175 - Luggage from Lagarette
As the annual martial arts tournament among the Black Knights drew near, visitors to the residence increased. Leonardo was the lord of four fortresses including Grenore Fortress, so it was impossible for him to move between all of them just for the tournament. Therefore, the Black Knights who had won through the tournaments at each fortress and become vice-commanders would come to Grenore Fortress every year, barring exceptions like last year. Living in Grenore city I would have had no way of knowing, but apparently the tournament at Grenore Fortress was held about two weeks later than at other fortresses, to wait for the vice-commanders from the other fortresses to arrive.
I thought I heard the sound of a carriage and looked down from the window. I saw a tall figure getting out of a black carriage. Probably a guest of Leonardo's from another fortress. I could tell he was a Black Knight at a glance from his military uniform.
...The cloak was blue... deep navy, maybe? Or perhaps lapis lazuli.
It was a cloak color I had never seen before, so perhaps it was a guest from Lugmilama Fortress. The cloaks of the Grenore Knights, over which Leonardo presided as lord, were crimson, the Restham Knights were moss green, and the Mandez Knights were orange. I had never seen a deep navy cloak before.
I watched the guest being welcomed into the residence, then returned to my usual spot on the sofa. I had gotten the key to the attic back from Leonardo, but in the end I spent more time in my third-floor room. Hermine, my tutor tasked with teaching me proper ladylike behavior, had objected to the attic, and I could understand Leonardo's insistence that I gradually get used to things. So for now, the attic had become like the Amano-Iwato (T/N the Heavenly Rock Cave from Japanese mythology, a place to hide away) I mean, a place to escape to when I wanted to be alone.
"...Tina-sama, Leonardo-sama is calling for you."
Kalisa, who had been waiting in the corner of the room, suddenly vanished, and when she returned she seemed to have a message. I placed a bookmark in the book I had been reading partway through and headed to the reception room, where I found the Black Knight I had seen earlier.
...Hm? Was that a man? Or a woman?
At first glance, it was a bit hard to tell the gender. The face was beautifully made up, but the build was sturdy and tall. I tried looking at the throat to check for an Adam's apple, but it was hidden by the stiff collar of the military uniform. I was wondering if I could tell from the name or voice when Leonardo's words brought all my thoughts to a halt.
"...They say the lord of Lagarette entrusted them with luggage addressed to Tina."
It was probably inevitable that Leonardo would ask if I knew anything about it. Under normal circumstances, there was no reason anyone would imagine there being any connection between Jemian and me involving a delivery. From Leonardo's perspective, luggage from Jemian would be nothing more than a suspicious item whose sender might not even really be Jemian. And for a Black Knight to be delivering it was also odd.
"D-did you... see the contents?"
Despite feeling the blood drain from my face, I had to confirm. This was material for a prank on Leonardo. If he found out about it, the whole joke would be ruined.
"I have not seen them... should I have checked?"
"No deshu! It is a secret from Leonyaldo deshu!"
I hurriedly secured the box that had been placed on the table and hugged it to my chest. I heard a stifled laughing sound from above me, so the Black Knight who had delivered the luggage must have checked the contents. And by the way, even hearing their voice, I still could not tell if they were male or female.
"Sir Knight, thank you very much for going out of your way to deliver my luggage for me."
I turned to face the Black Knight with a lady's smile learned from Hermine. Even up close, and from the front, the gender was a mystery, but at this point I did not care. I needed to hide this box from Leonardo's sight as quickly as possible.
I gave a polite bow to the Black Knight and made my exit greeting. I was trying to escape the room quickly, but as usual, such things did not work on Leonardo.
"Tina, what is in the box?"
He seemed to have become even more curious, and asked.
"...When this is finished, I am thinking maybe I will finally forgive Leo?"
Since it was a topic I could not afford to have pressed, I deliberately tried to change the subject. Apparently for Leonardo, after being called 'Leo' affectionately, having my address revert to 'Leonyaldo-san' was quite painful. When I hinted that I was prepared to change it back, Leonardo easily took the bait.
"When it is finished, did you order embroidery thread or something?"
"Something like that... deshu."
Good, the subject had shifted, I thought, internally confident of victory, when I heard another stifled laugh from the Black Knight. Perhaps they found it amusing how easily their Commander, their superior, was being led around by a little girl he called his little sister. And as for the voice, it was too high to be a man's, too low to be a woman's, so it still was not going to help me determine the gender.
I carried the luggage to the attic and immediately checked the contents. I had asked Jemian through Basilia to find an artist who could draw the preliminary sketch for my embroidery, and the sketch had been completed sooner than expected. I had thought more discussion would be necessary, but since the artist Jemian chose was that boy from before, it seemed he was able to draw the sketch faster since there was no need to prepare a model drawing. I heard that young painter's arm wound had healed, but he still could not wield his brush as he wished. It was hard for him to complete a work on his own, but he still wanted to draw something, so he had accepted this odd commission of just the preliminary sketch. By the way, the payment to Jemian was promised to be 'showing him the finished work.'
"...Is it not a bit... in poor taste?"
"Huh? I think he drew it very skillfully, don't you?"
Since I had had Hermine check my letters to Basilia, she knew all about what I had commissioned. So she was probably curious about how the sketch had turned out. Normally she never came near the attic as a matter of principle, but today she had come to check the sketch.
"I can see the artist is skilled. The model is impeccable. But..."
She pointed out that the motif was questionable, and I looked at the sketch again. It was a preliminary drawing based on the myth of the War God Herkeles, using Leonardo as the model. It was also my retaliation against Leonardo, who had had a portrait of me made as a birthday present.
...Let him learn how it feels to receive a picture of yourself and not be all that happy about it.
When the vice-commanders of each fortress arrived in Grenore city, they first came to greet Leonardo. So even with someone I was seeing for the first time, I could vaguely tell who had arrived. The Black Knight who had delivered the luggage from Lagarette was apparently the vice-commander of Lugmilama Fortress. His name was Rumeel, and it seemed he had been entrusted with the luggage when he stopped in Lagarette on his way to Grenore.
Currently in Grenore city, the vice-commanders of the Mandez Knights, Restham Knights, and Lugmilama Knights were assembled, along with the Commander and vice-commander of the Grenore Knights. Even someone as ignorant of this country's military affairs as I was could tell this was an impressive lineup.
And this magnificent gathering, one that would thrill any young boy, was staying at the mansion given to the vice-commander (Alf). Normally they would have stayed at the lord's residence, but this year the guest rooms were occupied by Jasper and the Silver-White Knight.
"...Alf-san, you look tired."
As always, the Black Dog (Oscar) came to me every morning, so I occasionally brought him to Alf's mansion where Bertrand was also staying. When I invited the Black Dog to go to Alf's mansion, he happily raised his tail and followed me, but when I tried to push him inside and close the door, he resisted. He slipped out through the gap before the door fully closed and sat down beside me. He clung to me so persistently that I wondered if he might be being abused by Bertrand, but according to Alf, that was not the case. While at the mansion, he apparently always stayed close to Bertrand's side, looking relaxed.
"That Bertrand-dono..."
Alf paused and pressed his temples. The overly energetic Bertrand, inspired by the steadily gathering vice-commanders of the surrounding knight orders, had apparently started saying he wanted to participate in the martial arts tournament held at the fortress.
...What is that, sounds amazing.
I felt bad for Alf, who was clutching his head, but thinking of it as a showdown between the old and new heroes, I kind of wanted to see it. If possible, I might even call Nils, a fan of Bertrand's. Nils was always helping me, so if not for an opportunity like this, I would not be able to repay him.
"...But can he even do that?"
Bertrand was a hero of the past after all, and now he was retired from the knight orders. Could he really just drop in and participate in an active knights' tournament? When I pointed this out, Alf answered with a distant look in his eyes, saying that when it came to physical activity, Bertrand was not the type to listen to reason. Apparently our country's hero was a remarkably muscle-brained specimen.
...And Alf-san, you are the one who has to deal with it.
My condolences, I thought, stretching up to pat his head, but I could not reach it at all. I had grown a little taller this year, but I could not even reach his shoulder. However, it seemed the effort was acknowledged, and instead, my head was patted.
I returned to the residence and reported Alf's exhausted state to Leonardo. While I was at it, I also confirmed whether Bertrand's drop-in participation in the tournament was even possible.
"No matter who Bertrand-dono is, a drop-in to the Black Knights' tournament cannot be permitted."
Leonardo stated firmly, and I felt a complicated mix of disappointment and relief that Alf would not have to deal with more exhaustion. It was not my business, but still I relaxed a little, letting my shoulders drop. Then at Leonardo's next words, I became convinced that Alf was indeed born under a star that destined him to carry burdens.
"...A drop-in cannot be permitted, but Bertrand-dono has already submitted an application."
It seemed he had gotten the jump on us, arranging for prior notification of participation to make it possible. The application had been meticulously prepared with the names of several Grenore Fortress knights and the vice-commanders of each fortress as references. Considering that despite being a muscle-brain, he gets things done through proper channels in strange ways, this probably was not the first time, more a matter of experience than wisdom. To the active Black Knights, Bertrand was an object of admiration and worship. If they had a chance to see his swordsmanship live, it was no surprise that everyone would welcome it with open arms.
"Come here," Leonardo beckoned, so I obediently approached. When he tried to pull me onto his lap, I tapped him on the nose to refuse. I kept telling him I would not sit on his lap now that I was ten years old. If Leonardo got hit by me, it was his own fault.
"...It seems news of the custody battle over Tina last year reached someone's ears."
Leonardo said this, his eyes wandering slightly. News of his all-too-serious match with Alf last year had apparently leaked somehow, and Bertrand was saying that if he won, instead of custody of me, he wanted to request a meeting with Jean-Jacques.
"For that... to keep Wards disease from being brought into the city, Leonyaldo-san has to win, deshu ne."
Jean-Jacques was quarantined for a reason. I did not know what business Bertrand had with Jean-Jacques, but I could not allow a visit to a quarantined person.
"Will you cheer for me, Tina?"
"I do not know if I will go watch yet because I am still scared, but I will cheer for you."
"Then I will show that troublesome hero the way to the afterlife."
He is retired, so he should not be showing up with his aged body, he said. Someone had to beat Bertrand and teach him he could not do as he pleased like in his active days.
It was a secret that Leonardo, smiling fearlessly as if saying he was the only one who could do that job, looked just a little bit cool.
I was torn between making the Lugmilama Fortress vice-commander an okama or a female knight, but in the end I went with gender ambiguous for now. Either way, they have abs. The Black Knights are merit-based, so while women can become knights, there are no princess knight types at all, only formidable women who are basically no different from men with abs get hired. The decorative White Knights do have a few princess knight types here and there.
I will fix typos and omissions later. I have corrected the typos and omissions I found.