without saying whether to believe the real thing or the rumors. After all, Iris was just an ignorant and uneducated village girl from the countryside. When deciding or believing something, she had no tool more useful than her own eyes. And Iris's eyes were saying that it was ridiculous to think the "Thorn King" was terrifying. In a sense, he seemed scary-level oblivious about his own statements, though.

"...My star, he said."

It was the first time she had been described with such beautiful words, such beautiful expressions. Remembering it made her cheeks hot, and Iris's face turned red like a tomato. If her family saw this blushing face, they might make a big fuss thinking she had a fever again. Fortunately, only the sheep were here now, so it was okay to turn as red as she wanted.

"I-It's not like I'm expecting anything, okay? He's the Lord, and I'm just a village girl. Anything strange is just not, not at all...!"

As she made excuses in a rapid-fire manner even though no one had asked, a black sheep that had been grazing was hit by Iris and bleated "Baa" in annoyance. At the sheep's dismissive attitude, Iris sighed deeply and,

"It's really not at all about expectations. It's just... I thought it was true that he looked lonely, and it was true that he wanted to talk to me again."

She remembered him, with his lonely blue eyes, saying he wanted to talk to her again. She didn't think those words were a lie or a joke. And if this was a Lord's tactic to mislead an unworldly village girl, that was fine too. If he, that surely kind-hearted man, was not feeling lonely, Iris could avoid lamenting the days spent gazing at the highway where no one passed.

But, if his loneliness was real, and yet for some reason he could not cross the highway and come to exchange words with Iris.

"...I'll be waiting anytime, so there."

She was just a bored village girl with too much time on her hands anyway. She didn't mind if the routine of gazing at the highway during the sheep's walks was added to her unchanging days. So today, too, Iris waited alone—no, together with the sheep while bathing in the wind. She couldn't be so conceited as to think she was a star, but even so, if there was a twinkle that could be seen even at high noon, she would be here as a guidepost so he wouldn't lose sight of this place.

"...Muu, I'm not tired yet, you know?"

Pushed on her shoulders and back by the crowding sheep, Iris pouted. The sheep, who had been with her for a long time, were cheekily well-aware of Iris's lack of stamina. It seemed more like they didn't want her to collapse halfway through rather than out of consideration, but Iris protested that the sheep were being overprotective no matter what. However—,

"—? What's wrong?"

Sensing something off in the sheep's appeal, Iris frowned. The dozen or so black sheep pressed their bodies wrapped in black wool against Iris, diverted their attention from the meadow they were grazing on, and turned their gazes toward the distance in unison. It was the highway where Iris had been longing to see the face of her awaited person—but what was coming was not a grim-faced young man with a beautiful face astride a magnificent wind horse.

"...No way."

It was the sight of fierce, vulgar-looking ruffians approaching the village, which had barely begun to heal its wounds, to unleash their ferocious violence once more.

△▼△▼△▼△

—Eugard Elkanthi was harboring a serious worry.

Thinking back to twenty-two and a half days ago, the night he defeated the bandits who attacked the village in his territory, he could not forget the time he spent exchanging words with a single girl—Iris—on the hill. In Eugard's twenty years of life, it was the first time he had been able to exchange so many words with someone other than family or servants. And that the other person never once distorted their face in pain. That first experience seemed to have made Eugard's heart flutter more than he expected.

"How weak of me."

Placing his hand on his forehead, Eugard lamented the fragility of his own heart. If he closed his eyes, Iris's smile was behind his eyelids; in the silence, Iris's voice; and in the depths of his chest, the heartbeat from when he spent time with Iris could each be felt. While reviling that as weakness, he found himself unable to dislike it, which made him feel beyond saving.

In the first place, Eugard should have already decided how to end his life. Although Eugard held the right of succession to the throne, he intended to decline the Imperial throne without participating in the "Selection Ceremony," the struggle for the next Emperor. —Knowing full well what that meant.

"One born with a defect like mine should not desire to be Emperor."

While feared as the "Thorn King," Eugard was able to serve as the head of the Elkanthi family thanks to the support of those around him, but such frailty was not permitted for a Vollachian Emperor. The power of subordinates was merely support; unwavering strength had to reside within the Emperor himself.

He lacked such talent and qualification. As the "Thorn King," there must not be an Emperor who shackled others for no reason, even himself.

"――――"

For someone like him, burdened with an unwanted karma from birth, there was a fitting way to live. The reason Eugard had been able to live despite such a great flaw was that, born as a member of the Imperial family, he was in a privileged position to borrow the help of those around him. That blessed soil was established by being supported by the many territorial citizens living in the territory.

Eugard Elkanthi could not become the next Emperor. If so, at the very least, while he was alive, he had to repay the debt of being allowed to live.

"Iris."

Once more, he uttered the name of the girl he had met only once, and Eugard closed his eyes. The surprised face, the laughing face, the angry face, and the smiling face again—Iris, who had shown him more expressions in a short time than his own biological mother with whom he shared blood. He was truly glad he had met her. It wasn't just because she was someone he could talk to without making her taste the pain of thorns. In addition to that, she had made him truly conscious of the faces of the territorial citizens he was supposed to protect for the first time.

If he hadn't met Iris, Eugard would have had to continue his life, which he had determined would not be long, without even knowing the faces of those for whom he was doing what he did. On top of that, the broad-minded Iris had graciously accepted Eugard's impolite request.

"To think she would permit me to think that I want to talk to her again."

Since there was no reason to visit the village, he couldn't actually exchange words with Iris. But it was enough that he was permitted to think he wanted to talk to her again when he was at the mansion. That was fine. He lowered his eyes, thinking he would not ask for more than that. Then he suddenly thought. —What was "more than that"?

If he could wish for it, what would Eugard want for Iris—?

"—Mu."

At the sound of a whistling wind like a flute, Eugard raised his face. The sound of the flute echoing high in the sky was the sound of a whistling arrow fired from the main residence to Eugard's mansion. Since he could not speak face-to-face, communication via arrow messages had been adopted as the best method for interacting with Eugard in the Elkanthi family, and the urgency was categorized by the tone of the whistling arrow.

Stepping out of the mansion in a hurry, he saw an arrow message stuck in a wooden board prepared outside. The urgency of the tone he heard was at its maximum; feeling a strange sense of impatience, Eugard removed the message from the arrow and scanned the contents—and gasped.

"—Iris."

The mutter that escaped him did not contain the soft emotions from before, but was filled with strong impatience and a sense of self-reproach.

The thorns did not erode Iris's heart. Even so, the "Thorn King's" abominable karma had brought calamity upon Iris in a different form. To Eugard at this time, it could not seem otherwise.

△▼△▼△▼△

—"Imperial citizens must be strong."

Volcas loathed the iron-blooded law that had deeply permeated the entire Vollachian Empire from the bottom of his heart.

For Volcas, who was a Wolfman, the pack was a community that should be prioritized above all else. From the perspective of Volcas, a proud Wolfman who lived in a pack and was kept alive by the pack, both the iron-blooded law that deemed it good to discard the weak and the Imperial citizens who followed it were enemies to be spat upon. That was just something clever-sounding left behind by people who never even considered that they might be the weak ones. It was nothing more than something used by those who called themselves rulers or the wealthy to live even more craftily.

He was different. They would not become like that. They would never do something like loudly insulting those who lost or were killed as losers or weaklings, making them lose their place even among their own. Therefore—,

"For what was done to us! For those killed! For what was stolen! We gotta pay 'em back, kill 'em back, and steal 'em back for everything, or it'll never end!"

So Volcas, a giant Wolfman covered in black fur, howled heroically. The cave the pack used as a base was quite large, but even so, Volcas was tall enough that his head almost brushed the ceiling. On top of his muscular build, his long bangs hid one of his golden eyes. From his large mouth, fitting for his giant body, several blade-like fangs protruded, and combined with the beast claws at the ends of his log-like arms, he was a ferocious existence that could be called a living weapon. That was the way of being for the leader of the pack known as Volcas, recognized by himself and others.

"――――"

At Volcas's howl, the women who were the spoils of war huddled together in the cage. They were the survivors of the village that had suffered the pack's retaliation. The other villagers had met their end being torn apart by Volcas and his group, whether by bravely standing their ground or trying to let their families escape. The remnants of those lives—blood and flesh—remained vividly on Volcas's claws and fangs. Therefore, the surviving women and children feared Volcas and averted their eyes. But—,

"...Is that the reason you attacked our village?"

Among the girls imprisoned in the cage and huddling in fear, only that woman had a different attitude. Behind the iron bars, the one staring resolutely at Volcas was a girl with flaxen hair tied back. She stood on her own two feet, with the other sobbing girls of the same plight behind her. At that voice and gaze, Volcas opened his large mouth in irritation and,

"That's right! That's the reason you guys got paid back by us!"

"...And so, you killed my father and mother too?"

"I'm tellin' ya that's right! You're a woman who just doesn't get it!"

The roar echoed through the cave, and the sobbing of the huddling girls grew stronger. However, the attitude of the girl who was subjected to Volcas's anger head-on remained unshaken.

It was a strange story. To the girl, Volcas should have been a giant beast she couldn't possibly stand against. Whether in strength or weapons, the girl was no match for Volcas. Moreover, as the girl knew, Volcas was also the murderer of her father and mother. When a hated enemy possessed power that could not be matched, shouldn't a person fall into despair?

"Tch."

Clicking his long tongue, Volcas turned his face away from the girl in the cage. Originally, the reason Volcas and his group attacked the village was for retaliation. A few weeks ago, a part of Volcas's pack had attacked this girl's village and had been wiped out by the Lord's soldiers; this was retaliation for that. Of course, it was natural for the attacked villagers and the Lord to defend themselves. It was natural, but Volcas and his group couldn't just take it lying down when their pack mates were killed.

So, they carried out their retaliation. After this, the Lord's soldiers who killed their comrades would likely come. To retaliate for the killed villagers, they would try to eradicate Volcas and his group.

"We'll win against that. Win, destroy 'em, and that'll be the end of it...!"

Rubbing his polished, blade-like beast claws together, Volcas fanned his fighting spirit. No matter how tough the Lord's soldiers were, his pack—Volcas—would surpass them. With that strength, if he could even tear off the head of the enemy leader—,

"...If you leave this place right now, wouldn't there be no need to fight?"

"You! Still flapping your mouth..."

"You might be strong. But is everyone else like that too? Do you think... do you think you can win against the soldiers... against that person, without anyone dying?"

At the talkative attitude of the girl in the cage, Volcas ground his fangs. He didn't know who "that person" the girl mentioned was, but the option of not facing the Lord's soldiers here and running away was impossible. Even if they tried to run, they would never get away.

"Even if we run, we'll be hunted! Anywhere, everywhere... if it becomes a chase, we're the ones who won't be able to get away. It's best to make 'em bite on the bait that is you guys here. We'll kill every single one of those bastards who come chasin'. That's the only way to end the fight!"

The pack mates who struck first were killed. Volcas and his group retaliated. The Lord's soldiers would try to kill Volcas and his group in retaliation for that. —Fighting was just a repetition of that. If you wanted to end it, one side had to completely stop breathing.

"...Really?"

"Ah?"

"Is that really the only way to end the fighting?"

Like splashing cold water, the girl's question was thrown. Was there no other way to end the fight? A girl who was trapped in a cage and couldn't even help herself was saying such selfish things.

"As if there is! There's no such thing anywhere! If there was, no one would—"

Do something like sinking their fangs into each other until they were destroyed. To protect their own pack, they had no choice but to strike down those who opposed them and prove it. Prove their strength, that they couldn't be beaten even if fought.

—Even knowing that, in the end, it was the same as following Vollachia's iron-blooded law.

"—Tch."

Just as he ground his teeth at that thought, Volcas suddenly raised his head. He twitched his nose and looked back. At Volcas's reaction, the girl in the cage frowned.

"What's wrong..."

"—They're here."

"――――"

The Wolfman's keen sense of smell caught the thick "anger" mingled in the scent of the wind. Volcas knew from numerous hunts that this was the war paint of those facing the battlefield. The men of the village they attacked had emitted the same scent to protect their wives and children. There was only one strange thing, and that was—,

"—Why the hell did this guy come alone?"

△▼△▼△▼△

"It is better for me to be alone so as not to cause unnecessary sacrifices among my allies."

Searching the vicinity of the victimized village and finding the cave that served as the bandits' base, Eugard ordered the territorial soldiers to stand by and stepped into the cave where the cold air was taut, alone. Of course, there were territorial soldiers who opposed Eugard's opinion, but when the "Thorn King" asserted himself as he did at the beginning, there was not a single person who could persist further.

"――――"

The treasure sword Eugard held in one hand was a prestigious item bestowed upon the Elkanthi family by an Emperor many generations ago, and it had been treated almost like a decoration until Eugard's generation. Eugard, who could not have guards due to his nature as the "Thorn King," had mastered a range of sword techniques to protect himself, so there was no need to leave this treasure sword as a wallflower. However, whether it should be called fortunate or unfortunate, his polished sword skills had never once been put to use in actual combat until now. Because—,

"—Ah, k-ugh, ugh." "G-Gii, iiiii...!" "K-Ku, ku, guh."

Even without Eugard swinging his sword, most enemies would have their hearts ensnared by the thorns' barbs and fall, unable to even stand, let alone fight.

The first time Eugard killed a person was when he was eight years old, when an assassin sent to the detached mansion where Eugard lived fell to the shackles of thorns and he was asked for a coup de grâce. Since then, he had faced similar opportunities many times, and Eugard had swung his sword for the coup de grâce. It did not even become a fight. No matter who it was, before Eugard—,

"—You gotta be kiddin' me."

At the deepest part, beyond the long, narrow passage of the cave, was a particularly large space. In the space dimly lit by torchlight, there were several iron cages and figures imprisoned behind cold iron bars. Behind them, a great hostility lay in wait. —Yes, it was waiting. Rather than writhing in pain and crying out, it was waiting for Eugard.

"I...! We came to fight...! As if I could lose to such a... such a ridiculous guy, with such a ridiculous method...!"

The one who howled while clutching the fur on his chest as if scratching it was a Wolfman with black body hair. They were similar to Dogmen, but compared to the average small-statured Dogman, many Wolfmen were blessed with a large build. Even so, among them, this Wolfman was exceptionally large. With thick arms, sharp beast claws, and a giant body with twisted fangs protruding from a large mouth dripping with saliva, Eugard would still lose in height even if he gave the girl in the cage a shoulder ride.

The reason he had such a somewhat silly imagination was perhaps because he had found the face he sought in the cage behind the Wolfman.

"Lord..."

Trembling with her thin lips, Iris called Eugard that. She, who had been standing still, grabbed the iron bars and stared at Eugard. In her eyes, there was no plea for help or surprise at Eugard's appearance in this place. Rather, what was there was acceptance and an unbearable resignation.

"Where are you! Lookin'!!"

The Wolfman's shrill roar brought Eugard, who was pondering how to describe the color of Iris's eyes, back to reality. Looking closely, the Wolfman's chest, as he breathed heavily, was drenched in a large amount of blood. —He had torn open his own chest, which was entangled in thorns, with his own beast claws.

"Even if you do such a thing, you cannot escape from the shackles of thorns."

"Seems so... But! Pain can be drowned out by more pain! My pain is greater than your pain! How's that, you human bastard!"

"I see, drowning out pain with pain. ...I cannot do it, but I shall remember it."

"Don't you... act all high and mighty!"

Opening his golden eyes wide, the Wolfman kicked the cold ground, heedless of the blood flowing out in large quantities. In an instant, such a giant body vanished from sight, and a huge black wind raged through the cave. At a movement that didn't seem possible for a body unable to exert its full power due to the shackles of thorns, Eugard readjusted his stance with the treasure sword—,

"Acting high and mighty is out of the question. Against the likes of you, I have no such leisure."

Striking away the slammed beast claws, Eugard correctly assessed the Wolfman's strength. At the same time, the sword techniques he had never once had the opportunity to compare with another—they were displayed without reservation, and his sword flashes danced through the air without mercy against the enemy who pounced fiercely.

"Gu, ooooh!"

Arms like great trees, beast claws as sharp as swords, and a speed mistaken for a black wind. While exerting abilities that no ordinary person could reach, the Wolfman continued a fierce assault to tear apart Eugard's life from all directions. Any attack, if taken, would turn him into a lump of blood in a single blow. He was at a severe disadvantage in terms of physical strength. He had no choice but to compensate for the difference in physical ability with technique.

"—Shi."

Standing with his legs apart, Eugard received, parried, deflected, and endured the beast claws that approached incessantly like a tornado, relying on the durability of the treasure sword. Each time the treasure sword and beast claws clashed, the pleasant sound of steel on steel and sparks flew, and the faces of Eugard and the Wolfman alternately appeared and disappeared in the dim cave.

It was a dozen or so seconds of comparing martial arts with another for the first time for Eugard. But that, too, came to an end.

"Y-You, why..."

"What is it. Speak."

"Why don't you... strike back...!"

A blow swung with great force—while it was caught and they were locked in a struggle of sword against beast claws, the Wolfman asked in a voice that sounded like he was vomiting blood. Literally, the Wolfman, who had squeezed out his full power while bleeding, felt insulted by a fight without a single retaliatory blow and wore an expression of biting down on humiliation. However—,

"I did not insult you. Rather, it is the opposite."

"The opposite...?"

"You are strong. If I were to use a poor move, there might be a one-in-a-million chance. And I cannot allow that one-in-a-million chance to happen. My life is not mine alone, and there are those in this place who must be saved."

As he answered, Eugard jerked his chin toward the cage behind the Wolfman. There was the captive Iris and the girls of the same plight as her—unlike Iris, who was not under the influence of the shackles of thorns, the girls were shackled by the thorns and moaning in pain. He did not want to prolong that pain. But he could not rush for victory and make a mistake.

"Therefore, I prioritized certain means. If you wish to claim that the 'Thorn King's' actions are cruel, then do so. I do not intend to deny it. But—"

"Nu, oh."

"Blood loss and the shackles of thorns—the wedges have pierced you deeply. You can no longer even stand."

While speaking, tilting the treasure sword and shifting his body, Eugard pulled the Wolfman down to the ground. The Wolfman, who was pulled down without being able to resist, tried to get up instantly, but even for a tough Wolfman, it was a life-threatening amount of blood loss and exhaustion. He could not stand.

"You are the leader, I assume."

The Wolfman lying on his back glared at Eugard hatefully. On the way here, he had seen others of the gang, but none of them had the strength or the strength of will of this Wolfman. It was simplistic to say the strongest was the leader of the group, but it was a way of being that was not rare in this Vollachia. In fact, the Wolfman did not deny it.

"Lord..."

"Wait, my star. First, I must swiftly take this one's head."

Even while understanding his own defeat, the light of fighting spirit had not been lost in the slightest from the Wolfman's eyes. Since he was the leader of the gang and his hostility showed no sign of fading, immediate execution was necessary.

"—I know. I know, so I want you to wait for that."

The voice of Iris in the cage stopped Eugard, who had reached that conclusion. When Eugard frowned at the earnestness of that voice, Iris pointed to the iron bars of the cage and,

"Please open this. If it's the key, the jailer..."

"Understood."

A nod, then the treasure sword swung twice smoothly cut the iron bars, answering her request. Having her wish granted immediately, Iris said "Th-Thank you" while her eyes went wide, and she stepped over the cut-down iron bars to come out of the cage. And she walked straight toward the fallen Wolfman.

"He likely has no strength left to move, but you should not draw near carelessly."

"I'm sorry. But I have to talk while looking at his face."

Responding to Eugard's warning, Iris stood beside the Wolfman and squatted down. Her gaze and the Wolfman's intersected at close range, and the Wolfman distorted the corner of his mouth in regret.

"Did you come to say... 'serves you right'...? In the end, it's your win."

"――――"

"But, aren't you being careless? Even like this, it'd be nothing to tear you apart... no, should I take a bite out of your head? Even now, I could..."

The Wolfman uttered insults that both he and others could see through as nothing but a bluff. It was an act that tore apart his own pride even more than the Iris before him. Just as Eugard was about to speak, thinking that the pain was too much to watch—,

"—I forgive you."

"...Ha?"

Iris's lips moved, and at the words spun from those cherry-colored lips, the Wolfman's eyes widened. —No, it wasn't just the Wolfman. Eugard, listening beside them, also widened his eyes. Neither Eugard nor the Wolfman could understand the meaning of it. But, regardless of the men's agitation, Iris continued.

"I forgive you. I forgive you for attacking my village and killing my father, my mother, and my friends. I will make an effort to forgive you."

"What... what the hell are you sayin'! You, what do you intend with that...!"

"I feel the same way!"

"—!"

"I feel like I'm vomiting blood too. ...I regret what I just said, wondering why I have to forgive you. Even so, even so."

To the Wolfman who raised his voice saying he couldn't understand, Iris's tragic appeal drowned him out. She continued with tears in her large eyes, clutching her hands tightly. The reason why she said she would grant forgiveness to the Wolfman, who was the murderer of her family and friends. That was—,

"—Even so, this is the way to end the fighting."

"—Ah."

"Doing back what was done to you, having it done back to you, and doing it back again... I hate that repetition, so I make the other person disappear so it won't be done back. You said there's no other way. But there is. There is a way."

"――――"

With tears in her eyes and strength in her cheeks, Iris told the Wolfman that. Eugard, who only ever forced pain on others and could not understand pain himself, could not even imagine how much suffering those words were wrung out from. He only thought that it must have been the answer to the exchange between Iris and the Wolfman before Eugard arrived at this place.

"...Lord bastard."

"—. Is that perhaps referring to me?"

After a moment of silence at Iris's words, Eugard frowned at the Wolfman who said that. It was a way of being called that he wasn't familiar with at all, but there was no one else in this place who seemed to fit. Judging it was himself by process of elimination, the Wolfman let out a long, large breath and,

"...I surrender. Don't kill anyone but me."

Eugard was surprised by the answer spun after a great conflict, simmering with all sorts of emotions. There was unextinguished hostility and anger in the Wolfman's eyes. But the light of the fighting spirit that had been burning incessantly was being pushed into reason, trying to be held back.

"Um, if possible, I don't want this person to be killed either... please."

Looking up at the silent Eugard, Iris pleaded for the Wolfman's life. Naturally, that was not an easy thing. As a means of settling what had happened, taking the head of the leader was the most reasonable conclusion. However—,

"B-Because it's a request from your star...!"

Searching for persuasive material, Iris said that. After saying it, she looked down as if ashamed of what she had uttered. But Eugard was impressed by her posture, thinking there was no need to be ashamed.

"I consider it best to do everything in my power. In that regard, my star's judgment is correct. ...So this is what it means to be appealed to by emotion. Until now, I have never been troubled by uncertain factors in my judgments, but unexpectedly, it is difficult."

"That means...!"

"It means your word carries weight for me. —But, is it truly alright?"

Iris, who had raised her face, let out a "Eh" at Eugard's question.

"He is the murderer of your parents and fellow villagers. You have the right to seek vengeance. Do you not regret letting go of that legitimacy and trying to let this one live?"

"...I don't know about tomorrow. I'm a girl with no education and I'm not smart. But I think this is the way to not regret it later."

"—I see. Then it is fine."

If it was a matter of one's own heart, one could do anything freely. Eugard nodded at Iris's honest answer, which did not utter such platitudes. Instead, Eugard reached out his hand to Iris. She looked alternately at the offered hand and Eugard's face, then tentatively took that hand.

"...Does it not hurt?"

"Eh? Ah, yes, I'm fine. I haven't been hurt, probably."

"—. I see. Then it is fine."

Answering Iris, who blinked and looked puzzled, Eugard then looked toward the Wolfman who remained fallen and,

"Be grateful to my star... Iris. If it were only me, there would have been no way to settle this without taking your head and the heads of your comrades."

"...You bastard, you gonna do that even now? That's what's, you know, natural in the Empire."

"That is true, it is Imperial. But I am of the Elkanthi."

A family lineage that made its name not through Imperial-like military exploits but through other talents was often shunned. Since he usually suffered disadvantages because of that, there was no reason for anyone to complain if the family's way of being was carried out for a non-Imperial-like settlement once in a while. Whether Eugard's answer was unexpected, the Wolfman looked as if he had been caught off guard. Seeing that face devoid of malice, he indeed felt a certain charm.

"Guga! I-It hurts! The pain increased! You bastard, what do you intend...!"

"I apologize. I do not know the principle. Since I cannot stop it, I shall leave immediately. I will leave the rest to my soldiers... but, that is right."

"Wh-What...!"

"You, what is your name?"

At the question, the Wolfman, who was grimacing in pain, strongly gnashed his fangs. With that momentum, the Wolfman showed his fangs, which made a creaking sound from being clenched too hard, and,

"It's Volcas. Remember it, Lord bastard...!"

He howled heroically with a look that didn't seem like they could ever get along, without showing any sign of weakness.

△▼△▼△▼△

"I had a big illness a long time ago. I had a terrible fever and was bedridden for days and days, and everyone in the village was saying I probably wouldn't make it."

Gazing at the rising smoke, Iris said that while holding Eugard's hand. At the base of the smoke rising high into the sky, the remains of the villagers who lost their lives in this attack were being cremated. If bodies were left, disease would spread; if buried, wild dogs or demon beasts would dig them up. Mourning them with fire and scattering the ashes on the earth was the general way of sending them off in the Vollachian Empire. Iris's parents were also included as a cause for that smoke.

"The healer told me after I woke up that it was a miracle I survived. That my will to live was strong, or that there was something I had to live for, all sorts of things."

"Something you had to live for, I see."

"Yes. ...I wonder if that's the case this time too."

"...My star."

The strength with which Iris gripped Eugard's hand grew. Eugard felt no pain. It was nothing for his hand to be gripped somewhat strongly by Iris, who was just a village girl. Even though that should have been the case, he felt a tightness in his chest. An unaccustomed breathlessness—that was born like a lump in Eugard's chest.

"Even though my father, my mother, the village chief, Aunt Tigre, and Mr. Jimna all died, is the reason I'm surviving like this because there's a reason I have to live? If so, did everyone else die because it was okay for them to die?"

"――――"

"I'm sorry. That can't be true, and I know I'm saying something nonsensical. I know that saying this to you will only trouble you."

Casting her eyes down, Iris was truly ashamed of her own statement. However, Eugard cursed himself for being the one who should truly be ashamed, unable to return the words Iris was longing for.

He understood the logic that he should be considerate of Iris and offer words that resonated with her heart. But, sadly, Eugard was poor at considering the hearts of others. Furthermore, Eugard had never experienced a tragedy like losing his family as Iris had. The Emperor, his father, was well, and his mother was also alive, though they lived apart. None of the retainers he knew had met with any notable tragedy, and his lack of life experience was a blow. Therefore, if there was anything Eugard could say in his pathetic state—,

"—I was relieved that you were alive."

"—. Lord?"

"I shall confess to being shameless. When I learned that your village was attacked, despite being in a position where I should treat all territorial citizens without distinction, I wished for your survival above all else."

"――――"

"Therefore, when I found you in the cave, I was deeply relieved. Perhaps because I became soft there, I might have been defeated by Volcas. That one was a strong foe."

Eugard was unaccustomed to uttering words that came to mind without organizing them. Even so, pushed by a sense of impatience that he had to say it, Eugard spoke honestly. After speaking, he reflected that he had been far too lacking in consideration for Iris, who had lost her parents. But he didn't know any other way to say it.

"...Why is that?"

Since he felt that debt, he took it as natural that Iris asked him back like that. That he would be scolded for saying the wrong thing and for his incorrect response. Bracing himself for that, he looked at her side—and was confused again by the emotion that appeared in Iris's eyes. The emotion dwelling in Iris's eyes was not one of blaming Eugard.

"Why is it? Why did you... for me, Lord?"

The same question was repeated, but it sounded different to Eugard. There was no blaming ring in Iris's words. On the other hand, he didn't think it was a random question from someone who truly didn't know anything. Perhaps there was a correct answer to this question. Iris knew it, and Eugard had to find it.

"—. I am thinking now."

"...You don't know, even though it's about yourself?"

Afraid that she would give up on his silent gaze, Eugard shook his head at her pressing him. It wasn't that he didn't understand his own emotions. What he didn't know was how to convey them.

"I am thinking about how I can fully convey my thoughts to you."

"Your... thoughts, Lord..."

"Yes."

He wanted to convey the sensations he was harboring to Iris without leaving a single piece behind. If he couldn't do that, it would be insufficient, and even if he could, it might still seem insufficient. Even while he couldn't meet Iris, and after he met her, wishes welled up like spring water.

"I want you to be at peace. I want to prevent you from being exposed to danger. I want you to taste delicious things and sleep in a soft bed. I want you to spend your days wrapped in something warm like sunlight filtering through trees. —I want you to be happy."

Counting on his fingers, as the blessings that should rain down on her came to mind, Eugard finally reached what he wanted her to become. He wanted Iris to be happy. He wanted to make an umbrella that could ward off all the sadness that would rain down on her head. And, to protect Iris's happiness for all eternity—,

"—I see."

Wishing for Iris's heartfelt peace and happiness, Eugard realized. The best way he could do it for her, without leaving it to others or to luck.

"I have decided, my star. I... I shall become the next Vollachian Emperor."

"—. Eh!?"

At the great decision Eugard had made, Iris, who had been waiting for his words with moist eyes until then, widened her eyes and her voice flipped. Hearing that reaction and the voice of surprise, Eugard nodded.

"You are lovely even when your face and voice are surprised."

"Hie, without any hesitation... no! Wh-Why did you reach that conclusion!?"

"It is a rational conclusion. Everything I wish for your future is not something to be expected from someone else's kindness or whim, but something I must desire myself."

"Y-Your awareness as an heir to the throne is so fast! You're already used to using 'Yo' for 'I'...!"

To Iris, whose eyes were spinning, Eugard squeezed her hand, which he was holding, so as not to break it, and stared at her, calling out, "My star." Suddenly, Iris looked down with a red face, flustered.

"Do not look down. Let me see your face clearly."

"Uau..."

He placed his finger on her chin to make her look up and stared straight into her red face and moist eyes.

"I-I just lost my parents and many people from my hometown..."

"I know. I wish to comfort your heart. Therefore, I shall become Emperor."

"Why!?"

"Because that is the way I can stay by your side for the longest time."

Iris, who had raised her voice, faltered at Eugard's unwavering response. As if the struggle to find what to say until just before was a lie, the hesitation within Eugard had cleared, and what he had to do had become clear.

Ordinarily, he had resigned himself to the idea that even if he, the "Thorn King," desired the Imperial throne, it would not be for the good of the Vollachian Empire as a whole—but it was the same as the arrow message. Even if he had to find some way, he would desire that position. Therefore—,

"For now, weep as much as you wish. As someone who is not yet Emperor, the only thing I can do is stay by your side without leaving you."

"...Isn't that the right answer?"

Iris did not reject the proposal he thought might be intrusive. Drawn in by the hand he held, Iris fit perfectly into his chest. He had never thought the day would come when he would hold someone's warmth like this. But now was not the time to savor that blessing.

"U, ku...!"

Her throat trembled, and a sob escaped Iris's lips. Tears fell like jewels from her moist eyes, and in her distorted vision, the smoke that continued to rise was reflected. —The smoke of many things that formed her daily life disappearing.

"Father... Mother..."

Iris, who accepted that her loved ones were gone, stopped her hand of retaliation against those who did it, and tried desperately to stick to her beliefs. Embracing those slender shoulders and clumsily stroking her back, Eugard thought.

—To obtain the Imperial throne, Eugard Elkanthi had to obtain everything necessary.

△▼△▼△▼△

"Heh, the 'Thorn King' has finally gotten motivated? Then I guess the next Emperor is decided?"

In a room decorated with luxurious furnishings, a man sitting in a chair and tilting a wine glass raised his eyebrows at the unexpected development after hearing the report that had flown in. The change in policy of the Nineteenth Prince, called the "Thorn King"—if he also aimed for the Imperial throne, the struggle for the next Emperor would be greatly stirred up, marking a turbulent beginning.

Years of intemperance had taken their toll, and the reign of the current Emperor, Radokain Vollachia, was nearing its end. The desire-driven Radokain had used his Imperial privileges greatly for food, wine, and women; with over two hundred children holding the right to participate in the "Selection Ceremony," he was one of the most prolific "seed-sowing Emperors" in Imperial history. That said, nearly half of the eligible candidates were young children under ten, and sadly, they would likely not even be named as candidates to win the "Selection Ceremony."

It was doubtful how much weight seniority carried, but even so, those who had been able to prepare for a long time to obtain the Imperial throne would have a higher probability. That was the way of the Vollachian Imperial family, which had continued until the current sixties. And, in the shadow of such struggles for Imperial succession between Imperial family members, the ones who had been fulfilling their duties were—,

"—We, the 'Selection Ceremony' victory contractors, the Goldario family of the Grass... or something like that."

Placing the wine glass on the table beside him, the man rubbed his hands together in front of his face. Both the luxurious furniture surrounding the man and the expensive wine were proof that the family business was going well. It was an acquisition precisely because he had been able to show results in the family business; if he couldn't fulfill his role, he would have no choice but to wander the streets. For that reason, even though he had been busy with various preparations for the "Selection Ceremony," the entry of an unexpected person was a huge upset.

"I don't know who did it, but to go through the trouble of doing something like the 'Thorn Curse'... and because the user was a hack, he's turned into some kind of incomprehensible monster."

While there were aspects of various machinations and comparisons of the military power of one's own territory, ultimately, what took place in the "Selection Ceremony" was a killing match between those who possessed "Yang Swords" among the heirs to the throne. The Princes who understood that point learned their own sword techniques, attached suitable experts as guards, and did not neglect preparations for the death match. All those preparations would come to naught with the entry of the "Thorn King."

—Eugard Elkanthi, the "Thorn King."

The talent and ability of that Prince, and the effectiveness of the "Thorn Curse" he suffered, were absolute. Unlike other Princes, Eugard, who had fulfilled his role as a Lord without satisfying any personal greed, had a purity as a ruler that was different to begin with, but the person himself seemed to have given up on the Imperial throne from the start, taking the matter of the "Thorn King" seriously. To think he would ever change his mind.

"Poking the sand and letting the 'stone' escape—it's like a joke."

"—Brother Whitaker?"

The man who was leaning his weight lazily on the chair with his hand over his face was called out to. The one who appeared at the entrance of the room was a woman with long, beautiful red hair. The woman, fluttering the hem of her elegant dress, noticed the wine glass on the table, which was about half-empty, and,

"My. Indulging in wine at this hour again... this won't do."

"Don't say that, Teriola, my sister. I have to drink wine even from the light of day, or I can't keep going! After all, the work of the Goldario family of my generation might end all too easily!"

"—. In other words, have you identified the person who should become the next Emperor? Isn't that a good thing? I wonder what you are dissatisfied with."

"It's decided! There's no fun in me stirring things up!"

The man—Whitaker Goldario—lamented, putting his hands together over his head. At her brother's childish attitude, Teriola Goldario sighed in exasperation. She wanted to say it was an attitude lacking in respect, but since one retort could lead to being silenced by ten times the amount of sound logic, Whitaker limited himself to a protest of puffing out his cheeks.

"If you say it's that unshakable, then isn't it even more the case that you shouldn't be drinking wine? If you don't contact the Prince you're after immediately, it's not impossible that other self-proclaimed advisors will beat you to it, you know? Do you understand?"

"Even if I stay silent, I'm hit with sound logic! Yes, yes, yes, yes, sound logic, sound logic! Everything is exactly as the wise and beautiful Teriola Goldario says."

"If that's the case—"

"—But, I won't move yet. Not yet."

Whitaker answered in a quiet voice to Teriola, who stood in front of him with her hands on her hips. At the change in her brother's tone, Teriola gasped slightly. No matter what she said, Teriola trusted Whitaker's thoughts and policies. It wasn't out of respect for her brother, but purely based on an evaluation of his abilities.

"I'm unmistakably a profligate who inherited the legacy of my ancestors and lived without any inconvenience, but... it takes talent to use the ancestors' legacy well, you know."

"――――"

"Now, I wonder, Eugard Elkanthi. If you look at ability alone, you are unmistakably the strongest candidate for the 'Selection Ceremony.' —Can you properly find the strategy to win this ceremony without letting that ability go to waste?"

Saying that, Whitaker laughed happily while rubbing his hands together in front of his face. Watching that expression from the side, Teriola sighed again, as if that sweet expectation was a far worse wine that intoxicated her brother than the wine in the glass on the table.

△▼△▼△▼△

—An old tale tells the story.

It is the story of a solitary King and a single girl. A story of how a King who was alone met a girl and was alone no longer.

In this way, the solitary King and the single girl met under the starry sky and came to know each other. The King who was alone saw another's smile for the first time, and the single girl saw the King's first joy.

The "Thorn King," who should have been unable to avoid tightening his thorns around anyone, met Iris—the only one he could avoid tormenting with those thorns—and they shared a tryst on a night they would never forget.

That was the beginning of the story, and from here, the story would begin to move as if in an instant.

△▼△▼△▼△

"......He's not coming at all, not at all."

Squatting in the meadow, Iris muttered as she rested her chin on her hands placed on her knees. In the warm sunlight, the highway where a lukewarm breeze blew was empty again today. All was peaceful in the world; Iris was enjoying a day in her hometown where nothing happened. That was greatly to Iris's dissatisfaction.

"Even though he said he wanted to talk to me again..."

Iris grumbled with her chin in her hands; the cause of the wrinkle between her brows was a single young man. It had been about twenty days since the bandits who attacked the village were subjugated and she met the young man on the hill during the banquet—since then, that young man had not visited Iris's village even once.

"Well, I suppose the Lord is busy."

She learned the identity of the person she spoke to that night later. However, even now, after being told by the pale-faced village chief and her parents, Iris still couldn't quite believe it. After all, Iris knew the rumors of the "Thorn King." The Lord of the Elkanthi territory where Iris lived, a terrifying Prince without blood or tears who ruthlessly tormented both friend and foe—that was the reputation of the "Thorn King."

"But that person, who couldn't even join the banquet out of hesitation, where is he a scary Lord?"

It went without saying whether to believe the real thing or the rumors. After all, Iris was just an ignorant and uneducated village girl from the countryside. When deciding or believing something, she had no tool more useful than her own eyes. And Iris's eyes were saying that it was ridiculous to think the "Thorn King" was terrifying. In a sense, he seemed scary-level oblivious about his own statements, though.

"......My star, he said."

It was the first time she had been described with such beautiful words, such beautiful expressions. Remembering it made her cheeks hot, and Iris's face turned red like a tomato. If her family saw this blushing face, they might make a big fuss thinking she had a fever again. Fortunately, only the sheep were here now, so it was okay to turn as red as she wanted.

"I-It's not like I'm expecting anything, okay? He's the Lord, and I'm just a village girl. Anything strange is just not, not at all...!"

As she made excuses in a rapid-fire manner even though no one had asked, a black sheep that had been grazing was hit by Iris and bleated "Baa" in annoyance. At the sheep's dismissive attitude, Iris sighed deeply and,

"It's really not at all about expectations. It's just... I thought it was true that he looked lonely, and it was true that he wanted to talk to me again."

She remembered him, with his lonely blue eyes, saying he wanted to talk to her again. She didn't think those words were a lie or a joke. And if this was a Lord's tactic to mislead an unworldly village girl, that was fine too. If he, that surely kind-hearted man, was not feeling lonely, Iris could avoid lamenting the days spent gazing at the highway where no one passed.

But, if his loneliness was real, and yet for some reason he could not cross the highway and come to exchange words with Iris.

"......I'll be waiting anytime, so there."

She was just a bored village girl with too much time on her hands anyway. She didn't mind if the routine of gazing at the highway during the sheep's walks was added to her unchanging days. So today, too, Iris waited alone—no, together with the sheep while bathing in the wind. She couldn't be so conceited as to think she was a star, but even so, if there was a twinkle that could be seen even at high noon, she would be here as a guidepost so he wouldn't lose sight of this place.

"......Muu, I'm not tired yet, you know?"

Pushed on her shoulders and back by the crowding sheep, Iris pouted. The sheep, who had been with her for a long time, were cheekily well-aware of Iris's lack of stamina. It seemed more like they didn't want her to collapse halfway through rather than out of consideration, but Iris protested that the sheep were being overprotective no matter what. However—,

"—? What's wrong?"

Sensing something off in the sheep's appeal, Iris frowned. The dozen or so black sheep pressed their bodies wrapped in black wool against Iris, diverted their attention from the meadow they were grazing on, and turned their gazes toward the distance in unison. It was the highway where Iris had been longing to see the face of her awaited person—but what was coming was not a grim-faced young man with a beautiful face astride a magnificent wind horse.

"......No way."

It was the sight of fierce, vulgar-looking ruffians approaching the village, which had barely begun to heal its wounds, to unleash their ferocious violence once more.

△▼△▼△▼△

—Eugard Elkanthi was harboring a serious worry.

Thinking back to twenty-two and a half days ago, the night he defeated the bandits who attacked the village in his territory, he could not forget the time he spent exchanging words with a single girl—Iris—on the hill. In Eugard's twenty years of life, it was the first time he had been able to exchange so many words with someone other than family or servants. And that the other person never once distorted their face in pain. That first experience seemed to have made Eugard's heart flutter more than he expected.

"How weak of me."

Placing his hand on his forehead, Eugard lamented the fragility of his own heart. If he closed his eyes, Iris's smile was behind his eyelids; in the silence, Iris's voice; and in the depths of his chest, the heartbeat from when he spent time with Iris could each be felt. While reviling that as weakness, he found himself unable to dislike it, which made him feel beyond saving.

In the first place, Eugard should have already decided how to end his life. Although Eugard held the right of succession to the throne, he intended to decline the Imperial throne without participating in the "Selection Ceremony," the struggle for the next Emperor. —Knowing full well what that meant.

"One born with a defect like mine should not desire to be Emperor."

While feared as the "Thorn King," Eugard was able to serve as the head of the Elkanthi family thanks to the support of those around him, but such frailty was not permitted for a Vollachian Emperor. The power of subordinates was merely support; unwavering strength had to reside within the Emperor himself.

He lacked such talent and qualification. As the "Thorn King," there must not be an Emperor who shackled others for no reason, even himself.

"――――"

For someone like him, burdened with an unwanted karma from birth, there was a fitting way to live. The reason Eugard had been able to live despite such a great flaw was that, born as a member of the Imperial family, he was in a privileged position to borrow the help of those around him. That blessed soil was established by being supported by the many territorial citizens living in the territory.

Eugard Elkanthi could not become the next Emperor. If so, at the very least, while he was alive, he had to repay the debt of being allowed to live.

"Iris."

Once more, he uttered the name of the girl he had met only once, and Eugard closed his eyes. The surprised face, the laughing face, the angry face, and the smiling face again—Iris, who had shown him more expressions in a short time than his own biological mother with whom he shared blood. He was truly glad he had met her. It wasn't just because she was someone he could talk to without making her taste the pain of thorns. In addition to that, she had made him truly conscious of the faces of the territorial citizens he was supposed to protect for the first time.

If he hadn't met Iris, Eugard would have had to continue his life, which he had determined would not be long, without even knowing the faces of those for whom he was doing what he did. On top of that, the broad-minded Iris had graciously accepted Eugard's impolite request.

"To think she would permit me to think that I want to talk to her again."

Since there was no reason to visit the village, he couldn't actually exchange words with Iris. But it was enough that he was permitted to think he wanted to talk to her again when he was at the mansion. That was fine. He lowered his eyes, thinking he would not ask for more than that. Then he suddenly thought. —What was "more than that"?

If he could wish for it, what would Eugard want for Iris—?

"—Mu."

At the sound of a whistling wind like a flute, Eugard raised his face. The sound of the flute echoing high in the sky was the sound of a whistling arrow fired from the main residence to Eugard's mansion. Since he could not speak face-to-face, communication via arrow messages had been adopted as the best method for interacting with Eugard in the Elkanthi family, and the urgency was categorized by the tone of the whistling arrow.

Stepping out of the mansion in a hurry, he saw an arrow message stuck in a wooden board prepared outside. The urgency of the tone he heard was at its maximum; feeling a strange sense of impatience, Eugard removed the message from the arrow and scanned the contents—and gasped.

"—Iris."

The mutter that escaped him did not contain the soft emotions from before, but was filled with strong impatience and a sense of self-reproach.

The thorns did not erode Iris's heart. Even so, the "Thorn King's" abominable karma had brought calamity upon Iris in a different form. To Eugard at this time, it could not seem otherwise.

△▼△▼△▼△

—"Imperial citizens must be strong."

Volcas loathed the iron-blooded law that had deeply permeated the entire Vollachian Empire from the bottom of his heart.

For Volcas, who was a Wolfman, the pack was a community that should be prioritized above all else. From the perspective of Volcas, a proud Wolfman who lived in a pack and was kept alive by the pack, both the iron-blooded law that deemed it good to discard the weak and the Imperial citizens who followed it were enemies to be spat upon. That was just something clever-sounding left behind by people who never even considered that they might be the weak ones. It was nothing more than something used by those who called themselves rulers or the wealthy to live even more craftily.

He was different. They would not become like that. They would never do something like loudly insulting those who lost or were killed as losers or weaklings, making them lose their place even among their own. Therefore—,

"For what was done to us! For those killed! For what was stolen! We gotta pay 'em back, kill 'em back, and steal 'em back for everything, or it'll never end!"

So Volcas, a giant Wolfman covered in black fur, howled heroically. The cave the pack used as a base was quite large, but even so, Volcas was tall enough that his head almost brushed the ceiling. On top of his muscular build, his long bangs hid one of his golden eyes. From his large mouth, fitting for his giant body, several blade-like fangs protruded, and combined with the beast claws at the ends of his log-like arms, he was a ferocious existence that could be called a living weapon. That was the way of being for the leader of the pack known as Volcas, recognized by himself and others.

"――――"

At Volcas's howl, the women who were the spoils of war huddled together in the cage. They were the survivors of the village that had suffered the pack's retaliation. The other villagers had met their end being torn apart by Volcas and his group, whether by bravely standing their ground or trying to let their families escape. The remnants of those lives—blood and flesh—remained vividly on Volcas's claws and fangs. Therefore, the surviving women and children feared Volcas and averted their eyes. But—,

"......Is that the reason you attacked our village?"

Among the girls imprisoned in the cage and huddling in fear, only that woman had a different attitude. Behind the iron bars, the one staring resolutely at Volcas was a girl with flaxen hair tied back. She stood on her own two feet, with the other sobbing girls of the same plight behind her. At that voice and gaze, Volcas opened his large mouth in irritation and,

"That's right! That's the reason you guys got paid back by us!"

"......And so, you killed my father and mother too?"

"I'm tellin' ya that's right! You're a woman who just doesn't get it!"

The roar echoed through the cave, and the sobbing of the huddling girls grew stronger. However, the attitude of the girl who was subjected to Volcas's anger head-on remained unshaken.

It was a strange story. To the girl, Volcas should have been a giant beast she couldn't possibly stand against. Whether in strength or weapons, the girl was no match for Volcas. Moreover, as the girl knew, Volcas was also the murderer of her father and mother. When a hated enemy possessed power that could not be matched, shouldn't a person fall into despair?

"Tch."

Clicking his long tongue, Volcas turned his face away from the girl in the cage. Originally, the reason Volcas and his group attacked the village was for retaliation. A few weeks ago, a part of Volcas's pack had attacked this girl's village and had been wiped out by the Lord's soldiers; this was retaliation for that. Of course, it was natural for the attacked villagers and the Lord to defend themselves. It was natural, but Volcas and his group couldn't just take it lying down when their pack mates were killed.

So, they carried out their retaliation. After this, the Lord's soldiers who killed their comrades would likely come. To retaliate for the killed villagers, they would try to eradicate Volcas and his group.

"We'll win against that. Win, destroy 'em, and that'll be the end of it...!"

Rubbing his polished, blade-like beast claws together, Volcas fanned his fighting spirit. No matter how tough the Lord's soldiers were, his pack—Volcas—would surpass them. With that strength, if he could even tear off the head of the enemy leader—,

"......If you leave this place right now, wouldn't there be no need to fight?"

"You! Still flapping your mouth..."

"You might be strong. But is everyone else like that too? Do you think... do you think you can win against the soldiers... against that person, without anyone dying?"

At the talkative attitude of the girl in the cage, Volcas ground his fangs. He didn't know who "that person" the girl mentioned was, but the option of not facing the Lord's soldiers here and running away was impossible. Even if they tried to run, they would never get away.

"Even if we run, we'll be hunted! Anywhere, everywhere... if it becomes a chase, we're the ones who won't be able to get away. It's best to make 'em bite on the bait that is you guys here. We'll kill every single one of those bastards who come chasin'. That's the only way to end the fight!"

The pack mates who struck first were killed. Volcas and his group retaliated. The Lord's soldiers would try to kill Volcas and his group in retaliation for that. —Fighting was just a repetition of that. If you wanted to end it, one side had to completely stop breathing.

"......Really?"

"Ah?"

"Is that really the only way to end the fighting?"

Like splashing cold water, the girl's question was thrown. Was there no other way to end the fight? A girl who was trapped in a cage and couldn't even help herself was saying such selfish things.

"As if there is! There's no such thing anywhere! If there was, no one would—"

Do something like sinking their fangs into each other until they were destroyed. To protect their own pack, they had no choice but to strike down those who opposed them and prove it. Prove their strength, that they couldn't be beaten even if fought.

—Even knowing that, in the end, it was the same as following Vollachia's iron-blooded law.

"――――"

Just as he ground his teeth at that thought, Volcas suddenly raised his head. He twitched his nose and looked back. At Volcas's reaction, the girl in the cage frowned.

"What's wrong..."

"――They're here."

"――――"

The Wolfman's keen sense of smell caught the thick "anger" mingled in the scent of the wind. Volcas knew from numerous hunts that this was the war paint of those facing the battlefield. The men of the village they attacked had emitted the same scent to protect their wives and children. There was only one strange thing, and that was—,

"――Why the hell did this guy come alone?"

△▼△▼△▼△

"It is better for me to be alone so as not to cause unnecessary sacrifices among my allies."

Searching the vicinity of the victimized village and finding the cave that served as the bandits' base, Eugard ordered the territorial soldiers to stand by and stepped into the cave where the cold air was taut, alone. Of course, there were territorial soldiers who opposed Eugard's opinion, but when the "Thorn King" asserted himself as he did at the beginning, there was not a single person who could persist further.

"――――"

The treasure sword Eugard held in one hand was a prestigious item bestowed upon the Elkanthi family by an Emperor many generations ago, and it had been treated almost like a decoration until Eugard's generation. Eugard, who could not have guards due to his nature as the "Thorn King," had mastered a range of sword techniques to protect himself, so there was no need to leave this treasure sword as a wallflower. However, whether it should be called fortunate or unfortunate, his polished sword skills had never once been put to use in actual combat until now. Because—,

"――Ah, k-ugh, ugh." "G-Gii, iiiii...!" "K-Ku, ku, guh."

Even without Eugard swinging his sword, most enemies would have their hearts ensnared by the thorns' barbs and fall, unable to even stand, let alone fight.

The first time Eugard killed a person was when he was eight years old, when an assassin sent to the detached mansion where Eugard lived fell to the shackles of thorns and he was asked for a coup de grâce. Since then, he had faced similar opportunities many times, and Eugard had swung his sword for the coup de grâce. It did not even become a fight. No matter who it was, before Eugard—,

"――You gotta be kiddin' me."

At the deepest part, beyond the long, narrow passage of the cave, was a particularly large space. In the space dimly lit by torchlight, there were several iron cages and figures imprisoned behind cold iron bars. Behind them, a great hostility lay in wait. —Yes, it was waiting. Rather than writhing in pain and crying out, it was waiting for Eugard.

"I...! We came to fight...! As if I could lose to such a... such a ridiculous guy, with such a ridiculous method...!"

The one who howled while clutching the fur on his chest as if scratching it was a Wolfman with black body hair. They were similar to Dogmen, but compared to the average small-statured Dogman, many Wolfmen were blessed with a large build. Even so, among them, this Wolfman was exceptionally large. With thick arms, sharp beast claws, and a giant body with twisted fangs protruding from a large mouth dripping with saliva, Eugard would still lose in height even if he gave the girl in the cage a shoulder ride.

The reason he had such a somewhat silly imagination was perhaps because he had found the face he sought in the cage behind the Wolfman.

"Lord..."

Trembling with her thin lips, Iris called Eugard that. She, who had been standing still, grabbed the iron bars and stared at Eugard. In her eyes, there was no plea for help or surprise at Eugard's appearance in this place. Rather, what was there was acceptance and an unbearable resignation.

"Where are you! Lookin'!!"

The Wolfman's shrill roar brought Eugard, who was pondering how to describe the color of Iris's eyes, back to reality. Looking closely, the Wolfman's chest, as he breathed heavily, was drenched in a large amount of blood. —He had torn open his own chest, which was entangled in thorns, with his own beast claws.

"Even if you do such a thing, you cannot escape from the shackles of thorns."

"Seems so... But! Pain can be drowned out by more pain! My pain is greater than your pain! How's that, you human bastard!"

"I see, drowning out pain with pain. ...I cannot do it, but I shall remember it."

"Don't you... act all high and mighty!"

Opening his golden eyes wide, the Wolfman kicked the cold ground, heedless of the blood flowing out in large quantities. In an instant, such a giant body vanished from sight, and a huge black wind raged through the cave. At a movement that didn't seem possible for a body unable to exert its full power due to the shackles of thorns, Eugard readjusted his stance with the treasure sword—,

"Acting high and mighty is out of the question. Against the likes of you, I have no such leisure."

Striking away the slammed beast claws, Eugard correctly assessed the Wolfman's strength. At the same time, the sword techniques he had never once had the opportunity to compare with another—they were displayed without reservation, and his sword flashes danced through the air without mercy against the enemy who pounced fiercely.

"Gu, ooooh!"

Arms like great trees, beast claws as sharp as swords, and a speed mistaken for a black wind. While exerting abilities that no ordinary person could reach, the Wolfman continued a fierce assault to tear apart Eugard's life from all directions. Any attack, if taken, would turn him into a lump of blood in a single blow. He was at a severe disadvantage in terms of physical strength. He had no choice but to compensate for the difference in physical ability with technique.

"――Shi."

Standing with his legs apart, Eugard received, parried, deflected, and endured the beast claws that approached incessantly like a tornado, relying on the durability of the treasure sword. Each time the treasure sword and beast claws clashed, the pleasant sound of steel on steel and sparks flew, and the faces of Eugard and the Wolfman alternately appeared and disappeared in the dim cave.

It was a dozen or so seconds of comparing martial arts with another for the first time for Eugard. But that, too, came to an end.

"Y-You, why..."

"What is it. Speak."

"Why don't you... strike back...!"

A blow swung with great force—while it was caught and they were locked in a struggle of sword against beast claws, the Wolfman asked in a voice that sounded like he was vomiting blood. Literally, the Wolfman, who had squeezed out his full power while bleeding, felt insulted by a fight without a single retaliatory blow and wore an expression of biting down on humiliation. However—,

"I did not insult you. Rather, it is the opposite."

"The opposite...?"

"You are strong. If I were to use a poor move, there might be a one-in-a-million chance. And I cannot allow that one-in-a-million chance to happen. My life is not mine alone, and there are those in this place who must be saved."

As he answered, Eugard jerked his chin toward the cage behind the Wolfman. There was the captive Iris and the girls of the same plight as her—unlike Iris, who was not under the influence of the shackles of thorns, the girls were shackled by the thorns and moaning in pain. He did not want to prolong that pain. But he could not rush for victory and make a mistake.

"Therefore, I prioritized certain means. If you wish to claim that the 'Thorn King's' actions are cruel, then do so. I do not intend to deny it. But—"

"Nu, oh."

"Blood loss and the shackles of thorns—the wedges have pierced you deeply. You can no longer even stand."

While speaking, tilting the treasure sword and shifting his body, Eugard pulled the Wolfman down to the ground. The Wolfman, who was pulled down without being able to resist, tried to get up instantly, but even for a tough Wolfman, it was a life-threatening amount of blood loss and exhaustion. He could not stand.

"You are the leader, I assume."

The Wolfman lying on his back glared at Eugard hatefully. On the way here, he had seen others of the gang, but none of them had the strength or the strength of will of this Wolfman. It was simplistic to say the strongest was the leader of the group, but it was a way of being that was not rare in this Vollachia. In fact, the Wolfman did not deny it.

"Lord..."

"Wait, my star. First, I must swiftly take this one's head."

Even while understanding his own defeat, the light of fighting spirit had not been lost in the slightest from the Wolfman's eyes. Since he was the leader of the gang and his hostility showed no sign of fading, immediate execution was necessary.

"――I know. I know, so I want you to wait for that."

The voice of Iris in the cage stopped Eugard, who had reached that conclusion. When Eugard frowned at the earnestness of that voice, Iris pointed to the iron bars of the cage and,

"Please open this. If it's the key, the jailer..."

"Understood."

A nod, then the treasure sword swung twice smoothly cut the iron bars, answering her request. Having her wish granted immediately, Iris said "Th-Thank you" while her eyes went wide, and she stepped over the cut-down iron bars to come out of the cage. And she walked straight toward the fallen Wolfman.

"He likely has no strength left to move, but you should not draw near carelessly."

"I'm sorry. But I have to talk while looking at his face."

Responding to Eugard's warning, Iris stood beside the Wolfman and squatted down. Her gaze and the Wolfman's intersected at close range, and the Wolfman distorted the corner of his mouth in regret.

"Did you come to say... 'serves you right'...? In the end, it's your win."

"――――"

"But, aren't you being careless? Even like this, it'd be nothing to tear you apart... no, should I take a bite out of your head? Even now, I could..."

The Wolfman uttered insults that both he and others could see through as nothing but a bluff. It was an act that tore apart his own pride even more than the Iris before him. Just as Eugard was about to speak, thinking that the pain was too much to watch—,

"――I forgive you."

"......Ha?"

Iris's lips moved, and at the words spun from those cherry-colored lips, the Wolfman's eyes widened. —No, it wasn't just the Wolfman. Eugard, listening beside them, also widened his eyes. Neither Eugard nor the Wolfman could understand the meaning of it. But, regardless of the men's agitation, Iris continued.

"I forgive you. I forgive you for attacking my village and killing my father, my mother, and my friends. I will make an effort to forgive you."

"What... what the hell are you sayin'! You, what do you intend with that...!"

"I feel the same way!"

"――!"

"I feel like I'm vomiting blood too. ...I regret what I just said, wondering why I have to forgive you. Even so, even so."

To the Wolfman who raised his voice saying he couldn't understand, Iris's tragic appeal drowned him out. She continued with tears in her large eyes, clutching her hands tightly. The reason why she said she would grant forgiveness to the Wolfman, who was the murderer of her family and friends. That was—,

"――Even so, this is the way to end the fighting."

"――Ah."

"Doing back what was done to you, having it done back to you, and doing it back again... I hate that repetition, so I make the other person disappear so it won't be done back. You said there's no other way. But there is. There is a way."

"――――"

With tears in her eyes and strength in her cheeks, Iris told the Wolfman that. Eugard, who only ever forced pain on others and could not understand pain himself, could not even imagine how much suffering those words were wrung out from. He only thought that it must have been the answer to the exchange between Iris and the Wolfman before Eugard arrived at this place.

"......Lord bastard."

"――. Is that perhaps referring to me?"

After a moment of silence at Iris's words, Eugard frowned at the Wolfman who said that. It was a way of being called that he wasn't familiar with at all, but there was no one else in this place who seemed to fit. Judging it was himself by process of elimination, the Wolfman let out a long, large breath and,

"......I surrender. Don't kill anyone but me."

Eugard was surprised by the answer spun after a great conflict, simmering with all sorts of emotions. There was unextinguished hostility and anger in the Wolfman's eyes. But the light of the fighting spirit that had been burning incessantly was being pushed into reason, trying to be held back.

"Um, if possible, I don't want this person to be killed either... please."

Looking up at the silent Eugard, Iris pleaded for the Wolfman's life. Naturally, that was not an easy thing. As a means of settling what had happened, taking the head of the leader was the most reasonable conclusion. However—,

"B-Because it's a request from your star...!"

Searching for persuasive material, Iris said that. After saying it, she looked down as if ashamed of what she had uttered. But Eugard was impressed by her posture, thinking there was no need to be ashamed.

"I consider it best to do everything in my power. In that regard, my star's judgment is correct. ...So this is what it means to be appealed to by emotion. Until now, I have never been troubled by uncertain factors in my judgments, but unexpectedly, it is difficult."

"That means...!"

"It means your word carries weight for me. ――But, is it truly alright?"

Iris, who had raised her face, let out a "Eh" at Eugard's question.

"He is the murderer of your parents and fellow villagers. You have the right to seek vengeance. Do you not regret letting go of that legitimacy and trying to let this one live?"

"......I don't know about tomorrow. I'm a girl with no education and I'm not smart. But I think this is the way to not regret it later."

"――I see. Then it is fine."

If it was a matter of one's own heart, one could do anything freely. Eugard nodded at Iris's honest answer, which did not utter such platitudes. Instead, Eugard reached out his hand to Iris. She looked alternately at the offered hand and Eugard's face, then tentatively took that hand.

"......Does it not hurt?"

"Eh? Ah, yes, I'm fine. I haven't been hurt, probably."

"――. I see. Then it is fine."

Answering Iris, who blinked and looked puzzled, Eugard then looked toward the Wolfman who remained fallen and,

"Be grateful to my star... Iris. If it were only me, there would have been no way to settle this without taking your head and the heads of your comrades."

"......You bastard, you gonna do that even now? That's what's, you know, natural in the Empire."

"That is true, it is Imperial. But I am of the Elkanthi."

A family lineage that made its name not through Imperial-like military exploits but through other talents was often shunned. Since he usually suffered disadvantages because of that, there was no reason for anyone to complain if the family's way of being was carried out for a non-Imperial-like settlement once in a while. Whether Eugard's answer was unexpected, the Wolfman looked as if he had been caught off guard. Seeing that face devoid of malice, he indeed felt a certain charm.

"Guga! I-It hurts! The pain increased! You bastard, what do you intend...!"

"I apologize. I do not know the principle. Since I cannot stop it, I shall leave immediately. I will leave the rest to my soldiers... but, that is right."

"Wh-What...!"

"You, what is your name?"

At the question, the Wolfman, who was grimacing in pain, strongly gnashed his fangs. With that momentum, the Wolfman showed his fangs, which made a creaking sound from being clenched too hard, and,

"It's Volcas. Remember it, Lord bastard...!"

He howled heroically with a look that didn't seem like they could ever get along, without showing any sign of weakness.

△▼△▼△▼△

"I had a big illness a long time ago. I had a terrible fever and was bedridden for days and days, and everyone in the village was saying I probably wouldn't make it."

Gazing at the rising smoke, Iris said that while holding Eugard's hand. At the base of the smoke rising high into the sky, the remains of the villagers who lost their lives in this attack were being cremated. If bodies were left, disease would spread; if buried, wild dogs or demon beasts would dig them up. Mourning them with fire and scattering the ashes on the earth was the general way of sending them off in the Vollachian Empire. Iris's parents were also included as a cause for that smoke.

"The healer told me after I woke up that it was a miracle I survived. That my will to live was strong, or that there was something I had to live for, all sorts of things."

"Something you had to live for, I see."

"Yes. ...I wonder if that's the case this time too."

"......My star."

The strength with which Iris gripped Eugard's hand grew. Eugard felt no pain. It was nothing for his hand to be gripped somewhat strongly by Iris, who was just a village girl. Even though that should have been the case, he felt a tightness in his chest. An unaccustomed breathlessness—that was born like a lump in Eugard's chest.

"Even though my father, my mother, the village chief, Aunt Tigre, and Mr. Jimna all died, is the reason I'm surviving like this because there's a reason I have to live? If so, did everyone else die because it was okay for them to die?"

"――――"

"I'm sorry. That can't be true, and I know I'm saying something nonsensical. I know that saying this to you will only trouble you."

Casting her eyes down, Iris was truly ashamed of her own statement. However, Eugard cursed himself for being the one who should truly be ashamed, unable to return the words Iris was longing for.

He understood the logic that he should be considerate of Iris and offer words that resonated with her heart. But, sadly, Eugard was poor at considering the hearts of others. Furthermore, Eugard had never experienced a tragedy like losing his family as Iris had. The Emperor, his father, was well, and his mother was also alive, though they lived apart. None of the retainers he knew had met with any notable tragedy, and his lack of life experience was a blow. Therefore, if there was anything Eugard could say in his pathetic state—,

"――I was relieved that you were alive."

"――. Lord?"

"I shall confess to being shameless. When I learned that your village was attacked, despite being in a position where I should treat all territorial citizens without distinction, I wished for your survival above all else."

"――――"

"Therefore, when I found you in the cave, I was deeply relieved. Perhaps because I became soft there, I might have been defeated by Volcas. That one was a strong foe."

Eugard was unaccustomed to uttering words that came to mind without organizing them. Even so, pushed by a sense of impatience that he had to say it, Eugard spoke honestly. After speaking, he reflected that he had been far too lacking in consideration for Iris, who had lost her parents. But he didn't know any other way to say it.

"......Why is that?"

Since he felt that debt, he took it as natural that Iris asked him back like that. That he would be scolded for saying the wrong thing and for his incorrect response. Bracing himself for that, he looked at her side—and was confused again by the emotion that appeared in Iris's eyes. The emotion dwelling in Iris's eyes was not one of blaming Eugard.

"Why is it? Why did you... for me, Lord?"

The same question was repeated, but it sounded different to Eugard. There was no blaming ring in Iris's words. On the other hand, he didn't think it was a random question from someone who truly didn't know anything. Perhaps there was a correct answer to this question. Iris knew it, and Eugard had to find it.

"――. I am thinking now."

"......You don't know, even though it's about yourself?"

Afraid that she would give up on his silent gaze, Eugard shook his head at her pressing him. It wasn't that he didn't understand his own emotions. What he didn't know was how to convey them.

"I am thinking about how I can fully convey my thoughts to you."

"Your... thoughts, Lord..."

"Yes."

He wanted to convey the sensations he was harboring to Iris without leaving a single piece behind. If he couldn't do that, it would be insufficient, and even if he could, it might still seem insufficient. Even while he couldn't meet Iris, and after he met her, wishes welled up like spring water.

"I want you to be at peace. I want to prevent you from being exposed to danger. I want you to taste delicious things and sleep in a soft bed. I want you to spend your days wrapped in something warm like sunlight filtering through trees. ――I want you to be happy."

Counting on his fingers, as the blessings that should rain down on her came to mind, Eugard finally reached what he wanted her to become. He wanted Iris to be happy. He wanted to make an umbrella that could ward off all the sadness that would rain down on her head. And, to protect Iris's happiness for all eternity—,

"――I see."

Wishing for Iris's heartfelt peace and happiness, Eugard realized. The best way he could do it for her, without leaving it to others or to luck.

"I have decided, my star. I... I shall become the next Vollachian Emperor."

"――. Eh!?"

At the great decision Eugard had made, Iris, who had been waiting for his words with moist eyes until then, widened her eyes and her voice flipped. Hearing that reaction and the voice of surprise, Eugard nodded.

"You are lovely even when your face and voice are surprised."

"Hie, without any hesitation... no! Wh-Why did you reach that conclusion!?"

"It is a rational conclusion. Everything I wish for your future is not something to be expected from someone else's kindness or whim, but something I must desire myself."

"Y-Your awareness as an heir to the throne is so fast! You're already used to using 'Yo' for 'I'...!"

To Iris, whose eyes were spinning, Eugard squeezed her hand, which he was holding, so as not to break it, and stared at her, calling out, "My star." Suddenly, Iris looked down with a red face, flustered.

"Do not look down. Let me see your face clearly."

"Uau..."

He placed his finger on her chin to make her look up and stared straight into her red face and moist eyes.

"I-I just lost my parents and many people from my hometown..."

"I know. I wish to comfort your heart. Therefore, I shall become Emperor."

"Why!?"

"Because that is the way I can stay by your side for the longest time."

Iris, who had raised her voice, faltered at Eugard's unwavering response. As if the struggle to find what to say until just before was a lie, the hesitation within Eugard had cleared, and what he had to do had become clear.

Ordinarily, he had resigned himself to the idea that even if he, the "Thorn King," desired the Imperial throne, it would not be for the good of the Vollachian Empire as a whole—but it was the same as the arrow message. Even if he had to find some way, he would desire that position. Therefore—,

"For now, weep as much as you wish. As someone who is not yet Emperor, the only thing I can do is stay by your side without leaving you."

"......Isn't that the right answer?"

Iris did not reject the proposal he thought might be intrusive. Drawn in by the hand he held, Iris fit perfectly into his chest. He had never thought the day would come when he would hold someone's warmth like this. But now was not the time to savor that blessing.

"U, ku...!"

Her throat trembled, and a sob escaped Iris's lips. Tears fell like jewels from her moist eyes, and in her distorted vision, the smoke that continued to rise was reflected. ――The smoke of many things that formed her daily life disappearing.

"Father... Mother..."

Iris, who accepted that her loved ones were gone, stopped her hand of retaliation against those who did it, and tried desperately to stick to her beliefs. Embracing those slender shoulders and clumsily stroking her back, Eugard thought.

――To obtain the Imperial throne, Eugard Elkanthi had to obtain everything necessary.

△▼△▼△▼△

"Heh, the 'Thorn King' has finally gotten motivated? Then I guess the next Emperor is decided?"

In a room decorated with luxurious furnishings, a man sitting in a chair and tilting a wine glass raised his eyebrows at the unexpected development after hearing the report that had flown in. The change in policy of the Nineteenth Prince, called the "Thorn King"――if he also aimed for the Imperial throne, the struggle for the next Emperor would be greatly stirred up, marking a turbulent beginning.

Years of intemperance had taken their toll, and the reign of the current Emperor, Radokain Vollachia, was nearing its end. The desire-driven Radokain had used his Imperial privileges greatly for food, wine, and women; with over two hundred children holding the right to participate in the "Selection Ceremony," he was one of the most prolific "seed-sowing Emperors" in Imperial history. That said, nearly half of the eligible candidates were young children under ten, and sadly, they would likely not even be named as candidates to win the "Selection Ceremony."

It was doubtful how much weight seniority carried, but even so, those who had been able to prepare for a long time to obtain the Imperial throne would have a higher probability. That was the way of the Vollachian Imperial family, which had continued until the current sixties. And, in the shadow of such struggles for Imperial succession between Imperial family members, the ones who had been fulfilling their duties were――,

"――We, the 'Selection Ceremony' victory contractors, the Goldario family of the Grass... or something like that."

Placing the wine glass on the table beside him, the man rubbed his hands together in front of his face. Both the luxurious furniture surrounding the man and the expensive wine were proof that the family business was going well. It was an acquisition precisely because he had been able to show results in the family business; if he couldn't fulfill his role, he would have no choice but to wander the streets. For that reason, even though he had been busy with various preparations for the "Selection Ceremony," the entry of an unexpected person was a huge upset.

"I don't know who did it, but to go through the trouble of doing something like the 'Thorn Curse'... and because the user was a hack, he's turned into some kind of incomprehensible monster."

While there were aspects of various machinations and comparisons of the military power of one's own territory, ultimately, what took place in the "Selection Ceremony" was a killing match between those who possessed "Yang Swords" among the heirs to the throne. The Princes who understood that point learned their own sword techniques, attached suitable experts as guards, and did not neglect preparations for the death match. All those preparations would come to naught with the entry of the "Thorn King."

――Eugard Elkanthi, the "Thorn King."

The talent and ability of that Prince, and the effectiveness of the "Thorn Curse" he suffered, were absolute. Unlike other Princes, Eugard, who had fulfilled his role as a Lord without satisfying any personal greed, had a purity as a ruler that was different to begin with, but the person himself seemed to have given up on the Imperial throne from the start, taking the matter of the "Thorn King" seriously. To think he would ever change his mind.

"Poking the sand and letting the 'stone' escape――it's like a joke."

"――Brother Whitaker?"

The man who was leaning his weight lazily on the chair with his hand over his face was called out to. The one who appeared at the entrance of the room was a woman with long, beautiful red hair. The woman, fluttering the hem of her elegant dress, noticed the wine glass on the table, which was about half-empty, and,

"My. Indulging in wine at this hour again... this won't do."

"Don't say that, Teriola, my sister. I have to drink wine even from the light of day, or I can't keep going! After all, the work of the Goldario family of my generation might end all too easily!"

"――. In other words, have you identified the person who should become the next Emperor? Isn't that a good thing? I wonder what you are dissatisfied with."

"It's decided! There's no fun in me stirring things up!"

The man――Whitaker Goldario――lamented, putting his hands together over his head. At her brother's childish attitude, Teriola Goldario sighed in exasperation. She wanted to say it was an attitude lacking in respect, but since one retort could lead to being silenced by ten times the amount of sound logic, Whitaker limited himself to a protest of puffing out his cheeks.

"If you say it's that unshakable, then isn't it even more the case that you shouldn't be drinking wine? If you don't contact the Prince you're after immediately, it's not impossible that other self-proclaimed advisors will beat you to it, you know? Do you understand?"

"Even if I stay silent, I'm hit with sound logic! Yes, yes, yes, yes, sound logic, sound logic! Everything is exactly as the wise and beautiful Teriola Goldario says."

"If that's the case――"

"――But, I won't move yet. Not yet."

Whitaker answered in a quiet voice to Teriola, who stood in front of him with her hands on her hips. At the change in her brother's tone, Teriola gasped slightly. No matter what she said, Teriola trusted Whitaker's thoughts and policies. It wasn't out of respect for her brother, but purely based on an evaluation of his abilities.

"I'm unmistakably a profligate who inherited the legacy of my ancestors and lived without any inconvenience, but... it takes talent to use the ancestors' legacy well, you know."

"――――"

"Now, I wonder, Eugard Elkanthi. If you look at ability alone, you are unmistakably the strongest candidate for the 'Selection Ceremony.' ――Can you properly find the strategy to win this ceremony without letting that ability go to waste?"

Saying that, Whitaker laughed happily while rubbing his hands together in front of his face. Watching that expression from the side, Teriola sighed again, as if that sweet expectation was a far worse wine that intoxicated her brother than the wine in the glass on the table.

△▼△▼△▼△

――An old tale tells the story.

It is the story of a solitary King and a single girl. A story of how a King who was alone met a girl and was alone no longer.

In this way, the solitary King and the single girl met under the starry sky and came to know each other. The King who was alone saw another's smile for the first time, and the single girl saw the King's first joy.

The "Thorn King," who should have been unable to avoid tightening his thorns around anyone, met Iris――the only one he could avoid tormenting with those thorns――and they shared a tryst on a night they would never forget.

That was the beginning of the story, and from here, the story would begin to move as if in an instant.

△▼△▼△▼△

"......I've lost my village, and my life has changed completely."

Since the incident where she lost her hometown, Iris's life had undergone a radical change.

She had lost her parents, who had been with her since she was born, and her neighbors and acquaintances who were like family, and she had even lost the means to live in the land where she originally resided. For Iris, who had been born and raised in that village and had spent her life there without ever questioning it, just leaving her hometown was more than enough of a grand adventure. Moreover, it wasn't just her living environment that had changed――.

"――And so, Vollachian-style etiquette has a long and ancient history, moi. Iris-dono, do you understand, moi?"

"......Probably, I think I'm okay, Sensei."

"Very well, moi. Then, from tomorrow, we will proceed to the practical stage of etiquette based on that history, moi. I recommend wrapping a cloth around your knees, moi."

"A cloth around my knees? Why is that?"

"Because you will unmistakably trip and fall on your knees many times, moi."

Saying that, the Moleman Lineck stroked his large nose, which seemed to take up half of his face, and threatened Iris, whose head was bursting with the knowledge that had been crammed into it. Iris couldn't help but groan "Uee~," but,

"I am not threatening you, moi. I have merely predicted that it will unmistakably happen given your motor skills, moi. That attitude is hurtful, moi."

"I-I'm sorry, Sensei. A strong personal grudge just slipped out... I'm reflecting on it."

"Moi, I do not wish to make you depressed either, moi. ......I think it is only natural that you would strongly resent me, moi."

Saying that, Lineck slumped his shoulders apologetically. Suddenly, Iris waved her hands in a panic, thinking her way of speaking hadn't been good. It was only the studying that she disliked, and,

"Not at all, not at all! I'm trying as much as possible not to think about the fact that you were one of the people in the gang that did that to my village!"

"M-Moi......"

"Ah."

Iris covered her mouth with her hand, realizing that her attempt to defend him had become a finishing blow. But she didn't truly want to hurt Lineck. The ill-fated connection between Iris and Lineck could not be easily forgotten, but it could be kept hidden and not touched upon. At the very least, it was Lineck's true heart that he was trying to interact with Iris sincerely.

"Haa, I'm no good, am I......"

Feeling her own lack of strength, Iris tried to grip the hem of her clothes, but she hurriedly pulled her hand back as the sensation of the fabric seemed like it would slip through her fingertips. The dress Iris was wearing now was a high-quality item meant for the upper class, like the Imperial nobility, not a hand-me-down from her mother or grandmother.

"It's not just these clothes...... the food, the bed, and even the situation where I'm learning various things from Sensei like this, too."

Stroking the fabric of the deep blue dress, Iris reconfirmed her position. Iris was now living in the center of the Elkanthi territory――to put it bluntly, in the Elkanthi family's mansion. On that day, Eugard, who had declared he would become the next Vollachian Emperor, had moved with such agility that he couldn't sit still, and had arranged for Iris to live in the mansion.

Having been brought back by him just like that, while her eyes were spinning, it had been concluded that this drastically changed environment would be the place where Iris would live from now on.

"I understand the feeling of confusion, moi. I feel the same way, moi."

"Really? Do you also understand the feelings of a girl who's being swung around by someone who's all fired up about becoming Emperor, even though I don't know what he's thinking about me?"

"It is difficult when you put it that way, moi! It is a position unprecedented in history, moi!"

"Right. ......And I'm just a village girl."

Iris gave a wry smile to Lineck, who was tapping his nose with his finger and looking flustered. As mentioned before, this intellectual Moleman was one of the bandits who had attacked Iris's village. Being knowledgeable and a good teacher, his role in the gang had been managing the distribution of looted goods and food, and he hadn't directly harmed the villagers.

"Even so, I am one of your enemies, moi."

Lineck, who had been entrusted as Iris's tutor and saw her almost every day, frequently mentioned who he was to Iris. It seemed to be because he wanted to remember his deep regret and gratitude for Iris's plea――the decision to ask for mercy for the bandits and seek a pardon for Lineck and the others, more than just out of a sense of self-punishment. However, she wanted to believe that what was in Lineck's eyes wasn't just that sense of duty.

"Alright, let's leave it at this for today, moi. It is not good to overdo it, moi."

"Eh, but I'm still totally, totally fine."

"I cannot say that, moi. Every day is hectic, and you are more tired than you think, moi. In the first place, your physical strength is on par with an infant, moi."

"It's hurtful to be treated the same as such a tiny child!"

Iris protested to Lineck, who said that while shaking his head and large nose. But it was a fact that she had a weaker constitution than average, so she was indeed a little tired. Because of this frailty, she couldn't help with heavy labor or tasks requiring physical strength in the village, so Iris had been in a position like a specialist who took the sheep and cows for exercise and let them eat pasture.

"For the Lord's sake, I can't be like this......"

Even if she was given a place to learn, it would be meaningless if she couldn't make full use of it. Both Eugard and Lineck, as well as the mansion's staff, were concerned that Iris shouldn't overdo it, but Iris didn't want to rely too much on that kindness. The only one who didn't worry about Iris like that was――,

"――What's this, you. You've got that boring face again."

"......You again, did you climb the wall? You're going to get scolded."

A voice came out of nowhere, and Iris turned toward the familiar sound. The voice came from the large window of the room, and when Iris turned a sharp gaze toward it, she saw the black Wolfman――Volcas――peering in, his long hands hooked onto the window frame of the second-floor room. Like Lineck, Volcas had survived. He frequently appeared like this while Iris was receiving lessons from Lineck, throwing in heckles. Since there was no malice in it, Iris was able to brush it off appropriately, but,

"Is training okay? That's your job too, isn't it?"

"Hah, everyone else is taking a nap. It was an obvious outcome...... Look out!"

Volcas snorted and answered composedly. Iris walked briskly toward him and tried to push the Wolfman, who was sitting on the window frame, out without mercy. Of course, Iris had no chance of winning in a contest of strength against Volcas.

"It's not 'hah'! When are you going to learn! You're the one who's supposed to learn how to hold back and teach the others how to fight!"

"It's faster for me to just crush all the annoying enemies than to do something so tedious!"

"But you were beaten soundly by the Lord, weren't you!"

"Guu......!"

Volcas's expression distorted as she hit a sore spot. Perhaps as a reaction to being pushed, the Wolfman sat firmly on the window frame instead, and putting his long legs into the room, he glared at Iris while wrinkling his nose.

"You, don't get cocky just because I have a debt to you that I can't pay back......!"

"Please don't declare that so brazenly when you're the one who owes me. I have no intention of making you feel indebted. I didn't do it for that reason."

"You! Are you mocking the debt, huh?"

"Don't be so huffy when you're the one who owes me!"

Iris yelled at Volcas, whose golden eyes were shining fiercely, and sighed. It's troublesome when someone is ungrateful, but it's also troublesome to be made excessively conscious of a debt. However, from the perspective of those around her, Iris's attitude toward Volcas and the others seemed strange. She understood that, but it couldn't be helped. It was as Iris had answered when Eugard asked her.

"Because it's something I decided for myself. Besides......"

"――. What is it."

Volcas, who had wrinkled his nose, had Iris's gaze directed toward his thick neck. There was a rugged and crude collar fitted there, and the same kind of collar was fitted on Lineck's neck, and likely on the necks of those who were being made to nap at the training ground right now.

"The fitting of the 'Obedience Collar' and participation in the penal unit...... considering what we did, it is an exceptional treatment, moi."

Sensing the meaning of Iris's gaze, Lineck stated in a flat voice. The 'Obedience Collar' was a type of tool imbued with special power, and the one wearing it would be given punishment through the collar every time they disobeyed the person with authority. After making them unable to resist by fitting those, the captured bandits like Volcas were made to participate in a military unit called a penal unit, which gathered criminals. In this way, becoming soldiers who fought on the front lines to protect the Elkanthi territory they had ravaged was the punishment imposed on Volcas and the others for their lives.

"――――"

Was this for the best, Iris wondered, troubled by the existence of the crude collars. If they were being forced to obey by having their will twisted, wouldn't Iris's idea of wanting to stop the cycle of fighting just be stepped over in a different form? However――,

"Don't think about unnecessary things."

"Volcas......"

"It's not about good or bad, it's something you chose so you wouldn't regret it. What happens after that is for me or Sensei to decide."

"......It's a really strange feeling to be told that by you."

Taking it as Volcas's own way of encouragement, Iris lowered her eyes slightly. At Iris's answer, Volcas growled irritably and turned his face away. Suddenly, she noticed Lineck looking at Iris and the others with gentle eyes.

"Sensei?"

"Moi...... I just thought it was a very strange connection. But, it is a relationship that would not exist without your extraordinary way of thinking, Iris-dono...... someone aiming to be the Imperial Consort from being a mere village girl is different, moi."

"Ukuuh!"

"What's wrong, what's wrong with you!?"

At Lineck's careless words, which had made his mouth relax, Iris groaned while clutching her chest, and Volcas hurriedly worried about her. Supported by a palm larger than her own head, Iris felt her heart thumping and shook her head, saying "Not at all, not at all......"

"I'm not thinking about being the Imperial Consort or anything so grand......"

"That is strange, moi. If Prince Eugard takes the Imperial throne, whether you are the primary consort or not, your position will inevitably be that of an Imperial Consort, moi."

"No! Really! It's totally, totally not like that!"

Iris shook her head stubbornly at Lineck, who continued to be careless without any ill intent. At Iris's firm answer, Volcas and Lineck looked at each other and tilted their heads.

Yes, that was it. She could understand the two's misunderstanding. Rather, it was natural. But however, Iris and Eugard were not in the kind of relationship where passion or affection were involved, as the two thought. Then, if asked what it was, she would be troubled.

"I'm the one who wants to know that."

Having lost her family and hometown, Iris's position after being brought back to the mansion was a mystery. There was even a possibility that he had brought her back with the intention of putting her in the penal unit, just without fitting a collar. That was obviously a joke, but she wanted to say it because she hadn't been told anything.

"......And the Lord himself has been busy all this time."

Of course, once he had decided to aim for the Imperial throne, there must be many preparations to be made that were beyond Iris's imagination. Because of that, there was almost no time to see Iris face-to-face, and it was understandable that he was writing letters to various people or firing off arrow messages in the detached mansion.

"But, I'm anxious."

Eugard had declared without hesitation that he would become Emperor for Iris. That declaration, which was far too awe-inspiring, seemed in a straightforward interpretation to be a kind of courtship or proposal to Iris, with no other way to interpret it. But Eugard was not straightforward.

"I never thought that when he asked if he could think he wanted to talk to me, he really meant he had received permission just to think about it in his head."

No wonder he didn't show himself even though she watched the highway every day. Even when she pressed him about it, Eugard answered that "there was no appropriate reason to visit the village," but in the first place, "wanting to see" or "wanting to talk" were appropriate reasons. Eugard had a tendency to be extremely clumsy in expressing his desires.

"So, the fear that I might just be getting excited all by myself never disappears. Is there something wrong with me?"

"It's pitiful, moi......"

Looking at her own hands, Iris felt like she was crossing an invisible scaffold. Lineck pitied Iris's state with unvarnished words.

"――――"

But Volcas, who she thought would surely make fun of her after hearing that, was unexpectedly silent, resting his chin on his hand and brooding. Finding that unexpected, Iris looked at him suspiciously, and he opened his mouth with an "Oi."

"I get that you don't understand the Lord bastard's thoughts. Then, what about you?"

"Eh?"

"No matter what that Lord bastard is thinking, it's meaningless if you're not looking toward him. So, what about you?"

Being questioned by Volcas like that, Iris blinked. Being taken aback by Volcas's perfectly reasonable opinion was an excuse. In fact, Iris was struck in the chest by Volcas's question and was at a loss for words.

"I am......"

What did she think of Eugard? Asked that again, Iris thought about the answer in her heart and her past interactions with Eugard, which couldn't be called many――,

"――Iris-sama, is it alright?"

Before that conclusion could be reached, there was a knock on the door from outside, and a voice called out. That voice, which had become familiar lately, belonged to a servant working for the Elkanthi family――specifically, the steward who had been entrusted with important work. When Iris gave permission to enter with a "Please," the steward opened the door, looked suspiciously at Volcas sitting on the window frame, then gave a small sigh and,

"An arrow message from Eugard-sama. He wishes for you to return to the detached mansion."

"Th-The timing is bad......!"

"Iris-sama?"

"N-No, not at all, it's nothing! The detached mansion, I understand. ......The detached mansion!?"

"E-Eh, yes, that's right......"

The steward was surprised by Iris's reaction once she understood she had been summoned. Behind him, Volcas and Lineck lowered their voices,

"It is cruel to let Iris-dono go now, moi."

"It'd be a problem if she got all flustered and the Lord bastard got disillusioned with her. I haven't finished paying back my debt yet."

"Don't say such unlucky things! I'm going, I'm going, I'll just go!"

"Y-Yes."

Iris was spurred on by the two beastmen's secret talk and leaned forward, making the steward flinch. She felt sorry for confusing him when he couldn't follow the conversation. Iris gave a small cough and then straightened her back. And then――,

"I'm off. Sensei, see you tomorrow. Volcas, you mustn't slack off anymore."

"Take care...... no, have a good time, moi."

"I'm not slacking off, the other guys are just pathetic."

"You have to make an effort too! Listen to what I say. I'm the one who's lending to you! You killed my family, didn't you!"

"Doesn't it hurt you to say that yourself!?"

△▼△▼△▼△

"You are lovely even when you have a stiff face."

Welcoming Iris for the first time in several days, Eugard stated his unreserved feelings. In fact, Iris in her dress, with her cheeks tight and her eyebrows set, had a completely different impression from when she was in her pastoral village girl attire, and she seemed to shine anew. However, at Eugard's words, Iris turned her face away sharply and,

"......Such flowery words, don't you say them to everyone? Even calling me a star, you know, there's that saying about there being as many as the stars."

"――? I do not deny that I sometimes speak beautiful phrases as a matter of etiquette, but you are the only one I call lovely based on what is in my own heart. As for stars, only the one that shines most brightly in the starry sky enters my eyes."

"Gu, uuuuu~"

With her face still turned away, Iris's face turned red up to her cheeks and ears. It was something he had noticed while observing her closely, but Iris's blushing like this didn't seem to be because she felt anger at Eugard's words. It was just a reaction as if she had something she wanted to say but couldn't, so he wanted to remove the reason she was keeping her mouth shut if possible.

"B-But, for all that, you've been neglecting me, haven't you. Of course, you've been concerned about me not having any inconveniences in my life, giving me a big room and beautiful dresses, and you listened to my request and made a path for Volcas and Sensei too. When I said I couldn't settle down just staying still, you gave me opportunities to learn various things through Sensei and the steward...... ugh."

"Mu, what is it. Are you dizzy?"

"I'll get lightheaded too...... I just realized that everything is so convenient for me that I wondered what I'm complaining about......"

Eugard was perplexed by Iris, who was reminiscing with the back of her hand against her forehead. But for now, it didn't seem to be a dissatisfaction with her treatment, so he was relieved. Even if he could give orders, he had no choice but to leave the detailed responses to the servants. He had been worried that she might collapse from accumulated fatigue. And that relief of Eugard's, however, lasted only until the next sentence.

"I've been treated well. ......But you weren't there."

"――My star."

"I'm anxious. Even though I'm being treated so well and you're doing so much for me...... it's because I can't find a reason within myself for why you're doing it."

Turning her face back to the front, Iris spoke her anxiety head-on. Hearing that, Eugard sharply felt his own lack of consideration. The one who had made her wear a tragic face was himself, and he hadn't even noticed it.

"I apologize, my star."

With that self-reproach in his heart, Eugard knelt before Iris. She widened her eyes in surprise, but he continued before her cherry-colored lips could open.

"Even for me, I cannot tell you how many times I thought I wanted to exchange words with you. But, having strongly declared to you that I would become Emperor, it would be a shameful act to enjoy time with you without any results."

"You're too serious! You'd go so far as to call it shameful!?"

"It is a loathsome act."

"It got even worse!"

Iris's lips trembled as she looked down at Eugard, who remained kneeling. Then, as if she had suddenly realized something, she hesitated a little and slowly reached out her hand. Eugard respectfully took her white, slender right hand and kissed the back of it.

"I am the only one who does this, and you are the only one I want to do this to, my star."

"~~! I-I understand...... I understand, so! That's enough!"

Told so by Iris, whose face had turned even redder, Eugard stood while still holding her hand. Then he led her by the hand to the back of the room, and the two of them sat down together on a long sofa.

"Why are you next to me......"

"You are closer than if I sat opposite you. If it is unpleasant, I will go over there, but......"

"Unconsciously mean! It's fine. ......Please stay next to me."

Her voice became small at the end, but he didn't miss Iris's words. Eugard felt a warmth in his chest and was moved by her generosity. Beside him, she looked at the desk in the back of the study and,

"......You've been writing letters again without taking a break, haven't you."

On the desk, there was a worn-out quill, an empty inkwell, discarded drafts, books with necessary information, and dishes that had merely been pushed to the side. Due to Eugard's constitution, he had to do things around him himself, so it was daily life for Eugard to even tidy the room and take away the dishes himself. ――No, it had been daily life.

"I'll take care of those later. The others can't do it."

Only Iris, who made that offer, was the exception who could enter and leave the 'Thorn King's' mansion. It hadn't even been two months yet, but since Iris had started coming in and out of this detached mansion, Eugard's solitary twenty-year life had changed completely. How he could convey his gratitude for that was also a very difficult problem.

"I told you that I would do the tidying of those myself, without making you do it."

"Please stop the meddling disguised as consideration. It's a job that I can finally take pride in, since I'm the only one who can do it, so please let me do it."

"I see. It is difficult to please you."

"......I didn't think I was such a difficult woman, though."

After being told his consideration was unnecessary, Eugard was troubled by Iris's continued words. Apparently, Iris had no awareness that she was an impregnable girl. Perhaps she couldn't see what was right in front of her, but her steadfastness and height were ingrained. Otherwise, it wouldn't explain Eugard's struggle as he constantly thought about wanting to please her, yet it never went well. Anyway――,

"You said earlier that you couldn't see me if there wasn't something......"

"With you, even my formal way of speaking seems to gain familiarity."

"That kind of thing is fine. ――The fact that you called me means that you, Lord, thought there was something that made it okay for you to do so, right?"

"Yes. I am glad you asked."

Eugard nodded deeply to Iris, who still had a slight redness on her cheeks. The reason Eugard was able to show his face to Iris for the first time in several days was, as she had guessed, because there had been progress in the preparations for the 'Selection Ceremony.'

"There was someone whose help I absolutely had to borrow in order to take the Imperial throne. I had a great deal of trouble confirming that person's name, whereabouts, and whether they even existed, but......"

"I-Is it someone whose existence is even doubtful?"

"I believed they were there. But their existence had never been clearly stated even in Imperial history. In a sense, it could be called the secret of secrets in the 'Selection Ceremony'."

"Is that... a story I'm allowed to hear......?"

Pointing to her own face, Iris asked with a look of trepidation. Eugard took her hand and gently made her own soft cheek be touched by her slender finger. Iris had a question mark floating over her at the act, but Eugard didn't have the answer to that question either. He had just done it reflexively upon seeing her.

"There is no need for concern. You will be one of the members of my camp. Once the 'Selection Ceremony' begins, I intend to share the circumstances with you unless something extraordinary happens."

"Um, the explanation for why you just made me poke my own cheek?"

"I do not know either. May I reveal the secret of secrets?"

"......Please?"

Iris nodded while still having a face that wasn't quite convinced, with her finger still raised. Receiving that, Eugard took out a single hand mirror from inside his clothes. Seeing that, Iris blinked and said "A mirror?",

"Is that mirror the secret of the struggle for the Emperor?"

"It is something that leads to it. If I were not the 'Thorn King', I might have been able to meet the other person directly and exchange words, but..."

Saying that, Eugard handed the hand mirror to Iris. Iris, who received it, looked at the mirror intently, and was puzzled as her own lovely face was reflected in the mirror surface.

"That mirror is a type of magic tool called a 'Conversation Mirror'. They come in pairs, and you can exchange words with the person who has the other half through the mirror."

"Eh, the first joke the Lord has ever uttered?"

"It is not a joke or nonsense, but a fact. ......No, since I haven't handled the real thing before, I wouldn't know if I was being deceived either."

"I'm sorry for confusing you. Not at all, not at all, I believe you, I believe you."

Iris apologized profusely while returning the mirror to the brooding Eugard. Reflecting his own grim face in the mirror he received, Eugard inwardly urged himself to reflect. He had to say that calling Iris without even having confirmation was a result of his desire to see her overriding his judgment. He needed to reflect deeply. And it was then. ――The 'Conversation Mirror' in Eugard's hand emitted a light.

"Kya, Lord!?"

"It is the designated time. I believe I am receiving a call for dialogue from the other party."

Eugard glanced at Iris while holding the glowing 'Conversation Mirror'. She was surprised by the light on the mirror surface, but when she noticed Eugard's gaze, she tightened her expression and nodded. Taking note of that, Eugard tapped the mirror surface with his finger――,

『――It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Excellency Eugard Elkanthi.』

The next moment, what was reflected in the mirror surface where the light had subsided was not Eugard's face, but the smile of a gentle-looking man he was seeing for the first time. He was a young man with deep red hair and soft features, with eyes as thin as threads. ――He was in his early twenties, about the same age as Eugard, and his youth was unexpected. In Eugard's imagination, he had expected a more elderly, seasoned opponent to appear.

『Could it be that you are surprised because I am younger than you expected?』

The young man in the mirror accurately guessed Eugard's thoughts. Eugard was surprised again by why,

『It's just a guess, a guess. I just used a little imagination. I thought that someone who had a clear purpose and found me would probably think something like that when they first saw me...... was I right?』

"It was brilliant. Your imagination indeed accurately guessed the fact."

『Oh~, I did it. Those are happy words.』

"You should accept the praise proudly. On top of that, I shall introduce myself again. ――I am the Special Senior Earl of the Vollachian Empire, Eugard Elkanthi."

It was a somewhat strange form, being an introduction through a mirror, but Eugard introduced himself solemnly. At Eugard's introduction, the young man in the mirror also did not lack courtesy just because it was through a mirror, and he showed respect by bowing in a way that could be called perfect even within the range visible from the mirror surface. A movement where his will was perfectly communicated to the tips of his fingers; in that, Eugard felt a conviction.

"As expected, your etiquette seems to be thorough, Consultant of the 'Selection Ceremony'."

"Consultant......!? Is there such a person for the struggle for the Emperor?"

『Oh.』

Hearing the position of the person in the mirror, Iris beside him widened her eyes. Naturally, her voice was heard on the other side of the 'Conversation Mirror', and the other person rubbed his hands together in front of his face,

『Could it be that the one with you is the rumored Iris-sama?』

"Eh, eh, eh? Rumored?"

"You have sharp ears. Do you also know of my star?"

『Of course. From the perspective of my family's business, it's only natural that we keep an eye on the movements of all of you who hold the right of succession to the throne. From small daily matters to larger events that aren't so small, we've got the details down.』

"That is a terrifying thing."

In a way, that was a confession of suspicious behavior toward the Imperial family members connected to the Emperor, but Eugard did not point that out. It was his honest opinion that it was indeed terrifying. However, that terror turned around,

"If that is to lend me strength, it is reassuring."

『――. It hasn't been decided yet whether I'll do that or not, you know?』

"Mu, is that so?"

Since he had spoken with the intention of having him on his side, he was only ashamed to have it pointed out. He felt regret for showing a shameful side to Iris beside him as well.

"......Isn't that a lie?"

"My star?"

Iris, peering into the mirror from beside the ashamed Eugard, asked that. It was a question with a sense of conviction, not the timid attitude Iris often showed in front of Eugard. At Iris's question, the young man in the mirror was caught off guard for just a moment.

『Iris-sama, I am in the middle of an important conversation with His Excellency Eugard now. No matter how much you are His Excellency's favorite, there are boundaries, aren't there?』

"P-Please stop calling me a favorite! It's totally, totally not like that. ......If you tell me not to butt in, well, that's true, but..."

"It does not matter. It is my desire to let my star do what she wishes."

『Wow, head over heels.』

When he nodded grandly and gave permission, Iris bristled at the young man who shrugged his shoulders. It was his goal to get the young man on his side, but it was exhilarating to face the same enemy as Iris like this. Anyway, Iris prefaced with "Um,"

"As you say, I don't know anything about the struggle for the Emperor, and I'm just a village girl who's being kept here by the Lord's kindness. I'm in the middle of learning all sorts of things now so that I can at least talk a little bit, but..."

『Hello~, is this flirting? Should I get some wine too?』

"But! Even I'm a person of the Empire, even if I'm from the countryside. Even if I don't understand difficult things, I understand simple things! ――You're calling the Lord 'Your Excellency', aren't you."

『――――』

"Isn't that proof that you recognize the Lord as the Emperor?"

At Iris's point, the young man on the other side of the mirror fell silent. Iris, who had said it with a "How's that?", was red in the face from excitement, and even her breathing was a little rough. He could see that she was filled with a sense of accomplishment from shattering the other's deception head-on. However――,

"My star, the title 'Your Excellency' is one frequently used not only for the Emperor but also when honoring those with the right of succession to the throne."

"Ha-eh...... i-is that so?"

"It is. But your profile as you cut in with strong conviction was lovely."

"Even though I seem to have been wrong!?"

The basis of her conviction having been overturned, Iris covered her face with both hands, saying "Ah~." Eugard thought he wanted to move her hands since he couldn't see Iris's face if she did that.

『Pff, hahaha, how interesting.』

Eugard's thought ended in failure due to the laughter from the other side of the mirror. Iris, who had looked down and was shaking her shoulders, showed a face that looked awkward as she moved her hands.

"Um, about my spirited words just now......"

『As His Excellency Eugard said, it might have been a little weak to be a deciding factor. But』

"But?"

『If you take into account that the one who used that title was this Whitaker Goldario, then your thought was not wrong, Iris-sama.』

Raising his face, the young man――Whitaker Goldario――responded, placing his hand on his chest. Iris blinked at his answer, and Eugard also narrowed his eyes. Whitaker's current statement had clearly expressed his intention.

"That is a statement difficult to interpret in any other way, Whitaker Goldario. I have no choice but to interpret it as you intending to look up to me as the Emperor...... as the next Emperor."

『You may think of it that way without any problem. As I told you, my family's business is inextricably linked to the 'Selection Ceremony'...... we have been carefully considering which of the heirs to the throne is worth supporting as the next Emperor.』

"It is extremely disrespectful to try to weigh the Imperial family on a scale. But I shall forgive it as being due to a high professional awareness."

『My deep gratitude for your generous judgment.』

"However, is it truly alright? ――I am the 'Thorn King'."

Eugard asked Whitaker, who had declared he would side with him, that clearly. He could feel Iris beside him stiffening and looking at him worriedly, but it was a premise that had to be confirmed.

If the reason Eugard had given up on the Imperial throne before meeting Iris was because of the 'Thorn King', then it was only natural that others would have reasons to loathe Eugard's Imperial throne for that. Whitaker had been investigating the heirs to the throne thoroughly. If so, he should be well-aware of Eugard's constitution.

"On top of that, deciding to put me on the Imperial throne is not an easy decision. I am in a position where I need your help, but I want to hear a story that I can be convinced by."

『You are a person who knows no fear. Even though you are aware that you need my family's power, you are not afraid to cut into me, who holds the decision-making power.』

"I will not say that one who knows no fear is the Emperor, but I will not choose my words out of fear of the other person, even if they are necessary. If I choose my words, it is not because I fear the other person, but because I respect them. ――Just as I do for my star."

"Hie."

Iris let out a shriek as her shoulder was pulled close. Receiving Eugard's answer and expression of intent, Whitaker narrowed his thread-like eyes even more and rubbed his hands together. A tense atmosphere flowed for a moment after that――,

『――It is that way of thinking, Your Excellency. The reason I am paying attention to you.』

"My way of thinking? A way of thinking other than thinking of my star?"

"Th-That's a scary way of putting it, as if it takes up most of it......!"

『I say this with all due respect, but my family is aware of your circumstances...... the constitution called the 'Thorn King'. You have suffered because of that constitution. Is that not so?』

"Continue."

Touching upon Eugard's constitution could lead to touching upon his anger. Many people had avoided delving deeply into Eugard's thorns out of such concerns. Even if it was through a mirror, he had to acknowledge the attitude of touching upon it.

『Depending on the person, it's a circumstance where it wouldn't be strange to despair of one's life and curse the world. But you didn't do that, and I saw that you even tried to accept it as your karma. That you decided to aim for the Imperial throne not out of anger toward the world or lamentation over your life, but for another reason. ――In my family, we call this 'Dramatic' in the language of the old era.』

"......It is a word I do not know."

『It's fine, that's fine. It's just that in my family...... at least I desire things that are 'Dramatic'. Your behavior and thoughts have that! Besides』

"Besides?"

『Siding with you has the highest chance of winning. No matter what I say, I can't let my family be destroyed, so I have to choose a winning battle, right?』

Whitaker concluded with a smile. Examining his answer, Eugard tried to see how much it was worth believing. Naturally, it wouldn't be words that had poured out everything from the bottom of his heart. But on the other hand, it was too dangerous for everything to be a lie. Should he also seriously consider the idea of 'Dramatic', which he used as a criterion for judgment――.

『Then, how about this. ――Why don't we let Iris-sama decide?』

"――. Whitaker Goldario."

『I understand your desire to treasure her, Your Excellency. But as long as you continue to keep Iris-sama by your side, she won't be able to get by just being cherished as a favorite. Above all』

"――――"

『Iris-sama herself doesn't want that. Am I wrong?』

Whitaker said that, trying to pull Iris onto the stage with skillful words. Even if he didn't know Whitaker's intentions, Eugard was against it. He had already pushed his own selfishness onto Iris more than enough. He didn't want to force any more burden on Iris――,

"Lord...... no, Your Excellency."

Eugard's impatience was blown away by the gaze of Iris, who was looking at him from close range. Iris stared at Eugard with serious eyes and nodded with an earnest expression.

"Just as that person said...... it's a bit pathetic, but yes, that's right. I also don't want to just be kept by your side...... it's no good, and I hate it."

"That is, but......"

"It's not a burden at all, not at all. Rather, I'm grateful to have a lot to do. Especially if it's something that can be of use to you...... to Your Excellency!"

"――――"

Eugard felt a shock as if his chest had been pierced by the eyes that hid strong determination and resolve. At the same time, he was burned by the heat welling up from the depths of his pierced chest, and even felt as if his body in this place was floating. All of that was a first for Eugard.

"I want Your Excellency to become Emperor, so if you say that person's power is absolutely necessary for that, I want him to help Your Excellency."

『Help. Haha, help, that's good. If Iris-sama says so, my family will also enthusiastically help――』

"In exchange, I'll be watching you properly. Your Excellency is...... unexpectedly, someone who can be a bit precarious!"

『――――』

Instead of the silent Eugard, Iris clearly declared that to the mirror. At the words Iris had blurted out, Whitaker had opened his thread-like eyes slightly. After shaking those amber eyes that were finally visible, Whitaker bowed respectfully,

『I understand, Iris-sama. That was indeed an answer very much to my liking.』

He responded, concluding the first meeting between the heir to the throne and the consultant of the 'Selection Ceremony'.

△▼△▼△▼△

――The communication through the 'Conversation Mirror' was cut off, and Whitaker stretched while turning the mirror surface down.

The first meeting with Eugard Elkanthi ended with an excellent result. There were parts that could be guessed from his personality and the management policy of his territory, considering the 'Selection Ceremony', but as expected, there was much more to be gained by talking directly.

"Oops, I shouldn't say I talked directly since it was through a mirror, should I?"

"Brother, is the conversation finished? If so, I'd like you to look at something――"

There, his sister Teriola appeared in the room as if she had timed it. Opening the door and making eye contact with Whitaker, who had been talking to Eugard until just before, Teriola knitted a single wrinkle between the brows of her well-featured face. To tell her that, Whitaker pointed to his own brow,

"If you make a grim face, the wrinkle will stay, Teriola."

"Whose fault do you think it is? Honestly...... what kind of appearance is that, Brother?"

"It's a discussion through a 'Conversation Mirror', you know? It's fine as long as I look proper within the visible range."

Saying that, Whitaker straightened the collar of his formal jacket while lifting his lightly dressed legs, which were bare below the knees, and smiled at Teriola. Of course, he couldn't do such a thing in other meetings, but this time was an exception.

"I'm not mocking His Excellency Eugard. I'm just saving unnecessary effort as much as possible. Even this 'Conversation Mirror' is the same. It's much more efficient than an arrow message."

"......That isn't something that can be obtained easily either. You've really taken a liking to His Excellency Eugard, haven't you."

"I want 'Dramatic'. But I don't want destruction. Among those who have a clear path to victory, I'll join hands with the one who offers the greatest return. His Excellency Eugard was convinced of my family's existence and even searched us out, so he met the conditions."

Whitaker smiled with his cheeks distorted, but Teriola had an exasperated face and said nothing. His sister was wise and capable, but her actions were too normative and lacked interest. Even though she was born into a wealthy Imperial family, she always had a seriousness as if a blade was being pressed against her back.

"I think it would be good to have a little play...... no, to try taking a risk."

"What do you say can be gained by such a reckless act?"

"Let's see. ――The position of the favorite of the next Emperor, or something."

"――――"

Whitaker, who had rubbed his hands together in front of his face and deepened his smile, made Teriola's face turn red with indignation. Teriola also immediately understood the true meaning of his statement.

"She was a strange young lady, Iris-sama. No matter how you look at it, she's being swung around by His Excellency Eugard, but the soil is hard at the root."

"I saw the portrait in the report...... but I didn't get the impression that she was particularly superior in appearance. I think she's simple and cute, though."

"You're more beautiful?"

"I don't want to be made to say it, but yes, I am."

Whitaker nodded at Teriola, who had been made to praise herself, which she didn't want to do. Teriola's perception was correct. Whitaker also thought that, even without family bias, ten out of ten people would evaluate Teriola as having a superior appearance to Iris. If so, it would seem that what Eugard sought was an ability other than beauty, but even after investigating, no special talent that only Iris possessed could be found. At most, it was that she was easily liked by the people around her and that animals gathered near her. If that was the case, then what made Iris special was――,

"The reason she can stay by His Excellency Eugard's side, who is the 'Thorn King', and remain composed."

"――Brother, you understand His Excellency Eugard's circumstances, don't you?"

"Hmm? Ah, His Excellency's constitution is caused by a curse called the 'Thorn Curse'. But there are almost no records left, and it works differently from the literature, so evaluation is difficult. It's hard to ask because we don't know who cast it...... so, if we're going to delve into it, it's Iris-sama's secret."

Stopping the movement of rubbing his hands, Whitaker kept the necessary policy in mind. Seeing Teriola frown upon hearing that with his thread-like eyes, he shrugged his shoulders. Even though she always aspired to be calm, she was a sister who couldn't hide her inner thoughts.

"Don't worry, it's insurance, insurance. If Iris-sama's existence is the reason His Excellency Eugard decided to participate in the 'Selection Ceremony', we have to be careful he doesn't have a change of heart, right?"

"I understand the logic, but......"

"Ah, and as a brother, it's not that I don't want to support my sister's romance."

"Wh......!?"

Teriola stared at his face, her eyes wide. However, Whitaker slowly shook his head and pointed a finger, saying "Your guard is down,"

"The report with the portrait wasn't just for Iris-sama. There's the penal unit that recently joined the Elkanthi family, but of course, there's also His Excellency Eugard's. You seem to be gazing at it quite importantly, don't you, Teriola Goldario-jou?"

"P-Please stop! Teasing me like that...... how ill-mannered!"

"I told you that's not it. It's lonely for a brother's heart to have no trust. ――Now."

After saying it with a smile, Whitaker took the 'Conversation Mirror' on the desk, carefully put it into a wooden box, and slowly stood up. He changed his light lower garments for a pair that matched his formal jacket by the desk, and adjusted his appearance in the full-length mirror. He could see Teriola looking at him with complicated eyes.

"I can't do it through a 'Conversation Mirror' after this. It's necessary."

"If you're going to change anyway, it would have been the same when you were talking to His Excellency Eugard."

"Hahaha, no, no. For His Excellency, it's a sincere attitude as someone who will support him from now on. But after this, it's different. ――As a member of the Grass, I have to use someone and bring them down."

Saying that, Whitaker passed by Teriola, pushed open the door, and went out of the room. In the hallway, the people who served as the eyes and ears of the Goldario family were lined up, waiting for instructions from Whitaker. While giving instructions in code to those people, Whitaker stopped in front of the last person. It was a woman who exuded a beautiful and provocative atmosphere, a talent who had continued to polish her weapons in preparation for when she was needed.

Whitaker took the woman's face between both hands and made her look up. And, nodding at that finished face,

"Are you ready?"

"Yes, without delay."

"Very well. Then, the Emperor we should look up to has been found. ――Let's have the symbol of the old era, His Excellency Emperor Radokain Vollachia, step down."

He said it as if it were nothing, that they would begin the most important ceremony of the Sacred Vollachian Empire, which only the Emperor of the time should have the right to decide.

△▼△▼△▼△

Since the meeting through the mirror, the plan to put Eugard Elkanthi on the Imperial throne had been progressing steadily.

With the cooperation of the Goldario family, who were even called the victory contractors of the 'Selection Ceremony', the presence of Eugard, who had previously only been known through the terrifying rumor of the 'Thorn King', expanded. Until now, Eugard had chosen not to stand on the center stage, but once his well-featured appearance, excellent political skills, and the fact that he had personally taken the lead to fight bandits for the peace of his territory became known, the wind changed all at once. He became a figure who attracted attention as a strong candidate, alongside the Princes who had been seen as the leading candidates for the 'Selection Ceremony' to struggle for the next Emperor.

"Of course, the 'Selection Ceremony' is not decided by popularity. No matter how much you get those around you on your side, if you lose in the final struggle, that's it."

"That's...... but, then why are you and the others spreading rumors?"

"Don't just ask, try thinking for yourself. Why are His Excellency and my brother spending effort on things that won't be the deciding factor in the 'Selection Ceremony'?"

"......Could it be, it's not for the 'Selection Ceremony'?"

Iris tentatively put her thought into words. Hearing that, the red-haired woman in front of her, Teriola Goldario, narrowed her almond-shaped eyes,

"That's a passing grade."

"Phew."

"Don't be relieved by just this much. It wasn't a guess, was it? Why did you think so?"

"Um, it's embarrassing to say this...... but I thought that thinking about things a little further ahead than what's right in front of him is like the Lord......"

Iris's idea was more of a hopeful observation than a conviction. Hearing that answer, Teriola blinked a few times, then sighed with a slight look of disappointment. Being reacted to like that made her feel sorry for Teriola, who was going out of her way to lecture her.

"Roughly, your perception isn't wrong, Iris-sama. His Excellency and my brother are already looking toward his duties as Emperor after the 'Selection Ceremony', not the ceremony itself. It means they don't doubt victory."

"That's...... reassuring, isn't it?"

"Please understand it properly, as if it's your own business."

Teriola shook her head at Iris, whose understanding she was anxious about. Teriola, who was explaining the strategy of the opening battle of the 'Selection Ceremony' to Iris like this, was the real sister of Whitaker, who had become Eugard's consultant. The Goldario family seemed to be a family that had been supporting the Princes participating in the 'Selection Ceremony' for generations, and Teriola was also involved in the family business as someone born into that house. She was in a position where she stayed at the mansion as a contact person for Whitaker, who was busy flying around the country to coordinate various places.

"――――"

The beautiful Teriola, who was tall and had glossy, long red hair, was a woman who had made Iris feel a strong sense of inferiority from the moment she first saw her. Since she had started living at the Elkanthi mansion, she had had several opportunities to see dressed-up women who could never be seen in her village. Even the mansion's maids were brilliant compared to a mere village girl, but Teriola's impression blew all of that away.

Honestly, Iris had learned the meaning of the word 'beauty' for the first time by looking at Teriola. To that extent, Teriola's beauty was a high-level balance of natural and decorated. Her skill in highlighting her natural beauty by dressing up made Iris feel that the fact that she was wearing clothes that were out of proportion to her was almost comical the more she compared them. However, the reason Iris felt inferior to Teriola wasn't because she had a superior appearance, or because she was a woman who was wiser and more capable than herself.

"This is all for the sake of His Excellency Eugard."

Saying that, Teriola spent time trying to fill Iris's deficiencies in a different way from Lineck, for the sake of Iris who was ignorant of everything. The contents she explained were parts that Eugard had intentionally omitted to avoid confusing Iris, and it was also joyful information that allowed her to know the details of his hard work. However, Teriola's profile as she talked about Eugard made Iris notice.

――Teriola Goldario thought of Eugard as someone special.

"――――"

Perhaps because they were both women, or because of the length of time they spent together, Iris had sensed Teriola's feelings. There was a sense of inferiority after sensing it. Even though there was a woman like Teriola who was beautiful, intelligent, and truly cared for Eugard, the one who could be by Eugard's side was herself, who had no redeeming qualities other than being able to be by the 'Thorn King's' side.

"Then, why don't you just stop?"

"Eh......"

Teriola's amber eyes clearly stated the anxiety in Iris's heart. Her weak heart that feared whether she should be by Eugard's side. Having that pointed out, Iris gripped both hands tightly――,

"――I hate that."

With strength in her cheeks, Iris strongly rejected Teriola's words. She understood Teriola's argument. Even without being told, Iris was aware of it. But even if she and others thought she wasn't suitable, it was hard to leave this place. To that extent, Iris also cared for Eugard before she knew it.

"Then, stop wearing that sunken face, as it only gives people an opening to take advantage of you."

After hearing Iris's answer, the pressure in Teriola's gaze suddenly relaxed. Receiving that, Iris realized that Teriola had intentionally directed a sharp gaze at her to draw out Iris's true feelings.

"With your current self, you cannot be of help to His Excellency in practical matters. But you can support His Excellency with your feelings and your will alone. ――Even if no one else can do it, you alone can do that."

"......Teriola-san."

"It's frustrating, isn't it."

The short sentence added at the end must have been Teriola's true feelings. Iris realized that she was not only blessed, but also had more than enough good fortune and was blessed with people, and she forced her face, which was about to look down, to look up. And then――,

"Teriola-san, please teach me what I'm lacking. The Lord...... Your Excellency tells me I can stay as I am, but I don't want to stay as I am."

"――. My, to say that to me, what a cruel person you are."

"Ah, no! Not at all, not at all, I didn't mean to provoke you or anything!"

Iris hurriedly apologized to Teriola, who was laughing elegantly with the back of her hand against her mouth. Teriola's laughter became even higher, as if the Iris who was trying to fix it was even more interesting. While looking down with a red face in front of Teriola, Iris thought.

――No matter what she thought of herself, she was the one who had created the start and the reason to continue.

"I have to support Your Excellency with what I can do."

That was what she should do for Eugard, who had come to take up a large part of her life, for Volcas, Lineck, and Whitaker who were cooperating with him, and for Teriola who cared for Eugard just as Iris did.

"Koho."

"Iris-sama?"

Right after she had fired herself up, Iris gave a small cough, and Teriola tilted her head. Iris waved her hand at Teriola's gaze, saying "It's nothing,"

"Haa, I'm just not very cool, am I. ......Koho."

△▼△▼△▼△

『――And so, the preparations are complete, and now we just have to wait for the results.』

"I see. You have done well. I shall reward you."

『No, no, it was for Your Excellency's sake, so it wasn't a hardship. In exchange, you will reward me, won't you?』

Eugard gave a wry smile to Whitaker, who was demanding while still bowing respectfully and without hesitation. He was a man who gave a frivolous impression, but his work and the results he brought back were impeccable. As expected of the head of the Goldario family, who had continued to support the Emperors who had won the Imperial throne in successive 'Selection Ceremonies'. In past 'Selection Ceremonies', it was said that finding and winning over the Goldario family of Whitaker and Teriola was an absolute condition for victory, and Eugard also felt that he had made great progress in the struggle for the Imperial throne once he had gained contact with them.

Even so, he had thought that anxiety would accompany the rumor of the 'Thorn King', but Whitaker had devised an appropriate countermeasure for that anxiety as well.

"Even so, you did well to prepare such a large number of 'Conversation Mirrors'. I hear they are relatively easy to find compared to other magic tools, but it cannot have been easy."

『Making the impossible possible is my family's job. We sneak our people not only into this country but into various other countries to bring back necessary information and items...... like the Shinobi of the Kararagi City-States.』

"Shinobi, I see. Those who specialize in intelligence and infiltration are the key to offense and defense. It is an idea that the Empire should also actively incorporate."

『Ah, I failed. My family's monopoly is going to be sold off.』

Whitaker lamented, putting his hands together in front of his face. But while he seemed to be giving out information without stint, there should still be many cards of the Goldario family sleeping under him. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to actually gather more than a hundred 'Conversation Mirrors'.

The countermeasure for the 'Thorn King' that Whitaker had devised was simple and clear――he prepared a large number of 'Conversation Mirrors' and distributed them to those involved in the same camp and influential people he wanted to have contact with in the 'Selection Ceremony', establishing a means to provide opportunities for dialogue in a form that avoided the shackles of thorns.

『I got a taste for the method I used to talk to Your Excellency first. At that time, I was fifty-fifty on whether it would work, but I confirmed it was okay by testing it on myself. If that worked, then I just had to distribute the mirrors.』

"Your plan has borne fruit. It is brilliant."

『However, all I can do is make Your Excellency and the other person meet through the mirror. The fact that you were able to draw out the other person's cooperation from there is due to Your Excellency's character.』

"My character, I see."

As Whitaker said, the negotiations with influential people through the 'Conversation Mirror' were mostly positive. The influence of the impression manipulation using the gap between the rumor of the 'Thorn King' and the real thing, which he had discussed with Whitaker, was also large. But if the reason beyond that lay in Eugard's character, as Whitaker said.

"Those are all things my star taught me."

Behind his eyelids as he muttered that, Eugard's chest became hot as he pictured Iris's expression. The reason Eugard was able to feel that he was 'alive' for the first time since he was born was all thanks to his meeting with Iris, which had changed everything. Hearing Eugard's mutter, Whitaker, on the other side of the mirror, gave a wry smile,

『Your Excellency is certainly very fond of Iris-sama. As Teriola's brother, it's complicated.』

"Your sister, Teriola, is working hard. I heard from the mansion's staff and Lineck that she has built a good relationship with my star. You have a good sister."

『Hahaha, it's a truly pitiful sister to be recognized like that while being praised. ――Even so, you heard from the servants and Lineck-dono, I see.』

"――? Whitaker?"

『No, no, since I'm the one who's keeping Your Excellency busy, I just thought. You haven't been able to take much time with Iris-sama.』

At Whitaker's words, as he rubbed his hands together in front of his face in a familiar habit, Eugard narrowed his eyes slightly and nodded at his argument with a "That is true."

In the current situation where he was busy looking toward the 'Selection Ceremony' and what lay beyond, it was a fact that Eugard hadn't been able to take time to see Iris face-to-face and exchange words slowly. Of course, he left the life at the mansion to the maids as before so that Iris wouldn't have any inconveniences, and he heard that Lineck and Teriola were also interacting with Iris in their spare time. He also heard that Volcas frequently skipped training to go and heckle her.

"Considering the circumstances of his service to me, his deep gratitude and respect for my star are understandable. As long as he isn't neglecting his training, his skill is top-notch."

『Volcas-dono, I see. No, he's truly a great person. Because of my family's business, I travel to various places, but I don't often see such a capable person. He might even be worthy of being named among the 'Nine Divine Generals'.』

"Is that so. If you say so, then it must be so."

Eugard accepted the evaluation of Volcas's potential to be named among the 'Nine Divine Generals', the pinnacle of the Vollachian Empire's warriors, without question. It was because he knew that Whitaker didn't lie about results or evaluations. Anyway――,

"There is no need for concern about my star. Once I have taken the Imperial throne as planned, I shall strive with all my heart to fill the gaps from until now."

『To make the Emperor work hard, Iris-sama is also a big shot. ......There is just one concern from a different angle than the relationship between the two of you.』

"A concern?"

『Yes. ――Does Your Excellency know? Why Iris-sama can be by Your Excellency's side, who is the 'Thorn King', without anything happening.』

At Whitaker's point, Eugard fell silent for a moment. The question he had raised was a natural one, if you thought about it――why was only Iris able to be by Eugard's side without being affected by the shackles of thorns?

"――――"

To be honest, Whitaker wasn't the first one to throw that question at Eugard. The shackles of thorns were the first and greatest barrier to interacting with Eugard, so it was a natural question for anyone who had tasted the pain of the thorns even once. But until now, Eugard had never once tried to find an answer to that question.

From that day when he first met Iris and was able to exchange words with someone his thorns didn't torment for the first time, Eugard had spent his days fearing the whim of the thorns. It had even come to seem that not revealing that question was the condition for the reprieve the thorns had given him. Therefore――,

"Whitaker, your work and competence are beyond doubt. The fact that I was able to make up for my late start in the 'Selection Ceremony' to this extent in such a short period is thanks to your contribution. But......"

『You're telling me not to butt into this matter? Then, as I thought, Your Excellency doesn't know. Why only Iris-sama can be special to Your Excellency.』

"――Whitaker."

Lowering the tone of his voice by one level, Eugard sent a warning to Whitaker. It was a quiet anger that Eugard rarely showed to him――no, to others. A clear expression of intent that he would not show mercy if he stepped further or tried to reveal it. Even through the mirror, Whitaker felt the intensity of it and quickly raised both hands.

『As Your Excellency wishes. I have said too much.』

"Be careful in the future. Since you are a hard worker who cannot be replaced, I shall forgive you this time."

『Since I've said too much, can I just say one more thing, along the lines of what we were talking about earlier?』

"Depending on the content."

Eugard was amazed by Whitaker's courage in not immediately ending the conversation and cutting the mirror communication here. Ignoring Eugard's inner thoughts, Whitaker rubbed his hands together in front of his face and,

『About my sister, whom Your Excellency praised earlier, how about it? If you like, you could add her to the candidates for the Imperial Consort after Your Excellency takes the Imperial throne.』

"Whitaker, I shall consider your proposal, but......"

『For the sake of the next generation of the Empire, it is the Emperor's duty to produce many heirs. This is something that Iris-sama alone cannot handle, Your Excellency.』

"――――"

『Unless Iris-sama is going to give birth to fifty or a hundred children, that's a different story. Even if she could do that, it would be even more cruel for the 'Selection Ceremony'.』

Eugard was impressed by Whitaker's way of talking, which was logical and also considered emotions. Even knowing that this eloquence was his tool of the trade, Eugard was made to think.

――Successive Vollachian Emperors made their Princes compete with each other and let the stronger and more excellent Prince succeed them, so they made the Emperor have many children. But no matter how many Princes were born, only one would survive and become Emperor. It was recorded that among the successive Vollachian Emperors, there were those who showed their love by not having children with the one they truly loved.

Because the Princes who were born would kill each other. The Emperor himself could not bear the thought of the child of the Imperial Consort he truly loved losing their life, even if it was after his own death.

『Please think about it. I won't say I don't have a brother's desire, but Teriola will fulfill her duties well.』

"――. I shall keep it as a part of my consideration."

As a reward for a hard-working subject, it was Eugard's maximum sincerity to respond like that here. Receiving that, Whitaker did not demand anything more. However, he often talked with him not only about the 'Selection Ceremony' but also about what would happen after Eugard took the Imperial throne. Naturally, the talk about heirs was also unavoidable. If possible――,

"The 'Selection Ceremony' and such......"

He wanted to get rid of the bloody and fiery ceremony where Vollachian Imperial family members killed their brothers and sisters. Even Eugard, who had almost no interaction with his brothers and sisters, thought so. For a Prince who had brothers from the same mother or close sisters, the conflict must be beyond words. Is it really true that Vollachia cannot protect its pride as a strong nation without that fierce ceremony? So, if Eugard actually became Emperor――it would be then.

"――――"

Suddenly, Eugard raised his eyebrows as he felt the temperature of the study rise. Next, his hair and forehead were fanned by heat, as if to scold his easygoing reaction. His gaze, which had been snapped up, caught something that hadn't been there until then.

――It was the hilt of a sword, extending from an empty space.

Swallowed by an empty scabbard, it was a legendary blade that had been forged by a power that worked outside of ordinary logic and had been passed down since the beginning of this Vollachian Empire――the 'Yang Sword' Vollachia. It was thrusting its hilt out in front of Eugard. The reason was――,

"It seems my father...... His Excellency the Emperor has passed away."

『――. Then, the Yang Sword?』

"Yes."

Whitaker immediately sensed the true meaning of the sight before him and picked up the meaning of Eugard's mutter. Eugard stood up from his chair and, looking at the hilt extending from the air, reached out his hand. He grabbed the hilt and, after a beat, drew the 'Yang Sword' from the empty scabbard in one breath.

"――――"

In an instant, the 'Yang Sword' Vollachia, which harbored a beautiful crimson blade, was drawn, and a tremendous heat wave spread through the room, making Eugard's hair and clothes flutter. The sight of Eugard holding the 'Yang Sword' was visible even to Whitaker through the 'Conversation Mirror'. He gave a rare gulp and swallowed,

『Your Excellency, I wish you had said something before drawing it. After all, whether the Princes can draw the Yang Sword first is also a touchstone for the 'Selection Ceremony'.』

"That is true. I was not calm. But your devotion until now doesn't seem like it will be in vain."

『It seems so. ――It's finally starting, isn't it.』

"Yes. But for now,"

『――?』

"I haven't been able to see him even once since I became the 'Thorn King', but I want to mourn the death of the previous Emperor, Radokain Vollachia. ――Everything starts after that."

Before the brilliance of the 'Yang Sword' in his hand, Eugard restrained his heart, which was about to move to the next stage, and mourned the death of the father king who had been the catalyst for his birth into this world. His face was only seen in portraits, and he had no memory of ever being spoken to, but even so, if the father king hadn't existed, he wouldn't have been born and wouldn't have met Iris.

"――I shall begin, the 'Selection Ceremony'."

At the end of his prayer for the repose of the soul, Eugard held up the 'Yang Sword' and declared. Hearing that, Whitaker deepened his smile,

『It's going to be busy. ――Let's go with 'Dramatic'.』