Charlotte's bedroom was not so spacious as to allow for a game of football within its confines.
It featured an elegant canopy bed draped with silk curtains, a table for meetings, an armchair and sofa, as well as neatly arranged furnishings including bookshelves.
There was a dressing room within the bedroom, and it appeared to also have a large bathroom.
The royal-class dormitory was quite impressive, but it naturally could not compare to the princess's bedroom.
Suddenly, I became curious.
Did Charlotte dress herself, or did she have maids to help her? In the dormitory, she would have to do everything on her own.
Well, there might be some articles of clothing that were difficult to put on or take off without assistance. In such cases, she might need to borrow someone's hand.
Of course, I didn't ask.
As I surveyed the bedroom, I eventually blurted out my thoughts.
"The bed... It's enormous, isn't it?"
"Truly, your perspective is commendable," Charlotte said, seemingly expecting such a remark as she gestured to the gigantic bed that was more than twice the size of a king size.
It was not only wide but also unusually long.
"Yet, astonishingly, you are right. That bed is too vast. But I only realized how uncomfortable it was after using the dormitory bed."
The dormitory bed was large as well, but not to that extent.
Have you seen people living in rooms narrower than your bed? It's just slightly smaller than an average studio apartment.
"I always thought I had to crawl my way to the edge of the bed to get down. But in the dormitory bed, all I have to do is roll over once to the side?"
Charlotte's realization that she had been using an uncomfortable bed all her life, only after trying a smaller one, made me laugh.
Her expression was endearing.
Being able to get off the bed by rolling over once to the side was too delightful.
Imagining Charlotte doing that, the gravity of the current situation seemed to dissipate, and I almost burst into laughter.
"Do you want to lie down on it?"
"I know you think I'm crazy, but I'm not that far gone!"
I have some decency! Others may not agree, but I'm sure it exists! I'm not the type to roll around on the princess's bed, cackling like a madman!
At my reaction, Charlotte covered her mouth and laughed.
"Why not? That bed is so large that even if we sleep on opposite sides, our fingertips would never touch, even if we had the worst sleeping habits."
"Ah, why must you be like this?"
With my exaggerated protests and persistence, Charlotte seemed to be driven to the brink of insanity, talking nonsense. She didn't give me a tour of the expansive bedroom.
Given that it was a bedroom, there would likely be sensitive items. There were a few portraits, but I did not inquire about the identities of the individuals depicted.
A grown woman who resembled Charlotte.
There was no need to ask. It would surely be a painful name for Charlotte.
At that moment.
Something that was difficult to perceive as human.
That something.
I stopped thinking about it.
"Would you like to see something interesting?"
"What is it?"
With a mysterious smile, Charlotte grabbed my arm and led me somewhere. She directed me towards a wall near the bookshelves.
"You know, in novels, royalty living in places like this... when chaos erupts, they escape through secret passages."
"You don't mean...?"
"Indeed."
Charlotte fit her necklace into a groove on the wall between two bookshelves, a portion of the wall adorned with embossed column-like designs.
-Click
With that sound, the wall rotated, and Charlotte and I were transported to the other side.
I could not help but be astonished as the rotation finished.
"…What is this?"
"Fascinating, isn't it?"
Before us lay a staircase descending downward.
The bedroom was on the second floor.
However, this staircase seemed designed to lead not to the first floor, but to continue endlessly downward into the depths below.
"This is the secret passage of the Spring Palace."
"Isn't this… a crucial secret?"
Charlotte calmly nodded her head.
"Yes. Aside from me, perhaps only His Majesty the Emperor knows of it. Neither Dyrus nor, naturally, Tana would know."
Charlotte showed me her necklace.
"This is the key."
It must be an heirloom passed down through the generations of the Spring Palace's occupants.
"…Should I not be seeing this?"
"Why not?"
Charlotte tilted her head inquisitively.
"We're friends, aren't we?"
Even so, to tell me something like this…
It's starting to become a bit frightening…
"So, where does this lead to?"
"This is the heart of the empire. The secret passage wouldn't be so mundane."
Charlotte led me down the long staircase and to a room at the end.
The secret passage concluded there.
In that room stood a single door. However, there was certainly a path there.
More than a path.
A gate.
"This is…"
"If it's a place for escape, one should be able to go anywhere, right?"
A warp gate stood in this space.
—---
A miniature warp gate. Of course, it was currently deactivated.
I didn't know how far it could reach, but if it connected to other warp gates within range, it would be a perfect means of escape.
"Could spatial magic be used within the palace?"
"It's possible but restricted, but why wouldn't it work in certain areas?"
Charlotte spoke as if it were nothing remarkable.
What could be the reason for her sharing this with me?
Charlotte revealed a very important secret just for the sake of amusement. It didn't seem like she had any other intentions.
It wasn't a space she could show off like a child bragging about their home.
I must consider this gate when the gate incident occurs. I cannot determine if a monster will emerge from this currently deactivated gate, but it was certainly a place that needed to be examined.
Charlotte continued to guide me through various areas even after leaving the bedroom.
There were many spaces, but they were mostly empty or contained very few people.
As a result, the entire place felt desolate.
"The palace is large, but not many spaces are in use. Lately, there are fewer people, making it even more desolate."
It wasn't as desolate as the White Palace of Arnaca I had visited before, but the Spring Palace also seemed forlorn.
It was a different kind of desolation.
The White Palace appeared to have always been such a place.
The Spring Palace, however, seemed like it hadn't always been this way.
It had not been desolate, but was becoming so.
Somehow, it felt like a dying place.
That was the sensation it evoked.
Upon touring every corner of the palace, a considerable amount of time had passed, and the glow of the setting sun poured in.
"Not much to see, huh?"
At Charlotte's words, I couldn't help but chuckle.
It was a bit odd to say that a palace with a mini warp gate in the basement wasn't extraordinary...
"I'd like to say, what are you talking about? But honestly, I suppose it's true."
In the end, that's all there was to it.
"You're quite frank."
Charlotte seemed pleased with my answer.
Although it was a palace, it was merely a grand building. With many empty spaces, Charlotte was not so much the master of the palace as a person living in one of its rooms.
The warm glow of the setting sun painted the corridor red, intensifying the melancholy due to the few people enjoying the light.
Amidst the desolate sunset, Charlotte, having completed the tour of the palace, gazed at me.
"It's strange."
"…What is?"
"Actually, I've always wanted to do this once."
She smiled a lonely smile.
"Bring a friend and show them where I live. Give them a tour and tell them that living in a place like this isn't all that impressive. At least, just once."
Charlotte wore an expression as if she had fulfilled an unexpected wish.
Though I was ‘coerced’ to come along, Charlotte had secretly hoped for this.
That's why, even though it was a pretense, I didn't mind, and despite knowing that Shanafel would object, she brought me along.
"You seem to know my heart quite well, Reinhardt. It's really strange… Why do you know so well? Why are you always there when I need someone?"
I had a feeling I knew what Charlotte needed right now.
Someone to simply be by her side.
That seemed to be what she needed.
"Actually, I'm going to quit the Temple soon."
At those words, my mind seemed to grind to a halt.
I couldn't tell what the warning from Gikam was, but in the end, was it meant to reveal this to me?
If I had carried on, distracted by other matters, Charlotte would have suddenly disappeared.
Without ever knowing why she vanished, I would have spent my time in frustration, unable to ask Berthus about Charlotte's well-being.
Berthus.
Charlotte.
Had she ultimately lost to Berthus?
What, then, was the murder in the Spring Palace? Did Berthus try to kill Charlotte and fail? If so, why didn't that failure cause problems for Berthus?
The palace was so empty due to the struggle for the throne, and was it to prepare for any possible misfortune that Sabiolin Tana took charge of Charlotte's protection?
"Is it because of Berthus?"
Charlotte's reaction to my question was peculiar.
"If that's the case, what will you do?"
"…What?"
"If I ultimately lost in the struggle for the throne, and that's why things are like this, and that's why I'm quitting the Temple… If that's the case."
Charlotte looked at me.
"Then, what will you do?"
"What will happen then?"
I already knew the answer.
"The outcome for the defeated royal family in the struggle for the imperial succession is clear. They either die immediately, or they die a little later."
Charlotte gazed at the scenery outside the palace.
"They could be killed right away, or exiled far away only to be eventually executed in their place of exile, yielding to the pleas of their vassals to eliminate the source of unrest. Oh, there are cases where they're attacked by bandits or ambushed on their way to exile... They won't be able to live."
After explaining this, Charlotte looked at me.
"If that becomes my fate, what will you do?"
My hesitation was short-lived.
No, there was no hesitation at all.
"I'll save you."
"How?"
"By any means necessary."
"Anyone can say that."
"No."
Ignoring Charlotte's words, I took a step closer to her.
"Did you forget my supernatural abilities?"
"..."
"When I believe, it happens."
Charlotte stared at me quietly.
"I will save you. That's how it's meant to be."
"It's just an excuse."
It is an excuse.
"Yes, it's an excuse."
I looked at Charlotte.
Indeed, this is just an excuse.
"But with an excuse, I became a supernatural being, succeeded in enhancing my magical power, and, despite being a beggar on the streets, I managed to enter this spring palace."
In my life full of excuses, I'll make another one. My excuses have always turned into reality.
This time will be no different.
I believe so.
"I'll save you no matter what happens, and if I fail to save you, I'll kill Berthus."
"!"
Anyone can say they will try to save you.
But not everyone can say they'll kill the next emperor if they fail to save you.
Charlotte, knowing what kind of crazy talk my words were, was shocked with her mouth agape.
I will do it.
Berthus may be my friend now, but if he kills Charlotte, he can no longer be my friend.
Charlotte tried to understand the meaning of my words but eventually gave up and let out a bitter laugh.
"You... Why are you doing all this for me? No matter how much I think about it... I really don't understand why you need to go this far, even saying such things for me."
"We're friends, aren't we?"
"!"
How many times have we repeated these words today?
In the end, Charlotte lost her words to the final echo of that phrase.
After a long silence, Charlotte swallowed and looked at me with a forced smile.
"What a shame."
What is she regretting?
"I know you've been acting strange today because you're worried about me. But this is enough."
Of course, Charlotte couldn't help but know the reason for my strange behavior today.
"It's not because of Berthus. So..."
Charlotte pinched my cheek slightly.
"You won't have a chance to cause trouble this time."
It was an expression like receiving a death sentence, something that even my excuses couldn't change.
"Thank you, Reinhardt."
Tears welled up in Charlotte's eyes.
"I wanted to hear that you'd cause trouble for me."
I may not have a chance.
But Charlotte, as if it was enough just to hear those words, was crying and smiling.
