"So, how much do you know?"
After settling myself and receiving the massage from the attendants Cindy had arranged, I asked her once again about the purpose of her visit.
I had a rough idea. She had anticipated that I would return to the imperial capital at breakneck speed and had prepared accordingly. In other words, she had grasped the situation regarding my father and was here to discuss it.
"As expected of Your Majesty."
"You're the impressive one here, though."
"I am?"
"For a woman like you to prepare all this and wait for me, you couldn't have done it unless you caught wind of something extraordinary."
"...Your Majesty truly is incredible."
Cindy spoke with deep emotion, her eyes feverish with admiration. However, that lasted only for a moment before her expression instantly tightened.
"Lord Noisehill has entered the palace."
"...The First Prime Minister from two generations ago, you mean?"
Cindy gave a small, silent nod.
Noisehill was the First Prime Minister when I was a child. He served under my father, the late Emperor, for nearly thirty years, holding the post of First Prime Minister longer than anyone else during my father's reign. He was a man who could be called a vital behind-the-scenes contributor without the slightest hesitation. Afterward, he resigned of his own accord due to advanced age, returned to his hometown, and severed all ties with politics. Incidentally, his successor was Jean, and now my confidant Don has taken over as First Prime Minister.
That very Noisehill had entered the palace—he had appeared before my father.
"I see... Do you know Father's condition?"
"According to reliable sources."
"Go on."
"His consciousness is clear, and there are no abnormalities in his speech. However..."
"However?"
"He has dismissed all the imperial consorts from his presence."
"...Is that so?"
I nodded heavily.
With the caveat that Cindy's information was accurate, my honest impression was that things were worse than expected.
"Is it... not good?"
"..."
I glanced briefly at the men massaging me.
"Please rest assured, they are handpicked individuals. If anything spoken here were to leak, the fault lies entirely with me."
"It's just like you not to claim it is completely impossible."
"I am humbled."
"Noisehill is a man adept at keeping a low profile."
I turned my eyes toward the carriage wall. Framing my mindset as looking at the scenery outside through the wall, I began to speak.
"After stepping down as First Prime Minister, he secluded himself in his hometown, ensuring that neither he nor his descendants would have any hand in governance. Normally, if someone served as First Prime Minister for thirty years, they could do whatever they pleased with that kind of influence."
"Yes, I think so as well."
"However, that would incur resentment."
"Resentment... from whom?"
"Me."
"Your Majesty?"
"More precisely, a hypothetical me."
"A hypothetical... Your Majesty?"
"Heh, this isn't just about someone else, you know."
"Huh?"
"Suppose your younger brother grows up and successfully takes over the family. How old will you be by then?"
"Um..."
Looking bewildered, Cindy racked her brain to answer my "question." Wearing a mischievous smile, I continued.
"Imagine feeling triumphant about taking over the family, thinking 'now is my era'—only to have an elder meddling from the sidelines. It'd be enough to kindle a murderous urge or two."
"Ah... So as not to incur Your Majesty's displeasure..."
"Precisely."
I chuckled softly. Of course, I had no such intentions. If there was reason, I would listen; if laws were broken, I would solemnly punish them. However, a hypothetical me—a hypothetical new emperor—might not be that way. It is a young person's instinct to hate being meddled with by the elderly. All the more so if it is a new emperor endowed with authority, perhaps even intoxicated by a sense of omnipotence from that power. And while an ordinary youth would merely complain, an emperor holds the power of life and death over all subjects of the empire. If he felt inclined, he could execute someone while ignoring the law altogether. (Though I believe one should never do that, considering the fallout.) In other words, I believe Noisehill went into complete retirement solely for self-preservation.
"For a man so skilled at keeping out of the limelight to enter the palace now, there can be no reason other than the retired emperor summoning him."
"Why would the retired emperor...?"
Cindy looked at me inquiringly. Her eyes suggested that if I had deduced this far, I must know the objective as well.
"...You said he dismissed all the imperial consorts, yes?"
"Eh? Yes."
Caught off guard by having her question returned with another question, Cindy's confusion grew as she nodded.
"...I see."
"Um... Ah!"
Cindy started to ask something more, but gasped mid-sentence. Her eyes went wide, and she stared at me with an astounded expression. I gave a small, silent nod.
In other words, that's what it meant.
The reason, and fundamentally, Father's condition. Even if it could be deduced, it was something that "could not be spoken from my mouth."
It had to be quite bad. The fact that Father of all people dismissed women from his presence, and that he summoned Noisehill—the confidant among confidants who served as First Prime Minister for thirty years—must be to draft a will. Of course, it was an inference. It was merely a deduction pieced together from circumstantial evidence. However, that was precisely why. It was a topic that must never be put into words by me—the Emperor.
"......Rest assured."
"Eh?"
Keeping my eyes on the wall, I spoke to Cindy.
"Nothing will happen immediately. No matter what occurs, there is certainly a grace period."
"Why... is that?"
"Long ago, the retired emperor told me something."
I spoke while recalling that exchange with Father from back then. I voiced Father's words that had thoroughly blended into my memories.
"'Out of ten people called wise rulers, nine taint their final years. Don't you think so, too?'"
"...Yes."
"The retired emperor was deeply concerned about that. Abdicating to pass the imperial throne to me while still alive was part of that measure."
"Why is that?"
"No matter who the person may be, one cannot make optimal judgments in a hazy state on the brink of death."
"Ah..."
"The retired emperor's reasoning was likely that, while he was still lucid and before descending into a senile nuisance who tarnishes his final years, he wanted to select a proper successor and transfer power without causing ripples."
"I see."
"Having experienced it once, an analogy can be drawn. I, too, would want to properly decide important matters while my mind is still clear."
In other words, a will. But here too, I kept the direct phrasing vague. This too was nothing more than an inference based on circumstantial evidence, but it couldn't be far from the truth.
"I-I see..."
Cindy said so and nodded—however... Her face was stiff and pale. She was trembling at the realization that the wise emperor who had built the empire's golden age, the man who had been the Emperor ever since she was born, was nearing his death. Though I had thoroughly obscured any direct phrasing, someone as clever as Cindy would understand it all the more clearly. However, her expression soon hardened with determination, as if she had resolved herself for something.
"Your Majesty."
"What is it?"
Cindy prostrated herself before me once again. Sensing their master prostrating, the blind masseurs seemed to notice something and became agitated, which transmitted through the tension in their hands massaging my shoulders and waist.
"What are you intending to do?"
"I swear I will not utter a single word. However, I have no confidence in keeping my attitude hidden."
"Is that so... Hmph."
"Therefore, please take my—"
"I heard a rumor on the wind that an elixir of immortality exists in the frontier lands of Almeria."
"—Eh?"
Dumbfounded, Cindy was startled by the sudden topic. With both hands and knees still on the floor, she raised only her face to look at me.
"Go search for it. It's a foolish rumor, so there's no need to use unnecessary people. Search for the treasure by yourself, and come report to me three months from now."
"...Ah!"
Cindy gasped; it seemed she understood my intention. In short, because she had no confidence in keeping it hidden, she was asking to be silenced. In response, I fabricated an excuse to send her alone to the frontier for half a year, ordering her not to meet anyone. In other words, I gave her a convenient pretext to keep her alive. Realizing that, she gasped.
"Also—take this with you."
I stopped the masseur's hands, picked up a fresh sheet of paper, and set my pen to work. Then, I handed it to Cindy. Cindy sat back on her knees and received it. Written on the paper was simply: People are treasure.
"This is...?"
"Do not think of anything foolish so lightly. Read that aloud once a day for three months."
"Your Majesty..."
Deeply moved, Cindy held the note written in my own hand—People are treasure—to her chest while remaining on her knees, her eyes welling with tears.
"People are treasure. People are—ah!"
Having immediately read it aloud, Cindy gasped as if noticing something.
"You catch on fast."
I chuckled softly.
People are treasure. Beyond preventing her from harboring reckless ideas, those words held another meaning. I had sent Cindy on a "treasure hunt" journey for a nonexistent elixir of immortality. I didn't know how things would turn out in three months, but I handed it to her hoping that by the time she was able to meet people again, the "treasure hunt" would shift from an elixir of immortality to people. It was a message telling her to scout talented individuals while she was at it. Talented people were precious as well, but far easier to find than some elixir of immortality. Cindy had realized that before even departing.
"You really are clever."
"Your Majesty is the one who... truly is incredible..."