Lord of Disease (JP-GL) 383

383: The Coronation Ceremony

While it was called a ‘coronation ceremony,’ it wasn’t that grand.

Well, it was rather grand, but for the nation, it was just a matter of the third princess’s right to the throne becoming official, rather than provisional.

The ceremony itself was simple: you would offer the crown you had been given to the head of state, and then you would be given it again, with a blessing.

The venue was the courtyard of the royal castle. It was not a particularly large or magnificent castle, but it was open, and there were many commoners among the attendees.

If I do say so myself, ‘Rebecca Stagnet’ was quite popular as the youngest princess, and since it was not a very large country, she had not grown up only within the castle. There were many familiar faces.

The coronation ceremony was, in effect, also a birthday celebration. So, the atmosphere was a cheerful and friendly one, but the ceremony itself was, as expected, a solemn affair.

I stepped forward, before my father—the ‘Forest Emperor,’ the leader of Ordregalia.

Wavy, golden hair, and a deep, golden crown. A deep green cloak, truly a forest emperor.

‘Forest Emperor’ was the word for the leader of Ordregalia. A long time ago, an ancestor had chosen the title to avoid the name of ‘king,’ and it was said that it had been intended to show the outside world—especially the outside world—that the elves had sworn to live with the forest.

Outside the forest, many nations had fallen. From small tribes to city-states, and even to confederations of city-states, they had fought, and the map had been redrawn. The forest elves, the desert elves, the beastmen, and the humans had sometimes fought, and sometimes joined hands… and history had been woven.

The forest elves—the pale-skinned elves—were now only in Ordregalia. As they had taken in their burned-out comrades, they had grown a little… but Ordregalia had sworn not to leave the forest.

If they were to clear any more of the forest, they would be competing with the magical beasts for their habitat. And what lay beyond the forest was a plain, a breadbasket. Mountains with mineral resources. A coast where fishing was possible. All of them—were things that Ordregalia did not have. If they had a larger territory, Ordregalia could be richer—

And they would have to cross blades with someone.

As long as they fought in the forest, as long as the only thing to be gained was the bounty of the forest… an opponent who was moved by profit and loss would not target Ordregalia. And so, the royal family had steered the country and had survived.

I gently removed the tiara from my hair and, with my face lowered, I offered it. My father, who had taken it, spoke.

“Rebecca Stagnet, do you swear to devote yourself to the development of Ordregalia, as the third princess of Ordregalia, and to be a guardian of its prosperity?”

The elves were a race with few numbers. This country was a small one. Therefore, its development and its prosperity—would be modest.

And yet, this was the country where I had been born.

“—I swear.”

I had no interest in the position of the Forest Emperor—the king. I was prepared to accept it, if it came to it… but that was a future that would not come, unless my father, my mother, and my two sisters all died before me. But I didn’t have to be at the top. I didn’t want that.

“To be a guardian of this country, worthy of this crown…”

Even though I was young. Someday, I would be able to support someone. My father, my mother, my two sisters. As a member of the Stagnet family, the royal family. As a guardian of this country.

“Very well.”

My father nodded. And his large hand placed the tiara in my hair. Thanks to the practice I had done beforehand… and the many times I had gotten my hair caught and had been in pain… the tiara settled on my head smoothly. But this should have been my father’s third time.

“Rebecca Stagnet, from this moment on, you are truly recognized as the third princess of Ordregalia.”

Being a princess was not a particularly lucrative position. In fact, aside from the attire, it was rather modest. And as for the attire, while I had quite a few outfits, when I became an adult… since my figure would not change, as long as I was temperate, trained, and careful, it was probably better to think that I would not be able to get any new clothes. The magic-woven clothes were durable, and if you didn’t care about the fashion, they would last for a long time… for an elf, it was an ideal garment.

There was little of the splendor that one would imagine from the word ‘ruling class.’ Following the teaching to train in both the literary and the martial arts, you would use your long life—all of it.

For Ordregalia. For the people who lived in this country.

“For the country, and for the people who live in it…”

“Yes…”

I bowed to my father one last time and turned to the attendees. And as I waved my hand, a cheer went up.

—This was what I had to protect.

I knew that my entire being was for that. ‘Rebecca Stagnet’ was a guardian of Ordregalia.

“Mother! Did you see?”

“Of course, Rebecca. Though only for a little while.”

The coronation ceremony had ended without a hitch, and the banquet had also ended. I was visiting my father—and my mother.

My mother, who had taken off her tiara and was lying in bed, was frail and sickly. Her silver hair, like mine, had no luster, and her cheeks were far from plump. And yet, everyone said that she was a wise… and a strong woman.

For an elf, the most common causes of death, aside from being killed, were accidents and illness. An accident was just a matter of a small possibility catching up to you, after a long life. And the same was true for illness. Even an elf, with more mana than a human, was rather weak as a child, and their strength would naturally wane with age.

And a risk that would probably never be zero—was childbirth. It was a great drain on one’s stamina, and it was not uncommon to fall ill after a pregnancy and a birth. Healing magic was an elven specialty, and it was one of their ‘trade goods’ with the humans. To heal, to sell medicinal herbs, to sell the medicine itself, to sell knowledge. And so, they had strived to be good neighbors. In Ordregalia, it was researched and refined under the patronage of the royal family… but it could not bring a person back to life. That was the domain of necromancy… and it probably couldn’t bring a person back as they were. The structure of a person was too complex for a person, and the memories of a person were too heavy for a person.

My mother had given birth to four children, and before me, she had lost one… a child who should have been the third princess, at a young age, and yet she had still given birth to me. My mother, who had been frail to begin with, was said to have become even more bedridden. But my mother had never regretted giving birth to me… she said that my life was my own, and that I should live as I pleased.

But I was the third princess of Ordregalia. I could not live ‘as I pleased.’

“Rebecca, you look as if the ceremony was a lie. Did you not swear to be a guardian of the prosperity of Ordregalia?”

I laughed at my father’s words, who was standing by the bed.

“There is no rule that a guardian of prosperity must have a stern face, is there? I will not change. —Even before the coronation ceremony, I was a guardian of this country.”

And besides, even if I were to live ‘as I pleased,’ I probably wouldn’t be happy. It wasn’t that I was suppressing myself. At least for now, I was a guardian of this country… and I didn’t dislike it. That was all.

“That’s right.”

“…Father?”

I called out to my father, who looked a little pale, and his expression turned serious.

“Rebecca, do not forget today’s oath.”

“That… of course.”

Today, I had sworn, on my entire being, to be a guardian of Ordregalia. I would not forget.

“The time may come when we must fight.”

“That… with whom?”

“I do not know.” My father shook his head, his voice weak.

“But the power struggle has intensified…”

“Why this country? If it is a conflict outside the forest, then we have nothing to do with it. And Ordregalia is… though it is I, the third princess, who says this, a small country. There is nothing to be gained by invading.”

Though it was I who said it. While the bounty of the forest was rich, the transportation was poor, and as the saying went, strengths and weaknesses were two sides of the same coin. There was only a forest around… and there were even citizens who left, unable to bear the simple life.

My mother, not my father, answered my question.

“This world is connected. There is nothing that is unrelated.”

“Mother…”

“…You are wise. But there are times when the other party’s actions, their logic—cannot be understood by common sense.”

“Cannot be understood by common sense…” A chill ran down my spine, and I shivered.

“Yes. But still, we must not missteer. We are guardians. …But in the end, we must not fight.”

My father let out a small sigh.

“Ordregalia is a small country. If we were to fight… this country would fall.”

Ordregalia had a national army. But its strength was not great. Many elves were skilled in mana, and so there were many mages in the army. But that was a matter of proportion, and the absolute number was not so great.

“…I understand, Father. But we can at least prevent them from having a reason to attack. The desert elves, the beastmen, the humans, are all good neighbors. …Are they not?”

“…That’s right.”

A small smile returned to my father’s face. He reached out and, avoiding the tiara, he lightly stroked the side of my head.

“Before it becomes a battlefield where reason does not apply… we will gather information and continue to talk.”