Crest of the Strongest Knight

Chapter 46 - The Duke's Duties

Viviane sighed, disappointed with herself. As a noble, she really should do better at hiding her emotions. "...I think that's enough about me, father. More importantly, I was worried about you, you know?"

"Hm? Why's that? There's been a bit of movement at the border lately, sure, but that's just routine for Kaslavna. Though, I'm not sure why they've called me back."

"Well, that's exactly it, isn't it?" Viviane said. "I thought you were supposed to be away for six months still. I mean, I'm glad to see you of course, but isn't that..."

"Irregular?" Duke Castellia finished. "Indeed. It's highly irregular, especially since Kaslavna likes sending their little skirmish parties disguised as bandits during the summer months. But I received an imperial order to return to the capital, so here I am."

"Ah!" Viviane's eyes lit up in understanding. "So that's why you were with the princess earlier! The emperor must've had something he wanted you to pass to her, right?"

Duke Castellia shook his head, then glanced around before responding. "Let's move to somewhere less crowded."

"Hm? Okay."

The duke took his daughter's hand and scoured the room for a less populated area of the ballroom. Finding none, he escorted her up the mezzanine before ordering the imperial knights stationed there to prevent anyone from coming up.

"So? What did the two of you talk about?" Viviane prompted. Technically, asking about what was clearly clandestine information in such a direct way was highly improper for a noblewoman, but Viviane's interest was piqued, and her father didn't care for formalities between them anyway.

"The emperor has been ill for the past week. He's recovered now, but he couldn't have sent that order. While the emperor is ill, the empress takes care of administrative duties, and the heir has a share of those as well."

Viviane nodded, following along so far.

"Because of that, the heir is empowered to issue imperial orders in the name of the emperor, and so too is the empress. However, the empress has her own seal and her own authority. She would not need to invoke temporary powers to recall me with an order of her own."

"Ah! So that's why you came to the princess! Only the heir would need to use the emperor's name to recall you!"

Duke Castellia shook his head. "Only half right."

"Eeeh? What did I miss?"

"Why, I came to see my wonderful daughter, of course!"

Viviane grinned. "Well, I'm glad you did. I really missed you... papa."

The duke's expression had already been gentle as he gazed at his daughter, but now it became tender. He smiled warmly and wrapped his arms around Viviane, pulling her into a tight hug. He rested his head upon her shoulder, hiding his slightly misted eyes. "I really missed you too, Vivi. I... I wasn't going to mention it for fear of worrying you, but this year, Kaslavna's been pretty daring. Your papa had a few close calls, but... I'm here now."

"...Yeah." Viviane squeezed her arms around her father. She couldn't see his face, but she could hear the shaking in his voice. Father must've really been scared...

Now that they were relatively alone, they'd left their masks behind. The duke was the general of the northern region and commander of the empire's finest. He led the first line of defense against the hostile Kaslavna, and though he was a brave man, he was only a man. As a noble, he relied on his tactical acumen on the battlefield and the protection that his knight provided.

However, that knight was Lady Castellia, once a proud warrior who sat on the Round Table and now his wife. While it was a knight's duty to protect their liege even at the cost of their own life, Duke Castellia would never allow himself to watch as his wife endangered herself for his sake.