Princess Tianis and Cake

"I'll leave that to you."

"You don't need to tell me."

I'd been called to the royal castle on short notice, but Alexia and Finn would proceed to Luido as planned.

If it came to this, we could rendezvous on the way back to minimize wasted time.

I trusted Alexia's confident attitude and left that end to her.

The rest of us got ready to go, but somehow Kanon ended up coming along too.

I didn't see why she had to, but I kept that thought to myself.

We used the portal to reach the Royal Capital, then headed straight for the castle.

With winter ending, a large-scale temporary market had been set up since the morning.

Orleans seemed interested, and I would have liked to browse if circumstances allowed, but we passed by with only sidelong glances.

After the meeting, we could take a look.

I was starting to feel almost used to entering the royal castle.

Being a purveyor with formal standing would have been better, though.

We entered Princess Tianis's chambers.

"Have a seat and wait."

Princess Tianis was at her desk, writing something.

Kanon said nothing, walked over to the princess, took what appeared to be a finished document, and left the room.

It felt busier than usual.

As instructed, I sat and waited.

Eventually the scratching of the pen stopped, and Princess Tianis stretched, gripping her left shoulder with her right hand.

"Mmm～!"

She must have been working for quite a while. She seemed thoroughly relieved.

"I'm exhausted. Something sweet, something sweet…"

There were no maids in the room.

Princess Tianis prepared tea from a waiting set and brought it to the table along with some cake.

"If you want any, get it yourself."

"Then I'll help myself. May I take some for them too?"

"Do as you like."

We'd been summoned first thing in the morning.

Eating at least one slice of cake was only fair compensation.

The cake was a whole, so I cut a slice for each of us.

The tea was slightly cold, but that was fine.

Somehow, we ended up silently eating cake together in a princess's chambers.

The cake was, as expected, fit for royalty.

Rich in butter and cream. Easily ten silver coins a slice.

Elza savored hers slowly.

Azu and Orleans were too absorbed, finishing theirs in no time.

Princess Tianis ate with refined elegance, then dabbed her lips clean with a handkerchief.

"Using your brain makes you crave sugar, doesn't it? You must know the feeling."

"Certainly. I always keep candy on hand."

"Is that so. Maybe that's why you used candy for the medicine too."

"Could be."

While we talked, Kanon returned.

"So, about why I called you here."

"Regarding the Empire?"

"—? Kanon, you didn't tell him?"

"No. I thought it best to bring him as quickly as possible."

"I see. Well, no matter. I want more details about your report. You deliberately left out the important parts in case it was intercepted, didn't you?"

The document she placed on the table was the report I'd submitted.

It seemed Jacob had delivered it at top speed.

"Verbal communication is the only thing I can truly trust."

"Magical concealment is useless too if they have a mage."

"Exactly. Allow me to explain what happened."

I recounted the events to Princess Tianis, starting from when the wheat shipment began.

The safe delivery to Duke Dantarg.

Using the sea route to bring that wheat and additional food supplies to Crown Prince Kelves.

The crown prince's current situation and repelling what amounted to an assassination attempt.

"… Is that really true? It's hard to believe."

"It was trouble for me too. Being told to guard the gate out of nowhere. What an unreasonable demand."

"Is that really the issue here? Though I suppose you lot actually doing it is just as absurd."

"Indeed… That red-haired woman was certainly skilled, but I hadn't realized how much."

"She's former imperial nobility. I rely on her."

Without Alexia, who knows what would have happened.

The outcome certainly wouldn't have been so flawless.

"I've passed this on to Father and my brother, but they probably won't believe it. 'A mere merchant went and saved the imperial crown prince.' I wish that sort of thing only happened in stories."

"I was just used as a decoy…"

"Well, mission accomplished, so fine. Duke Dantarg is a heavyweight in the Empire. He acts when there's reason to, and he's not one to forget debts. Relations with the kingdom are favorable for now, and even if a new emperor ascends, ties won't sour overnight thanks to this."

"I hope so. Peace is best for people like us."

"Oh, is it? I assumed you'd prefer a war. More profit and all."

"Most merchants deal with ordinary citizens. War makes everything expensive. Young men get conscripted, shrinking the workforce. Sure, some merchants make a killing, but count me out."

Royalty or not, I had to say this much.

I couldn't stand being thought of as profiting from others' misfortune.

"That was careless of me. Our duty is to build a nation where the people can live in peace."

Princess Tianis backed down without argument.

Perhaps her pride as royalty compelled her.

"So… why did you bother adding notes about the Empire's iron situation?"

"From what I saw, the Empire's shipping industry is excellent. Iselia, which exports iron ore, will grow under Crown Prince Kelves's influence. I believe the Empire's steel production will advance even further."

The actual cause was our doing, calming the sea storms, but I kept that to myself.

Best not to volunteer unnecessary information.

"Cheaper iron means a stronger military… Maybe I should pass this along too. It's outside my purview. And lately, things around my uncle have been rather suspicious."

Uncle… that would be Duke Baroba, who governed Alsarm.

He'd given the Solar Union a year's grace, but if he was building up his military, he must have concluded conflict was inevitable.

Between the Church of the Sun God and the Empire, there was no shortage of potential flashpoints.

The kingdom's middle-of-the-road national strength probably didn't help matters.