Sophia and Asha looked for a while at the rare sight of Yekaterina rapidly overpowering and dragging Tarjei away with an apple pushed in his mouth, before finally turning their eyes. Sophia bowed to Asha politely.
“Yeka… General Yekaterina had a lot to say about her feelings. I ask for your understanding, Your Highness.”
Asha smiled and shook her head. Sophia saw it and bit her lip. Asha didn’t rush and patiently waited for Sophia to speak.
The weather had been hot, but at some point, a clear breeze with a distant “whoosh” sound swept through. Only then did Sophia speak quietly, as if in repentance or confession, in a calm voice.
“I enlisted when General Yekaterina was forming a contract with her spirit. She was born into a family that ruled the northern wilderness and became a general. I could see that she had always lived in duty.”
In Sophia’s gentle voice, there was a sense of long-standing reverence, slightly aged but unwavering. Holding both gloved hands together, Sophia continued her soft narration.
“After that time… When I lost one hand, I knew I had become another ‘duty’ to the general.”
“Sophia…”
“She thought she should take responsibility for me. Does it make sense to continue to use a soldier who did not even have a prosthetic hand as an assistant in the barracks? …But I didn’t want to be pitied.”
So Sophia refused General Yekaterina’s request to stay as an aide, donated everything she received, sold her house, and lived that way.
“I now understand that I was wielding a meaningless pride. However, back then, it was the only thing I had. The world felt rough, and Yekaterina’s contact felt uncomfortable. I thought she was forcing herself for my sake.”
Sophia’s gaze, wandering through old memories, slowly returned to reality, and she met eyes with Asha.
“…After some time passed, Lord Karnov came to see me one day, and that’s how I met Your Highness.”
“Ah…”
“You didn’t hire me because of my hand, but because I made a good snack. I was happy about that. I just wanted to keep saying thank you.”
Asha was at a loss for what to do. She was almost invisible as the solid, soft brick-colored particles that had been gradually rising from Sophia for a while flooded the vicinity.
Gratitude, trust, joy, pleasure, an inner overflowing… indescribable feelings gently enveloped her, like sand. Asha threw out her hand in a hurry.
“Uh, Sophia. I mean, Sophia, I didn’t mean to… uh, to rescue you or anything like that.”
“You weren’t trying to save me, is that what you’re saying?”
“Yes! No, I mean, it’s not something grand like saving. No, it’s not that, it’s just that I hired Sophia because you did a good job…”
“Your Highness, someone who speaks of salvation with their own mouth is generally considered either a swindler or a member of a cult.”
“That’s true…”
Sophia drew a soft smile.
“Your Highness, do you know why oases exist in the desert?”
“Huh? Well…”
Asha’s lips were at a loss. Sophia kneeled and looked up at Asha.
“Oases don’t exist for a reason. They are not there for something. They are just there, perhaps by some coincidence or miracle. However, when a traveler crossing the desert is barely alive, he may be grateful for that oasis.”
“If it weren’t for me, Sophia would have done anything. You could have done anything.”
“No matter what the possibility may be for a traveler passing through the desert, if he can’t get past the desert, it’ll only be a handful of ash there.”
Sophia asked for Asha’s hand. Asha tried to shake her head, but she couldn’t resist Sophia’s gaze and reluctantly surrendered her hand over.
“There was a moment in my life when it was like a desert. When I met an oasis on the difficult path, I wanted to properly express my gratitude. That’s all. Please allow me.”
Asha nodded with a confused face. Sophia quietly rested her forehead on Asha’s hand.
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
“I’m the one who should be grateful for working together with you.”
Watching Sophia rise from her seat, Asha fanned herself vigorously with the fan she had used before.
“My face must be really red right now, isn’t it, Sophia?”
A faint smile appeared on Sophia’s face.
━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━
The martial arts gala was one of the largest among the events regularly held to commemorate the Empire’s Protection Day. It was a gathering attended by all the nobles and officials of the empire.
Anastasia, dressed in a beautiful gown, and Alexei, wearing a splendid uniform, entered the banquet hall hand in hand and took their seats on either side of the emperor.
“Princess Anastasia, you have truly grown up so charmingly.”
“How can you be so mature?”
“At first glance, you resemble a pink rabbit with its ears stretched out.”
“Our children… Even now, they are like squirrels that can’t sit still. Oh dear, they never have a moment of peace.”
“Prince Alexei, you’ll be of age soon. I wonder who will be the future crown princess?”
“Well, actually, my daughter was looking forward to it for a while, but I don’t think it’s going to be easy for her. It’s a big deal to run wild like that even in the palace.”
“There have been talks that Natalya Bagration is a strong candidate.”
“Natalya is the Marchioness Tataricha’s daughter. Do you think Marchioness Tataricha will easily agree to that?”
“That’s true.”
“By the way, I heard that this time, Marquis Oleg descended from the north with the intention of forming an alliance with the Neustadter family?”
“Oh my, that takes courage.”
“But there’s no record of the deputy commander ever engaging in an engagement with anyone.”
“His closest friends are Princess Anastasia and His Royal Highness, right?”
“It seems that His Highness Alexei also cherishes him as one of his closest aides.”
Asha overheard the distant murmuring of the nobles and saw the high nobles approaching to formally greet the emperor one after the other, straightening their waists.
“Greetings to the shining sun of the empire, His Majesty the Emperor.”
The nobles bowed to the emperor, and they also greeted Alexei and Asha in turn. After exchanging a few words, the emperor glanced briefly at Asha.
Asha took a deep breath, and as the nobles approached to greet her, she stood tall, offering a tray filled with chocolate confections to the emperor.
“Would you like one?”
The noble looked somewhat surprised, but upon sensing the emperor’s silent command, he tentatively picked up a chocolate confection.
After the long line of greetings concluded, Alexei descended to interact with the people, leaving only the emperor and Asha sitting in the chairs above the banquet hall.
Tilting his glass of white wine, the emperor tasted it and frowned, then looked at Asha.
“So, does the fig taste good?”
“Oh.”
“I left the most deliciously ripened figs untouched, and it seemed like a passing bird had pecked at them.”
“Really?”
“That’s why I told them. It seemed more like a mischievous kitten with bad habits than a bird.”
Asha thought about the fig jam condensed on the base, the fragrant earl grey cream on the well-baked almond cream, and the perfectly ripe fig tart. She smiled contentedly.
“It’s such a cute little kitten.”
“Do you really think it’s cute?”
Asha chuckled softly, but as a few minutes passed, even that laughter faded. The emperor looked at Asha, who absentmindedly touched the flower petals in her hand.
“Already bored?”
“Is there anyone left coming? I’m running out of chocolate confetti. I want to eat other snacks too…”
Her once straightened posture had slouched, and she had been sitting on the chair uncomfortably for a while. At the emperor’s signal, a nearby attendant swiftly moved toward the kitchen.
As the surroundings became quieter, Asha whispered to the emperor.
“Grandfather, but this doesn’t necessarily mean you can choose a competent person.”
“There are many ways to find competent individuals, and even if someone is not capable, we can teach them. If they can’t handle the job, we can dismiss them. However, the heart doesn’t work that way.”
“Isn’t Uncle Maxim perfect for this kind of work?”
“If Maxim were sitting in your place right now, everyone would think they were being judged. It would make them uncomfortable, wouldn’t it?”
“I guess so.”
“And Maxim’s spirit is not fit for this kind of work.”
”The Spirit of Discernment, you mean?”
The emperor nodded.
“If the person who just received the confection were to say that in three years, he would conspire to revolt, and Alexei would seize control of the imperial nobility as a result, what would Maxim say in response to the question, ‘Is the person a person who will be helpful to Alexei?’”
Asha swallowed her groaning voice.
“Uncle Maxim is nice, so it must be a little difficult.”
“Yes.”
The emperor had requested Asha’s assistance because he wanted to discern the hearts of the nobles and officials who would become Alexei’s future subordinates. If she discovered anyone harboring hatred or with hidden sinister intentions, it could greatly benefit Alexei in the future.
Therefore, during this reception, those who seemed untrustworthy or had ill intentions received a confection, while those who seemed sincere received a small flower. The flowers were like mountains, but the confections were nearly exhausted.
Asha accepted this for two reasons.
One was because, as the emperor said, she thought it would help Alexei to some extent, and the other was that this proposal itself was a sign of the emperor’s clumsy trust.
A sign of the emperor’s own belief that even though Asha had the power to see people’s emotions in colors and particles, she would not seek other things with it.
Asha decided to repay trust with trust.
“Grandfather.”
As Asha whispered softly, the emperor also bowed to her side and listened.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“I was going to keep asking…”
“Tell me.”
“Why do you care about Alyosha’s upcoming reign? Are you retiring, Grandfather?”
“…”
“That… um… there was a word.”
Asha covered her head. It was a word that was not used by anyone in the palace and was unfamiliar to her before coming to the palace.
“Abdication… Do you mean that?”
The chamberlain, who had returned with a plate of lemon jelly, spoke softly with a face that seemed to have discarded all human attachments, free of obstinacy and desires. Asha turned around with a start.
“Is that what you’re saying? Is Grandfather going to quit working?”
The chamberlain laid a plate of lemon jelly next to Asha and said.
“It’s not a phrase that ordinary grandfathers use when they retire, but… yes. If His Majesty is retiring, you can say it that way.”
“Why are you explaining it so calmly?”
“Please forgive me for saying words that should not be spoken, Your Majesty.”
The chamberlain spoke with his eyes. ‘Instead of letting people say, ‘What does His Majesty say about retiring from work?’ here and there, it’s better if you say it yourself.’
