224 - The Capital, Proval
I had heard it was a few weeks to the capital by carriage, but whether because the royal carriage was so large or because Alfred stopped occasionally for inspections, over a month had passed since we left Grenore before the capital's walls came into view. My birthday is early summer, but in just two more weeks, the Recollection Festival would come again this year. I had planned to split the time with Nils this year, the two of us handling the Spirit's Favored Child work together, but it looked like Nils would end up working all day again this year. I felt more than a little sorry about it, but Nils had been out at the Recollection Festival all day even before I was counted as a Spirit's Favored Child, so looking only at the results, nothing had changed.
"It's surprisingly low for what they call the capital's walls, isn't it?"
At first glance, the stone walls were shorter than Leonardo's height. It might be hard for a horse to jump over, but it wasn't a height a person couldn't overcome with ingenuity. As walls meant to protect a city, it felt a bit concerning.
"The Outer Town is a relatively new district. They plan to raise the walls eventually, but for now they're still low."
Alfred explained that even low walls had their advantages. Put simply, they'd chosen a height that horses and donkeys couldn't easily cross, and that could surround the area to be defended within a short period. It seemed encircling all the towns at the same time had been the priority. What was now called the Outer Town had originally been separate villages and towns near the capital, not part of it. When integrating those towns and villages into the capital, the king at the time apparently first chose to surround them with low walls to avoid any inequality. The high walls could be built later, supposedly.
After passing through the low walls, the scenery inside was not much different from what I'd seen from the carriage window during the journey so far, as if several towns and villages had indeed been integrated. A peaceful landscape of spreading fields, with occasionally a solitary small house visible, or clusters of homes gathered together.
"...Huh? I can see walls again?"
After proceeding along the highway for a while, another wall that looked like city walls came into view. This time, the walls were truly proper walls. They were at a height that would be impossible to cross whether by jumping a horse or by a human using all their ingenuity.
...And sure enough, there were merchants gathered here too, at these walls.
People gathering around the city gates was a sight I'd seen in Grenore and Lagarette as well. Merchants wanting to do business within the walls, and people with business inside, were undergoing procedures and inspections to pass through the gates.
"Are the capital's walls double-layered?"
"Three layers, actually. There's the newly added Outer Town, the Inner City that existed before, and then a wall separating the Inner City from the Noble District."
At Alfred's explanation, I couldn't help but look back at the low walls we should have passed through. We were naturally too far away to see them anymore, but considering the distance, the capital's outer circumference was terrifyingly vast. And the gate ahead leading to the Inner City was so large I couldn't see its end from inside the carriage.
"...It's huge."
"It's the capital, the center of the country. It's bound to be huge."
There were rivers to the west and south of the capital respectively, and those rivers were the backbone of the capital's logistics. Where goods gathered, people naturally gathered too. For similar reasons, Grenore was also a large city despite being near the border. The Great City of Lagarette lay along the river leading to the port town, and the port town of Tior flourished for the same reason. Where there was logistics, people gathered even if it was somewhat dangerous.
"The capital's defense is handled by the Ronyore Fortress to the southeast. If something happens and the king needs to leave the capital, the Ronyore Fortress is where he'd hole up first."
"That's a name I'm hearing for the first time."
"That's because the Ronyore Fortress isn't under your brother's jurisdiction. You wouldn't normally hear about it."
If anything, Leonardo himself, as lord of four distant fortresses, was the one who wasn't normal, but I'd set that aside for now. According to Alfred's digression, back when challenging Leonardo after he became lord of the four fortresses was a trend, the lord of Ronyore Fortress had also challenged Leonardo and lost. Apparently the knight commander had changed since then, but if Leonardo was staying in the capital, that person might come by wanting to have a match.
"Is there a residence for Bertrand-sama in the Noble District?"
"There are residences for Bertrand and Alf. And not to hide it, my own residence is also in the Noble District."
"...Your residence, Alfred-sama? Not the castle as your home?"
In the carriage making a wide detour around the gates lined with merchants, I found myself caught on Alfred's words. Something felt strange. As I tilted my head and moved my gaze from the gates to Alfred, he blinked as if he didn't understand what my look meant, then a moment later his expression showed understanding and he gave a wry smile.
"Children of the king who have obtained the Royal Peerage are given a residence in the capital in addition to their territory. The only ones who live in detached palaces in the royal castle are underage children of the king and those who haven't obtained the Royal Peerage."
"I heard that with the Royal Peerage, if you manage your territory without problems for a few years, you get the right to inherit the throne...? Are there other differences too?"
"Simply put, it's the difference between someone who understands the duties and responsibilities of a ruler's child and has advanced to the next stage of learning toward succession, and someone with neither the talent nor the pride to be a ruler."
The former became the Royal Peerage, the latter just royalty. It was like the difference between a child who went out into society and worked, and a NEET who gnawed at their parents' resources forever without working. In any case, from his tone it was clear Alfred didn't have a good impression of royalty without the Royal Peerage.
"Alfred-sama dislikes royalty who don't have the Royal Peerage, don't you?"
"Children can't be helped, but I think adults who don't have the drive to obtain the Royal Peerage and support the government are just freeloaders. The prime example would be my second older brother."
The second prince, despite being of good age, apparently hadn't obtained the Royal Peerage and still lived in a detached palace in the royal castle. Based on what I'd just heard from Alfred, royalty who didn't work were truly just freeloaders. Considering that all their food, clothing, and shelter was covered by the citizens' taxes, it was understandable that Alfred found it frustrating.
"It's not that they chose to be born as children of the king, but once you're born, there's no helping it. Having been born as a child of the king and receiving those benefits, I believe you should also fulfill the accompanying responsibilities."
...Alfred-sama is surprisingly a proper prince, and I'm shocked.
I had seen him conducting inspections and work during the journey so far, but hearing his thoughts felt oddly ticklish. Because my first impression of him had been as a rowdy prince, I was inevitably pulled in that direction, but having interacted with him up close and watching from the side, the rowdy component was actually smaller. If anything, I thought it might be better to consider Alfred as being genuine and releasing stress when he was in front of Alf. When Alf wasn't around, he was truly a prince to be respected.
"...Can I not see the city?"
As if to change the stuffy atmosphere, I shifted the topic. The carriage, having left the gates lined with merchants, was about to pass through another large gate. Something similar had happened at Grenore's gates, so I vaguely understood. For safety and speed, there were probably gates for royalty and nobles rather than the ones used by commoners.
"Today the carriage stands out too much. If you want to see the city, another time."
"True, this big carriage would certainly stand out."
This large, splendid carriage was conspicuous no matter what, and to that extent, one could vaguely guess at the status of the people inside. Those who didn't want to get involved in trouble wouldn't come near the carriage, and conversely, if anyone did approach, it would probably be someone unscrupulous trying to steal valuables.
...And here too, the carriage is non-stop. Maybe the gatekeepers recognize Alfred-sama's carriage?
Even if it was a gate for nobles and royalty, there should have been a confirmation procedure in principle. And yet, this carriage passed through the gates without stopping even once.
As I'd heard earlier that we wouldn't stop in the Inner City, the carriage proceeded further along the road. The wide road, spacious enough even for a large carriage to pass comfortably, had various shops lining both sides. The third wall that Alfred had told me about also came into view.
"...Huh? We're not going past the third wall?"
"That's the wall to the Noble District. It would be a detour."
I had assumed the royal castle was surrounded by walls for strong defense, with the castle inside triple walls, but apparently that wasn't the case. The wall protecting the royal castle had several gates, and apparently they were also open toward the Inner City where commoners lived.
"Are those gatekeepers Silver-White Knights?"
Spotting knights in white uniforms standing beside the gate, I asked Alfred. Looking at the uniform design, it seemed to be the same as the Silver-White Knights, but there was something off about their builds. They had bodies that didn't look like they'd trained as knights at all.
"Those gatekeepers are White Knights. Don't lump the Silver-White Knights, who also guard the royal family, together with such decorations."
He told me to look at the buttons, and I remembered. Siegwald had told me about this before. The Silver-White Knights had silver buttons and cloak clasps.
"...The White Knights' buttons are black, aren't they?"
"Though those who want to boast about their family's wealth apparently swap them for gold buttons."
In any case, it seemed this was indeed the knight order that lived up to its reputation of only being trusted with gatekeeping duties. Their bodies were even thinner than Pearl, who served as gatekeeper at the Fortress Lord's Residence. They really were a decorative knight order.
Passing through the gate leading to the royal castle, the carriage advanced steadily. After passing through the gate, the scenery became completely different from the city. The Inner City had paved stone streets, but within the castle grounds, while the roads themselves were paved with stone, the bare earth was visible in other places. I had thought the scale would be different from Grenore's Fortress Lord's Residence, given it was a castle, but even as the carriage advanced, we didn't reach what looked like a proper building for quite some time. Occasionally I could see buildings that looked like knight barracks or stables in the distance, or box-shaped structures, but the carriage showed no sign of heading toward them, simply continuing along the stone-paved road.
"...How much further are we going?"
Feeling that we should have arrived somewhere by now, I began to feel anxious and asked Alfred. If we were heading somewhere strange, Leonardo outside would surely have reacted, and Leonardo had been looking straight ahead the whole time, showing not a hint of unease. The only one feeling anxious was me, visiting the royal castle for the first time. Hermine might have been anxious too, but as always she was holed up in the bedroom, so I couldn't tell.
"We're heading to the detached palace that's going to be given to you. The detached palace is in the section where royalty lives, so it's at the very back."
Alfred continued saying it would still take a bit more time, but the words didn't sink in. I felt like some strange word had been mixed in, and my thoughts ground to a halt.
"...Did I hear you say a detached palace that's going to be given to me?"
"Yes, I did say that. A detached palace has been prepared for your stay."
"A detached palace? As in 'detached,' 'palace'...?"
I had assumed I'd be shown to a guest room during my stay, but apparently they were casually lending me a detached palace. And what was terrifying was that it wasn't a mishearing... Alfred had said 'given.' I didn't know how large the detached palace Alfred mentioned was, but apparently a whole building was being casually presented before me.
"Is that... normal treatment for being summoned by the king?"
"Of course not. The detached palace is being given as a consideration for you."
"What kind of consideration leads to casually being given a detached palace?"
"She's the sister of Leonardo, a commoner, and still a child. I suggested to my father that if she were put in a guest room in the royal castle, she might die from the tension and not be able to relax."
...I see, so the detached palace is Alfred-sama's doing.
I must have made an accusatory face without meaning to. Alfred shrugged as if to say that was unfair.
"Think about it. If they prepared a room for you within Father's living space, he'd come visit your room on a whim from morning until night."
"For Alfred-sama's exceptional consideration, I offer my sincere gratitude."
Alfred, who was a bit rowdy and dragged me around, was one thing, but I had heard that his father the king was even more impressive. I didn't want to unexpectedly encounter someone like that, and I'd be troubled if someone followed me around like Dietfried. From what I'd heard, he was the type I wanted to stay away from.
...Well, a detached palace doesn't seem like I'll be able to relax either.
I prayed it would at least be a compact building.
"The royal castle can be broadly divided into five sections."
The section where laborers who worked in the castle... servants, stable hands, cooks, laundry women, ladies-in-waiting, maids... lived and worked. The section where the offices, nap rooms, meeting rooms, and reception rooms of civil officials handling state affairs and military officers serving as knights were concentrated. The living section for officials. The section for training knights and warhorses. And finally, the section where the king and the royal family lived. It wasn't exactly this detailed, but roughly it was these five.
...And to top it off, the detached palace given to me is in the royal family's living section.
It felt like hardly any distance at all. If the king was as unconventional as they said, even if the building was different, being in the same section made me fear he'd come visit whenever he felt like it.
While Alfred was briefly explaining the layout of the royal castle, the carriage seemed to have reached its destination. At some point... I had no idea when she'd gotten out... the maid who was usually waiting inside the carriage opened the door from outside. I had been waiting for Leonardo to come get me, but Alfred held out his hand, so I followed his lead. Descending the carriage steps with Alfred's escort, a building stood towering before me that I could tell was still a bit larger than the Fortress Lord's Residence.
...It's huge! This is a detached palace?!
I couldn't reach where I planned to.
Typos and omissions again another day. Fixed any typos and omissions I found.