Chapter 60: Summer Is Coming

“I will have this gâteau au chocolat!” “A mille crêpe and a tiramisu, one of each!” “Sachertorte and Darjeeling tea, please!”

In the cafe space of the Western confectionery shop ‘La Vie en Rose’ that I summoned in the castle courtyard, flowers of dresses were blooming profusely. The ladies gathered here, adorned in dresses, are the wives and daughters of ‘Royal Faction’ nobles in the Royal Capital. In other words, a tea party hosted by Mother was held using my shop as the venue, but as soon as they tasted the served cakes, the elegant tea party turned into a tea party of hungry wolves starving for sweets. A little scary.

“Really, Sakuraile keeps surprising us. Eating such sweets feels almost like a dream.” “Yes, it’s truly delicious. I’m sure no other country has sweets like this.”

The ones saying that while bringing cake to their mouths are the Empress and Grandmother. Naturally, these two are also ‘Royal Faction’, so they were invited. Or rather, surprised by the cakes Mother brought as gifts, they were the ones who proposed this tea party. Probably intending to firmly grasp the stomachs… or rather, hearts of the ‘Royal Faction’ wives and daughters with these sweets. Even in noble families, there are quite a few households where the wife or daughter holds power. The power of women cannot be underestimated in any age. By the way, Julia-san, Estelle‘s mother and my sword teacher, is also here. The Euphonium Baron House is on intimate terms with the le Philharmonie Ducal House. Naturally, because they are ‘Royal Faction’. Well, due to peerage and various relations, they are not at the same table, though. Because a newly risen Baron House sitting at the same table as the Empress and Grandmother, who are Imperial Family, could invite jealousy from other nobles.

“This music is also wonderful. It calms the heart.”

Grandmother took a sip of apple tea and sighed—hou—in satisfaction. Currently, Edward Elgar’s ‘Salut d’Amour’ is playing via my [Store BGM]. Beautiful music, delicious cakes—it should be an elegant tea party, but seeing the ladies engrossed in eating cakes one after another, I was slightly put off. Even for nobles, sweets using sugar aren’t something they can eat so casually, and they aren’t this refined, so I understand the feeling of being engrossed, but… Kohaku-san, who stuck with me as my guard, is also devouring a roll cake on my lap. Is this child really a Divine Beast…?

“But was it okay to show my ‘Gift’ so openly like this?” “Well, Sakura-chan’s ‘Gift’ was already known to some extent by the noble crowd due to the Dark Dragon incident and such. I think it’s too late for that now, right? Besides, they won’t know the fine details, will they?”

Mother answers my question. Well, I did summon ‘Fuji no Yu’ back then. Even if they know it’s a ‘Gift’ that can summon stores, they won’t know what kind of stores, what restrictions there are, or how to use them. They probably won’t know how freely I can control even the [Store BGM]. Ah, regarding the protection of the Nine Goddesses, there is one more thing I received besides this [Store BGM]. Its name is [Entry Prohibition]. Just as it reads, it is an ability to forbid entry into the store. In other words, if I use the power of this protection, I can prevent enemies from entering the store. Meaning I can hole up in an absolutely unbreakable building. Those prohibited from entering aren’t just people, but also animals and objects. When I tried throwing a pebble from outside into an open window, it was splendidly repelled. Isn’t this invincible…? Because I can shoot arrows one-sidedly from the window. The opponent’s attacks don’t pass, while I can shoot freely—I think that’s amazing. Well, the store disappears after a day, and I can’t move from that spot, but… But even then, if I use the kitchen car, I can intercept while moving. Ah, but if something like a dragon lifts the kitchen car into the air and drops it from a high place, I might die. Even if the kitchen car itself is safe, I inside would be crushed. If fire breath is spewed like during the Dark Dragon incident, I’d be steamed inside… so it’s not exactly invincible either. I think [Store BGM] is Lady Sakuracleria‘s, and [Entry Prohibition] is Lady Linzeveil‘s protection, but… It is a grateful ability, but I wonder, will I not be able to survive unless I use such an ability… How fraught with difficulties my future is… While drinking tea, slightly tired of my life with no visible future, the Empress’s voice from the same table reached my ears.

“By the way, Ashley, are you returning to the territory this summer?” “Since Sakura-chan is here this year, I think we will return. We have caused the servants over there to worry too…”

Territory? By territory, do they mean the le Philharmonie Ducal territory that Father owns? If I recall, it’s not that far from the Royal Capital. Father is the lord of that le Philharmonie Duchy, but he apparently appoints a deputy and manages most things from the Royal Capital. Naturally, I have never been there. No, apparently I went once before I was three, but I have lost those memories. Our territory, huh. I’m a little interested. What kind of place is it?

“This time, thanks to Sakura-chan’s kitchen car, we can return from the Royal Capital in less than a day, so it’s appreciated that there isn’t much burden.”

Even if they say it’s close, it takes three days by carriage to reach the le Philharmonie Duchy. But if we speed with the kitchen car, we can arrive in less than three hours. Even going slowly, we arrive in about four hours. As expected, a day trip is tough, so we’ll probably stay over there for a few nights. No, if it’s a vacation to avoid the summer heat, we might stay for about a month.

“What kind of place is the le Philharmonie territory?”

I ask Mother about the territory I’ll probably be visiting. Or rather, since it’s supposed that I have a weak body and have been recuperating in the territory all this time, I thought it would be bad not to know. The only ones here now are Mother, Grandmother, and the Empress who know the circumstances. It’s far from other tables, so the conversation probably won’t be heard. Music is playing, and everyone is engrossed in cakes. Well, since I was shut in the house due to illness, maybe it wouldn’t be strange not to know about the territory.

“The le Philharmonie territory is originally the land where the old Imperial Capital was. The territorial capital Harmonia is also called the ‘Ancient Capital’. Harmonia is a city by a large lake. It’s also a famous place as a tourist destination due to its scenic beauty.”

Old Imperial Capital… Does that mean the capital was moved? For some reason, I remembered Kyoto. It’s said to be near a lake too. No, Lake Biwa is in Shiga Prefecture.

“So it’s a city with history.” “That’s right. Because it’s land that has been given to the Imperial Family for generations. About a hundred years ago, the Ducal family governing it was dissolved, and since then it had been under direct control of the Royal Family. But a few years ago, Cloud established the new le Philharmonie family and became the lord there.”

I see. So it was originally direct Royal land. And Father inherited it. By the way, since the current Symphonia Imperial Family members are few, even though Father established the le Philharmonie family, he hasn’t left the Imperial Family registry. So, if something happens to His Majesty the Emperor and Elliott, Father, who is second in line for succession, would succeed the throne. Well, if that happens, the le Philharmonie territory would become Imperial territory again. But the family that was dissolved a hundred years ago was also Imperial Family, right? Why were they dissolved? Was there some serious reason?

“It was a so-called family feud. The head of the family died suddenly, and they fought over whether the mediocre eldest son of the legal wife should succeed, or the brilliant second son born of a concubine. The retainers’ opinions were split in two, and after much dispute, a disturbance occurred where the eldest son cut down and killed the second son. That came to light, and they were deemed unfit to govern the territory and dissolved.”

My goodness… The Symphonia Imperial Kingdom practices primogeniture, but in this case, females are also included. If there are sisters and brothers, the older sister also has inheritance rights. Of course, since the head of the family decides whether to let them inherit or not, often the younger brother inherits. In the case of a daughter, marrying her off is often more convenient in various ways. If the older sister inherits, she cannot marry out, so she has to take a husband. This also applies to the Royal Family, so several Empresses Regnant have been born in this country so far. Because often a brilliant older sister builds a better reign than a mediocre younger brother. Taking advantage of this, factions like the anti-Royal faction spread rumors such as, ‘Isn’t Lady Sakuraile, the “Princess of the Holy Sword”, more suitable to succeed the throne than Prince Elliott?’, plotting to tear apart the relationship between Father and His Majesty the Emperor. Fortunately, the relationship between Father and His Majesty is good, and since I declare I have absolutely no intention of succeeding the throne, no one in the ‘Royal Faction’ believes that. Unless Elliott becomes a truly stupid prince, talk of backing me up shouldn’t happen. In that sense, letting Elliott be the one to find the First Emperor’s treasure was a nice judgment. Well anyway, the le Philharmonie territory where the Old Imperial Capital is located is a territory I might inherit in the future. I have to put some effort into inspecting it.

“What are the specialties of the le Philharmonie territory?” “Specialties? Specialties, hmm… nothing in particular… Though the scenery is beautiful so it is a tourist spot.” “There are also several villas of nobles. Many nobles visit as a summer resort in the summer.”

Hmm, summer resort. Like Karuizawa or something like that? Karuizawa… speaking of Nagano Prefecture reminds me of Shinshu Soba… No, does this world even have soba in the first place? I haven’t even eaten rice yet… I want to be able to summon a set meal shop soon… Apparently, there are no particular specialties in the le Philharmonie territory. Since it was originally the Imperial Capital, maybe it can’t be helped. Rather than local specialties, it was probably a place where specialties from various regions gathered. Still, it seems there are some local dishes and folk crafts. If it’s a tourist spot, maybe more people would come if we enhance food, souvenirs, accommodations, and such. Souvenirs, huh… Keychains shaped like the le Philharmonie territory? Pennants or wooden swords? I can’t really say about this part. Anyway, it’s after I look around the territory. Many nobles with territories live a dual life, spending the hot summer in their comfortable territories and living in the Royal Capital during the severe cold and snow of winter. Since the social season of this country seems to be from the beginning of autumn to the beginning of spring, that is more convenient. No one wants to dress up and go out to places full of people during the hot summer period. Territory in summer, huh… There were no events in the le Philharmonie territory in the game, so maybe I can relax a little? If it’s the territory, I probably won’t meet capture targets. It won’t hurt to stretch my wings once in a while.

At this time, I was thinking such naive thoughts. The story turns. Regardless of whether the Villainess wishes it or not.