kscans

Chapter 17 - Truth and the Reverse Side

"Tagi." The King’s voice was grave.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"You understand the gravity of this situation, do you not?"

A public annulment of an engagement. The unease among the nobles. A rift with the Ducal family was now inevitable.

"Yes. I will accept any punishment." Tagi’s purple eyes looked directly at his father, the King.

"I ask for your approval of my engagement to Lady Sumika."

"…Hmph." The King exhaled.

"Sumika of the Viscount Scott family."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Do you understand that your status is different from Tagi’s?"

Tagi, who was in the line of succession, and the daughter of a minor noble with no wealth or power.

"With all due respect, Your Majesty—I believe that ‘when struck by love’s golden arrow, one should be true to one’s own heart.’"

"The Snow-White Knight’s Tale," the King said with a faint smile.

"Litt."

"Yes, Your Majesty." The King’s purple eyes bore down on Litt’s green ones.

"It seems you bear some responsibility here as well."

"Now, wait a moment… I believe that’s a bit of a leap in logic."

"The tale you spun has brought my son and this lovely young lady together, has it not?"

"The power of stories is a frightening thing," Litt said, shrugging as if in resignation.

"Was Your Majesty’s sister anything like this?" The Queen was the one who giggled.

"Oh, yes. My dearest friend Ilika and her lover Safirld would go on and on about stories together. I admit, I was quite bitter, as if she’d been stolen from me. Hehehe."

"Thanks to that, Your Majesty was able to marry the King."

"Ilika is known to the world as a tragic princess, but the truth is rather different, you know."

"That’s because the official who was supposedly beheaded is still alive," Litt said, mimicking the Queen’s tone.

"…I have so many questions," Jin muttered, pressing a hand to his forehead. He had a massive headache. Physically, mentally, his head ached.

"Litt."

"What is it, Jin?"

"I’ll lecture you about your attitude in front of the King later, but—"

"Use words, please. Spare me the sword."

"What did he mean, ‘the tale you spun’?"

"He’s talking about The Snow-White Knight’s Tale, obviously," Litt answered breezily.

"Oh, or in this case, was it the romance stories, The Name of the Flower or Swearing Truth at the End of the World? It’s probably not The Reformation Count ~Does This Crest Not Meet Your Eyes?~ or The Lion King Comes!, which are about correcting injustices."

His headache throbbed. His stomach churned.

"What’s wrong, Jin? Your usual headache or a stomachache?"

"Both!" Jin snapped.

"You were Lord Torito Lute all along?!"

"Don’t use the title. It’s embarrassing."

His lack of denial was an admission. Touli and Sumika were speechless.

"No way!" Touli refused to accept it.

"That Lord Lute, who wrote those wonderful stories, is the same Lord Litt who does nothing but drink tea all day… I won’t believe it!" Touli’s eyes were set in a hard glare.

"Hey now, Touli. I perform my duties as a Court Secretary perfectly well. I even finished the invitations some prince sprung on me three days ahead of the deadline."

"That’s right. You did meet the deadline."

"Yes. But because of that, my deadline was cutting it close."

The subtle difference in his choice of words made Touli furrow his brow.

"Remember when we went to the castle town for ink? That day was the final deadline for a manuscript I’d been commissioned to write."

"Ah!" The letter box he’d given to Kud.

—The long love letter you were asked to ghostwrite. Make sure to keep the fact that I wrote it a secret. The words from the ink shop came flooding back.

"Look forward to it. I’ll bring you the next book first again." As soon as a new book was published, he would immediately receive a copy. No matter how popular, Litt always managed to get it.

"So you always get the book right away because you’re the author…"

"Yep. First edition, too."

Touli felt faint. If he were a delicate young lady, he surely would have fainted—

"Please give me your autograph, Lord Litt!" Sumika rushed forward, her eyes sparkling.

"Ah, she’s resilient," Touli mumbled. Jin chuckled.

"Amazing. Litt’s actually getting overwhelmed."

"—Should I call you Lord Torito Lute? I’ve read all your stories! To think I would actually meet you, whose name was all I knew, I am overcome with emotion my favorite is The Snow-White Knight’s Tale I’ve read it so many times my favorite scene is—"

"Wait. Wait, wait, Lady Sumika! I get it! I’ll give you an autograph later, I promise!" He held up his hands in surrender.

"Is that true?! An autograph for me, too!"

"Aaargh, His Highness Tagi is the same!"

Caught between the two of them, Litt looked to Jin for help, but Jin just watched the scene unfold.

"Hey, Jin!"

"I shall keep Lord Lute’s true identity to myself. I wouldn’t want to disappoint the members of my order."

"Have you forgotten the favor I did you, ghostwriting that love letter?!"

"Yes. I have."

"You heartless fiend!" Litt’s cry echoed through the stately Hall of Crests.

"—Save all of that for later. This is not an autograph session."

At Raoul’s exasperated voice, Tagi and Sumika snapped back to reality. They hastily composed themselves and glanced toward the King on his silver throne.

"It seems the farce is over."

"M-My apologies…" Tagi’s voice was barely a whisper. Sumika bowed her head as well.

The King’s eyes glinted like an eagle’s.

"To borrow a phrase from our popular writer over there, the main event has also reached its finale."