TGS - Chapter 67
Chapter 67: Candor and Concealment
The cold winter wind howled past, failing to storm into the room and wreak havoc, but it still made the candlelight flicker and the burning charcoal crackle and pop.
With the Royal Guard standing watch outside, the room was an absolutely private space for the night. No matter what they discussed or how they discussed it, not a single muffled word would be overheard by an outsider.
Alyuin pinched a still-damp strand of her hair and idly twirled it.
"Actually, I can tell. In your eyes, is there no difference in status between me, Lena, and the poor and enslaved?"
Lotus was silent for a moment. "But people have their close and distant relationships."
This was a tacit admission.
Royal nobles, wealthy merchants, commoners, lowly slaves... the chasm-like classes that humans had divided themselves into were likely no more than a distinction between ants of different sizes in the eyes of a god.
Of course, this wasn't what Lotus thought, but the Princess believed it to be so.
Alyuin did not know the River Goddess's true origins; she could not understand that Lotus had been human before becoming a god, just as she did not know of the transformations in the world of the distant future.
For this very reason, her efforts to think from a divine perspective, detached from the truth, had led her thoughts completely astray.
"I've always understood," Alyuin paused, "back when we were still in Kadera, the expression on your face when you looked at the temple priests was no different from when you looked at those hired laborers. Even when you were teaching me, you would reveal it unintentionally, so I've always understood."
Lotus sat up a little straighter, the gentle smile in her eyes becoming more serious. "Then, what are your thoughts?"
Lotus had never even considered guiding the Princess toward the idea that all people were equal. Every era had its own rules, and thought was determined by the development of productive forces. In an age where slavery hadn't even been abolished, empty talk of equality was nothing more than a castle in the air—not to mention that Alyuin herself was royalty.
Wasn't the existence of the royal family the most vivid reflection of the era's light and shadow?
All she hoped for was that the Princess could have a clear conscience, take back everything that should have been hers, always walk on the correct path, and lay a foundation for the future.
Alyuin was silent for a long time.
Lotus lowered her gaze, and just as she was about to say good night and leave, she heard the other ask in a perfectly casual tone, "Why did you choose me in the beginning?"
"What do you think?"
Lotus tossed the question back.
"If you ask me, it's because you thought I was cute and liked me from the moment you first saw me," Alyuin said without the slightest hesitation.
With that, the slightly serious atmosphere from before completely dissipated. Lotus couldn't help but laugh. "Alright, that was indeed one of the reasons."
Alyuin, on the other hand, was taken aback, seemingly not expecting such a straightforward answer.
Lotus continued, "You are cute, you bear hatred and responsibility, you have a unique connection with me... but most importantly, you were capable."
There was another reason, nearly as weighty as the last.
That young princess, standing before the divine statue with her hands clenched, had looked up at her as if trying to see into the statue's very soul with her brilliant golden eyes.
That was a signal for help sent out by a future powerhouse at the most vulnerable moment of her life. It was her final prayer before she stripped away the expectations and confusion that should not have been there.
At that moment, Lotus had very much wanted to extend a hand.
And in the end, that is precisely what she did.
Her long, raven-feather lashes drooped, concealing the expression in her eyes. Lotus waited for the Princess to ask her question.
However, a question was asked, but it was not the one Lotus expected to hear—
"A unique connection between you and me—what does that mean?"
Alyuin tried her utmost to maintain a composed and indifferent expression, but her eyes lit up uncontrollably. If she were truly a cat, her ears would have perked up and her long tail would be swaying gently.
Lotus: "..."
She had let it slip.
The goddess averted her gaze, her voice steady. "Alyu, your hair must be dry now, right? I should go back and rest. You should get to sleep early too. Good night."
Before her words had even faded, she moved to withdraw.
Behind her, Alyuin sighed.
A weight settled on her shoulders, a soft yet resilient pressure against her back.
Lotus unconsciously stopped in her tracks. Lowering her gaze, she saw a pair of slender forearms reach around from behind, the wrists loosely clasped together in front of her.
The overlapping knuckles were delicate and long, the nails oval, smooth, and clean, growing from fine, evenly toned, honey-colored fingertips like exquisite, crescent-based crystals.
Alyu's hands were truly beautiful, perfectly suited for playing a musical instrument.
Just by looking at these hands, no one would ever imagine that what they held most often was not a pen or a harp, but a formidable sword and bow.
The thought had not even completed a full turn in her mind before Lotus came back to her senses and instinctively raised a hand to rest on the two clasped ones.
"What is it?"
"It's alright, you don't have to tell me what that connection is. I just want to confirm if it's real—" The Princess's arms tightened around her neck. "—if it's truly one-of-a-kind?"
Lotus opened her mouth.
Perhaps it wouldn't matter if she told her—about the peculiar resonance that occurred when Alyuin's tears fell on the statue, about how the Princess's existence during that time had helped a goddess break free from her bonds. This was a truth Alyuin had the right to know.
But as the words reached her lips, she didn't know where to begin.
If she told her, what then? Why would a goddess be trapped in a stone statue? And how would she explain the little deceptions she had spun back then to gain the trust of a sensitive young princess?
Though it contained no ill will, that kind of deception was still a lie.
At that time, Lotus was far from imagining she would build such an intimate relationship with Alyuin. She had only thought she would watch quietly, like any deity in a legend who helps a mortal achieve greatness...
Lotus closed her eyes and nodded, giving an affirmative reply.
Alyuin said softly, "That's wonderful."
She rested her chin on her own upper right arm, her head tilted. Her every breath was filled with the faint fragrance emanating from the goddess's hair and skin, and her heart felt incomparably at peace.
The goddess had said she was special. That was good, but it wasn't enough, because she couldn't be sure if that sentiment was stable.
But a connection, a real, existing connection, could not be erased. What's more, it was a relationship that belonged solely to her and Lotus, and no one else.
"Lotus, I'll answer your earlier question."
"What I think isn't actually important. The poor and the enslaved don't care either. What they want is to live well, to have enough food and clothing, and a house to shelter them from the wind and rain."
Lotus instinctively tried to turn her head, but the person behind her raised a hand to her cheek, gently preventing the movement.
"I'm sorry, but while I can see them as the same kind of people, I cannot treat them as equals. And not just them, but many more—to be a king means to stand high above the masses. I can be affable to everyone, but I cannot see anyone as my peer."
"But, I will see them."
See their suffering, understand their hardships.
This path was destined to be perilous, but she would be the one to win in the end. When that time came, no amount of glamorous pretense would be able to deceive the young queen's eyes.
"Not just the poor and the enslaved, but everyone who is willing to support me. I gain more power through their trust. They believe I can do better than Horst, so I will repay them with a better life. This is the contract I make with my people."
The last sentence echoed softly, spoken right next to her ear.
"I will make Solancia better than it was under my father, better than under any of the past kings."
—Your choice was not wrong.
As her voice fell, Alyuin released her arms from around the goddess and straightened up.
She suddenly noticed that Lotus's hair, which hung down her back, had been slightly mussed by her previous actions.
The Princess pressed her lips together, then raised her fingers and meticulously smoothed out the strands of hair.
Due to years of training in archery and swordsmanship, the pads of Alyuin's fingers had long since developed a thin layer of calluses. As they brushed over the back of Lotus's neck and shoulders again and again, the sensation became distinct.
"You don't have to, I can do it myself," Lotus blurted out.
"It's almost done. Even if you think it tickles, please bear with it," Alyuin said.
It wasn't that it tickled—it was just helping to tidy her hair, a perfectly normal touch, but Lotus couldn't help feeling a little awkward.
She didn't notice that the slight mess had long since been smoothed out.
Alyuin gently combed through Lotus's long hair with her fingertips. To say she was combing it was perhaps less accurate than to say she was stroking it.
The strands of hair were gathered to either side and brought to the front, revealing the nape of the goddess's neck.
Her skin, which seemed far too fair in comparison to the Princess's own and that of most of Solancia's inhabitants, was like freshly fallen snow from the day before yesterday, captivating Alyuin's gaze.
She hesitated for only a moment, then carefully held her breath, lowered her head, and brushed her lips against the back of Lotus's neck—at a spot just above a small, protruding vertebra—in an extremely light and swift touch.
The action was performed so naturally that her expression after raising her head was completely unchanged.
"Good night, Lotus."
The Princess gave the goddess a light smile.
"Good night... get some sleep. And if you're going to read, don't stay up past the fourth hour."
Lotus closed the door but did not leave immediately.
She leaned her back against the door, facing an arched window that was open on the other side of the corridor. Moonlight poured in like liquid silver, falling upon her slightly upturned blue eyes.
Perhaps her thoughts were still somewhat shallow, perhaps they needed deeper contemplation.
But even without the tutelage of a highly regarded sage from the royal city, or the guidance of a grand vizier steeped in years of court politics, the Princess would ultimately walk a path no worse than anyone else's.
If—no, not if, it was a certainty. She would certainly be a very good king.
In the history that she had not been a part of, Alyuin would be posthumously revered as the uncrowned queen, and certainly not just because of her numerous military achievements.
A commander who simply led troops into battle would only be listed among the famous generals by later generations.
Only a princess who was willing and able to bear the responsibilities of a king would be crowned by the people's word of mouth after her passing.
If the "her" from that poem had survived...
Waking from that history which was now destined not to be repeated, Lotus turned and walked toward her own temporary room next door. At the same time, she subconsciously raised a hand to touch the back of her neck.
The sensation from that last touch clearly didn't feel like a finger.
But if not a fingertip, what could it have been? It must have been her imagination.
After a brief stop in the city, the caravan set off once more, heading for the next trading post.
By now, they were not very far from the royal city. The customs and habits along the way were gradually beginning to resemble those of the capital, which seemed both strange and familiar to the Princess, who had been forced to leave Akhet at the age of nine.
The closer they got to the royal city, the more city lords treated the Princess with indifference.
Alyuin had a good memory, so she could tell that the lords of many cities were not the same people as they had been several years ago. They had been replaced by a younger generation, who were likely more obedient to Horst's commands.
Nine years.
Not only had Alyuin gradually matured on the border and taken control of her own power, but Horst's branch of the royal family had also used this time to firmly plant its roots in the royal city.
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