“Huh?”
I pondered over the question Ian had thrown at me and slowly shook my head from side to side.
“No. I don’t know that much.”
Historical records document events in broad strokes. Thus, someone like me, who has only learned history from such records, would inevitably be unaware of the specific contract between the royal family and the Dright. It was information too detailed for the public to know.
Upon my answer, Ian blinked as if he had expected as much.
“It’s a sword.”
After moistening his throat with lukewarm tea, he spoke in a flat tone.
A sword?
I couldn’t hide my growing curiosity and looked at Ian, silently asking for further explanation with my eyes.
Then, Ian slightly opened his outer garment and pointed with his index finger to something inside.
Following his well-shaped finger, I saw a small dagger there, sharpened as if even a light touch could cause a cut.
Feeling somewhat threatened by it, I quickly turned my gaze back to Ian and quizzed him with my eyes about why he was carrying something like that.
After staring at my wide-eyed expression for a long time, Ian soon shrugged his shoulders and buttoned up his coat again.
“As you can see, nobles like me almost always carry a weapon to protect themselves. And the same goes for His Majesty the Emperor.”
“Ah. So, the sword you mentioned, is that what you’re talking about?”
“Yes. The sword His Majesty always carries is the proof of the contract with Dright. Or, more precisely…”
He paused his story and removed the thin black leather gloves he was wearing, placing them on the table. Then he continued in a suggestive tone.
“It should have been the sword that His Majesty was supposed to carry.”
The sword that His Majesty was supposed to carry? Not the one he is carrying?
While pondering the dubious expression used by Ian, Ruth, who always dresses simply, came to mind.
Indeed, he always wore a shirt and slacks, with a dark-colored cardigan draped over his shoulders.
Like Ian now, he only wore fancy uniforms during big events like engagement parties.
Therefore, it was unlikely for him, who dresses simply every day and does not carry any weapon, to carry something like a sword. Unless he comically hid it within his clothes.
“Ah…”
As I realized this fact and sighed, Ian covered his mouth with a fist, laughing.
“To continue, the Dright family and the royal family maintained their contract through a sword embedded with a mana stone, sealed with a blood oath. I’ll skip the contract details since you probably know about them.” A light playfulness appeared in his gaze as he added that.
A blood oath…
As I listened to Ian’s story, I found myself lost in thought for a moment. Mana stones were designed to help those unable to manipulate mana use it freely. However, those proficient in handling their own mana used mana stones for other purposes—like the ‘blood oath’ Ian just mentioned.
A ‘blood oath’ involved etching an oath into a mana stone with magic, using the fused blood of two individuals or the blood of a single person.
Since it was performed with blood as the medium, the oath wouldn’t break as long as the person who made it remained alive.
Because of its danger, this magic was forbidden in the Magi Tower. The blood of a person who made a blood oath would pass on to their descendants, meaning the oath would continue as long as the bloodline existed.
To think that the royal family and Dright family had made such a blood oath.
“I didn’t know this… Huh?”
My awe at this new revelation quickly turned into confusion.
Wait. If the descendants of the royal family and the Dright family are alive today, shouldn’t that blood oath still be in effect? Why then did the Dright family do nothing when the rebellion occurred?
Questions swarmed one after the other, branching and extending. There was no way to break a blood oath by descendants; death was the only escape. However, the Duke Dright and Ruth were very much alive, meaning the blood oath still existed.
Yet, when treason or rebellion occurred, the Dright family remained silent, not moving the sword that was supposed to act for the empire.
…Strange.
Consumed by an uneasy feeling, I rubbed my goosebumped arm and deeply pondered to figure out what I was missing.
Then, I suddenly remembered what Ian had said earlier.
“Yes. The sword His Majesty always carries is indeed a token of the contract with the Dright family. More precisely, it should have been in His Majesty the Emperor’s possession.”
The difference between ‘having’ and ‘should have had’ was significant. The latter implied that what was supposed to be there, wasn’t.
The Dright family and the royal family made a blood oath, and the royal family possessed the sword as a token of that oath. Now, the sword is no longer with the Emperor, Ruth.
I pieced together the information I had gathered like a puzzle, and soon, I internally exclaimed as if the blindfold before my eyes was lifted.
There’s no way the blood oath was broken. Thus, the reason the Dright family didn’t help the royal family must be something else.
And I guessed that this was because the sword was no longer with the royal family. A blood oath could be made with the blood of just one person, and if the Dright had made a contract with the owner of the sword, it all made sense.
After reasoning based on the facts up to that point, I asked Ian, who was looking at me with a languid face, quietly.
“Ian. So where is the sword now?”
At my blunt question, Ian’s smile deepened.
“It seems my guess was correct.”
“It’s in the Sartan Empire.”
“The Sartan Empire?”
I tilted my head at the sudden mention of the neighboring country’s name.
The Sartan Empire, located in the western part of the continent, was one of the empires that suffered a disastrous defeat after a long war with the Eiker Empire, our empire, 30 years ago.
And the sword is in that Sartan Empire?
Ian, noticing the question I couldn’t voice, resolved my curiosity.
“I heard that His Majesty the 18th Emperor lost it while trying to save knights in a collapsing cave during the war.”
“Ah.”
Then everything made sense.
I heard that Luce’s father, the 18th Emperor, unlike other emperors, was more interested in the battlefield than the political situation.
Therefore, he frequently traversed the battlefield like an ordinary knight, and the war in which he was most active was against the Sartan Empire.
A quite famous incident among the citizens was when the 18th Emperor personally saved ten knights who had nearly died falling into a trap set by the Sartan Empire. People called this incident “the Cave Incident.”
Even when living as commoners, while they kept quiet, this story alone stirred heated conversations.
They praised the 18th Emperor as a war hero while cursing the 19th Emperor as the worst tyrant in history, trembling in fear that the patrolling guards might overhear their conversations.
Having heard so much about the Cave Incident that I could almost recite it, I guessed that the 18th Emperor must have lost that sword during the Cave Incident.
“So, that’s why the Dright family only stood by when the Third Prince committed treason. There’s no need to act for the empire as long as the sword isn’t with the Emperor.”
“Exactly. You have quite the understanding, sister.”
“It’s a relief to know it now.”
As I jokingly responded to his compliment, Ian burst into laughter as if he thought I was incorrigible.
My lips slowly curved up at the sound of his pleasant laughter.
It wasn’t just because I liked the sound of Ian’s laughter; I also felt a refreshing sense of clarity, as if I knew how to approach the Dright family, one of the four great ducal families.
If it’s as I expected, that sword will be the key to fostering a favorable relationship between the Dright and the royal family.
Of course, that alone might not be sufficient, but for now, finding the sword was the best option.
The problem is how to find that sword…
“I will find that sword for you.”
“What?”
I was astonished, as if Ian had pierced through my thoughts and spoke.
“I will find the sword and give it to you. Then, you can present the sword to His Majesty.”
“Since you’re the one finding it, wouldn’t it look better if you offered it?”
“I’m finding the sword for you, not His Majesty, you know.”
Then, Ian, with one corner of his mouth twisted up, crossed his arms and muttered.
“The sooner His Majesty completes what he is trying to do, the sooner your engagement will end as well. Remember, that promise must be kept.”
It was an eerie mutter, directed at no one in particular.
After Ian coolly muttered and smiled faintly, I turned my gaze towards the now completely cold cup of mint tea.
It seemed like there was something else I wanted to ask Ian when he arrived, but what was it?
As I was diligently racking my brain, the family tree of a certain household that I saw on my first day at the imperial palace library came to mind. It was the Harvest family’s tree, and one space was peculiarly left blank.
I wondered for a few seconds whether I should ask Ian, but there was no one else to ask if not him. Moreover, there was likely no one else as knowledgeable as Ian.
My hesitation was brief.
I carefully asked him as he reached out for his leather gloves, “By the way, Ian, does the Harvest family have a hidden child, perhaps?”
