WM V4C0712

Volume 4, Part 1, The Peaceful Kingdom

Chapter 0712 An Unchanging Peace

Translator: Jay_Forestieri

Editor: Tseirp

 

The world was at peace.

In particular, the king’s office in the Knightley Kingdom was at peace.

 

As always, Abel signed documents.

As always, Ryo was sprawled out on the sofa reading an alchemy book.

 

Nothing had changed.

 

 

“Abel has changed.”

“Hm?”

“My eyes, which have been watching Abel in this very room all this time, cannot be fooled!”

Ryo sat up from the sofa and said that, striking a glasses-push-up pose.

He was feeling like a prosecutor cornering a suspect.

In Ryo’s mind, prosecutors apparently wore glasses…

 

“You’re not really ‘watching’ me. You’re just lying there reading a book.”

“The basics of surveillance are making sure the target doesn’t realize they’re being watched.”

“You’re the one openly admitting you’re watching me…”

 

Abel’s pointed observation was ignored by Ryo.

 

“Compared to before we were sent off to the Eastern Countries, Abel’s workload has gone down.”

“My workload?”

“That’s right!”

Ryo said that and jabbed a finger upward sharply.

His target was the mountain of documents piled up on Abel’s desk.

 

“Before, there was a lot more.”

“Yeah…”

“It’s been a month since we got back. Right after returning, maybe there would still be less work coming your way because it’s been so long. But after a month, it should have gone back to normal. And yet, there are fewer documents.”

“You’re telling the wrong person.”

Abel himself knew the reason.

 

“And you’ve been swinging a sword in the mornings too, right? You didn’t have time for that before.”

“Look at you, knowing I’ve been swinging a sword throughout the mornings. And here I thought you were busy sparring with Sera.”

“Of course. I get information like that… huh? Throughout the mornings? You mean you’re not just swinging a sword in the morning, but all morning?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Sometimes I even spar with the knights.”

Abel shrugged.

 

“I have confirmed that Abel has, day by day, been racing down the path of the battle maniac. Before long, you’ll probably be called the King of Combat or the Sword King.”

“What is that supposed to mean…”

 

After being sent off to the eastern countries with Ryo, Abel had remembered.

The feeling of wanting to get stronger.

 

He had once possessed it, back when he was the Second Prince…

And then lost it when he formed the ‘Crimson Sword’…

What brought that feeling back was the water magician seated in his usual sofa right in front of him.

 

“I just remembered that I want to be stronger. That’s all.”

“Chasing strength alone is pointless.”

“I don’t know why, but I can’t really accept that coming from you.”

Words that would earn praise if spoken by a wise man seemed, when spoken by Ryo… Abel apparently could not fully accept them.

 

It seemed that with words, it was not the content that mattered, but who said them… that was how it worked.

 

 

“Well, I was away from the country for a whole year. It’s only natural that things changed so decisions and the like can get made without me.”

“I see.”

Things that once required King Abel’s approval apparently had been changed in various ways so they could be handled without it.

 

“But even so, somebody still has to make the decisions, right? Is it the Prime Minister’s Lordship?”

“Marquis Heinlein is doing it, of course, but… it seems he’s delegated a good chunk of it to the ministers.”

“The Finance Lord and people like that.”

Ryo nodded and answered.

Ryo remembered. He remembered the man called the ‘Finance Lord Fuka’.

 

A man with a name similar to Fouquet, the Finance Minister in A. Dumas’s classic The D’Artagnan Romances.

A ‘Finance Lord’ would be, in modern Japanese terms, the Minister of Finance, the person in charge of the Ministry of Finance.

 

But some matters had to be approved across multiple ministries.

Of course, Marquis Alexis Heinlein, the Prime Minister and head of the Prime Minister’s Office, would handle them, but there must still be quite a few things that required the king’s approval…

 

“There is someone who gives approvals in my place.”

“The king’s proxy…?”

“Under the kingdom’s laws, the former king can do it.”

“The former king? Abel’s father? He’s recovered!”

“Yeah. Come to think of it, you didn’t know yet, did you, Ryo.”

 

Former King Stafford IV.

He was Abel’s father, but for a long time he had been drugged by the Empire’s schemes, and even after the Kingdom Liberation War ended, he had still been undergoing treatment at the Central Temple.

When Ryo left for the western countries, he probably still could not even get out of bed…

 

“Sooner or later, I’ll introduce you to him too.”

“Eh… It’s not like I need to be introduced or anything…”

“No way I can skip introducing you, the premier duke.”

Abel shrugged.

 

An entirely valid point.

 

“I-I’m not good with adults…”

“You’re an adult too.”

In the Knightley Kingdom, people came of age at eighteen and became legal adults.

 

“I want my heart to remain forever young.”

“I have no idea what that means.”

“A long time ago, some great person said, ‘Boys, be ambitious’.”

“Adults can have ambition too, you know?”

“I-I suppose that’s true…”

Abel said it with a tilted head, while Ryo was suddenly put on the back foot after being hit with one sound argument after another.

 

At times like this, it was best to change the subject.

 

“Does Abel have any ambitions?”

“I want to get stronger.”

“Ah, yeah, besides that.”

“Hmm… if possible, I’d like to travel the world.”

Abel said it with a slightly distant look in his eyes.

 

For a former adventurer, it might have been natural.

At the same time, it might also have been an impossible wish for someone who had become king.

Because he could not leave the country for long periods of time.

 

But… in truth, Abel had actually been away from the kingdom for nearly a year.

 

“In my homeland, royal diplomacy was actually quite common…”

Ryo said that under his breath.

Of course, that had a lot to do with constitutional monarchy and the development of airplanes.

In a polity like the Knightley Kingdom’s, which was close to an absolute monarchy…in other words, a government where a lot of power was concentrated in the king, it was easy for anyone to understand why the king would have difficulty leaving the country for long stretches.

 

“This might have been your last opportunity to travel and see the world.”

“Hm?”

“Since Abel’s father… the former king has recovered.”

“Oh, I see what you mean. Well, the Empire too is being run by the former emperor, His Majesty Rupert, as emperor regent.”

“The former crown prince… Helmuth, was it… was killed by the King of the Horsemen. And after that, no one else has become emperor. Even while we were away, it’s been that way all along…”

“Yeah. By all rights, it probably should have been the emperor’s younger brother, Conrad-dono… but he’s still just a duke.”

 

Maybe the world was moving more slowly than Ryo had expected.

“If Abel, the current king, showed up at the Imperial Capital in Debuhi, even His Majesty Rupert would be surprised, wouldn’t he?”

“He would be surprised, sure…”

“Diplomacy is, in the end, between people. Even if conflicts of interest between countries naturally exist, if the person representing a country makes a promise, the other side’s top leader will believe it… that kind of thing does happen. Of course, that only works if, at the very foundation, those two trust each other as people.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

Abel was thinking of the Empire’s Rupert and the Union’s Lord Aubrey, whom he had met on the battlefield.

 

Neither was, of course, someone you could let your guard down around.

And if it benefited their own country, either one would shamelessly deceive the other nation… or rather, would not hesitate to lay a scheme.

 

And yet, there were still parts of them he could trust.

Neither of them would casually sacrifice their own people… that much he could believe.

They were not trash.

That was what Abel believed.

 

“If you personally moving benefits the kingdom, I won’t stop you.”

“I see. Thanks.”

When Ryo said that, Abel nodded several times.

 

“Actually, I’ve been consulting a lot of people about that.”

“Consulting?”

“Rihya, my father, and maybe Marquis Heinlein.”

“Oh, really?”

“Well, once it’s decided, I’ll tell you too.”

“I’ll be looking forward to it.”

 

At Abel’s words, Ryo nodded.

But Abel’s words did not stop there…

 

“Hm. Just about time.”

Abel glanced at the clock and muttered.

 

Of course, Ryo had no idea what he meant, but… sensing danger, he stood up and headed for the door…

“Hey, Ryo!”

“Eh…”

 

Naturally, Abel stopped him.

 

“We’re going to see my father now.”

“Huh? You just said you’d introduce me sometime, didn’t you? Not today.”

“Introducing you today, right now, seems best. Before you run away.”

“Why does it have to be now…”

“My father’s office is in the detached building. Let’s go.”

“Ugh…”

Abel grabbed Ryo by the collar.

And Ryo was dragged away.

 

To the people of the royal castle, the sight was a nostalgic, almost heartwarming one…

 

 

 

“Excuse me, Father.”

Saying that, Abel entered the retired king’s office in the detached building.

 

“Excuse me.”

Ryo followed him in.

At this point, he was no longer being dragged by Abel.

 

Not only that, but the weak, helpless atmosphere he had while being dragged along was completely gone.

He was not swaggering, and he was not tensing himself up either.

 

He was just natural.

 

He was not putting on airs.

He knew it was pointless to try to look bigger than he was.

 

If so, then it was better to show him as he was.

Ryo was Ryo.

 

 

Seeing the two of them come in, former King Stafford IV rose from his chair.

So it was true that he had completely recovered.

There was not the slightest trace of the feebleness of someone who had been bedridden for so long.

 

A king to the core.

 

 

Ryo thought that Abel had the face of a king now.

He thought Abel had also acquired the dignity of a king.

 

He did not deny that.

 

But the former king, rising to greet the two of them…

(As expected of Abel’s father.)

That was the honest feeling Ryo had.

 

The only time Ryo had ever seen Stafford was once.

It was the night they recaptured the capital, when Abel had come to see Stafford, who was receiving treatment at the Central Temple.

Ryo had watched the two of them meet from the corner of the room.

At that time, Stafford had not been able to speak a single word.

He had barely been able to nod in response to Abel.

 

The difference between then and now was astonishing.

 

“Father, please allow me to introduce Duke Rondo.”

The instant Abel said that, Ryo dropped to one knee and bowed to Stafford.

 

“No, Duke Rondo, I’d like you to stand.”

“Huh?”

Stafford took Ryo by the hand and helped him to his feet.

 

 

“I’ve heard that Duke Rondo is not a retainer to Albert… no, to Abel, but rather a friend. I am told that Carmelo asked this of you, and that you have been exactly that for him.”

“Carmelo?”

“The former Marquis of Rune.”

When Ryo tilted his head, Abel offered the clarification.

Indeed, Ryo had once been told by the then-Marquis of Rune, “I want you to be King Abel’s friend”.

Whether he was doing a good job of that or not, he still couldn’t say for sure.

 

“I, too, was once a king, so… I know that a king cannot have friends.”

Stafford said sadly.

 

“No, there were once people I could call friends. Ilarion, Arthur… they must have noticed something was wrong with me. But it was not a relationship or environment where they could speak frankly. That is what I once thought kings were… but after hearing about the relationship between Duke Rondo and Abel, I now think there may have been another possibility.”

As Stafford spoke, his eyes softened, and he looked at Ryo.

Of course, Ryo listened in silence. Even Ryo knew this was not the time to interrupt.

 

“Duke Rondo, I ask that you continue to be a good friend to King Abel.”

“You can count on me, Your Majesty.”

 

 

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