Tales of Leo Attiel ~Portrait of the Headless Prince~

Volume 4, Narrator, to the Sky (in Place of Volume 4’s ‘Afterword’)

Nowadays, there were not many people who wanted to hear stories about Leo Attiel. That was easy enough to see. Even though he had been invited to this imperial court as a guest, and even though at first there had been a great crowd of people, there was currently only a tiny audience left in the great hall.

Exchanges of all sorts were now thriving between this country and the neighbouring kingdom of Garbera, and apparently, the many chivalric romances that flourished there had also gained popularity at the imperial court. The nobles all wanted to invite minstrels from Garbera to every banquet that they hosted. Night after night, the spellbound guests listened to tales of virtuous knights destroying evil for the sake of beautiful ladies.

For those who were entranced with dazzling legends of chivalry, Leo Attiel's story was far too plain and lacking in glamour, since there was no heart-thumping element of good being rewarded and evil punished, and neither were there enough passionate love scenes.

─ Yet amidst that:

“And what happened then? What did the sovereign-prince do? And how did Lord Leo act? No, wait... that would have been around about when civil war broke out in Dytiann again. So, anyway...”

The only one to show enthusiasm for Leo's story was the young emperor himself, and that fact made him feel like he had been saved. At the very least, he probably wouldn't be kicked out of the palace after being told: 'We've no use for birds who only sing boring songs.'

“Your Majesty, the hour is already late.” Sitting beside the emperor, the equally youthful empress – or better said, the almost girlishly young empress – seemed to be fighting back yawns as she spoke. “Let's continue tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? Tomorrow we leave early for Apta. You know that.”

“Then it should be fine to invite our guest onboard the air carrier, right?” The empress' reply was short and decisive.

'Is that alright?' she asked with her eyes, and he bent at the knee in response.

“I am a wanderer with no urgent business. I am at His Majesty's disposal.”

“Right, then that's decided. Hurry and get ready. I'll hear the rest starting early tomorrow.”

Since it was settled, the emperor immediately got up and left. Half exasperated, half amused, the empress laughed.

“His Majesty really seems to have fallen in love with Leo Attiel. Dear guest, please take care: your throat will definitely be overused tomorrow. So when you lose your excellent voice, please be sure to put all the blame on His Majesty!”

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