Chapter 22: Opera, Once More

"Sonia, I’m sorry to trouble you, but I have a favor to ask."

During breakfast, my father—the king, Merkuma—spoke to me in an unusually serious tone.

With a half-eaten piece of honey-drenched cheese bread in hand, I paused, debating whether to take another bite before answering. In the end, hunger won, and I popped the rest into my mouth.

While chewing, cheeks full of bread, I eyed my father suspiciously. What on earth could he want?

Usually, Father didn’t ask for favors—he commanded.
But this time, it was “a request.”

That alone was… rare.

I swallowed, straightened my posture, and faced him properly.

"What is it, Father?"

"…Before that, wipe the honey off your mouth, Sonia."

"Ah—sorry."

I quickly wiped my lips with a napkin.

"Now then. The truth is, an invitation has arrived for you."

With that, he pulled an envelope from his chest pocket and handed it to me.

"An invitation, you say? If you’re asking me a favor, does that mean you want me to accept it?"

"Indeed! As expected of my clever daughter. Exactly right!"

Well, yeah. Given how this conversation was going, that much was obvious.

Still, I smiled sweetly, playing the part of the dutiful daughter.
I’ve gotten quite good at wearing this “smiling mask” lately.

"If it’s someone you wish me to accept an invitation from, then they must be quite a distinguished person, no?"

I turned the envelope over a few times, examining it carefully. The signature looked like… “Zexais,” maybe? Hard to tell.

"Hmm… That man is indeed famous by name, but he rarely shows his face in social circles."

"I see. A bit of a recluse, then?"

I smiled faintly. Ah, a fellow shut-in? I can relate to that.

"You could say that. It’s quite unusual for him to send an invitation himself. That’s why this is an important opportunity. Your task this time is to win his favor—no matter how small."

"Win his favor, huh."

I answered half-heartedly. Honestly, what a pain.
And if the person outranks me socially, that’s even more exhausting.
If I could avoid it, I absolutely would.

"I understand your point, Father, but who exactly is this person?"

"Zexais—also known as Zex—a council member of the Merchant Guild Association."

"Zexais… I see."

A name I’d never heard before. Yet, for some reason, the image of that silver-haired, odd-eyed man I met at the guild a while ago flickered through my mind.

"That’s right. The invitation is for an opera performance. You are to attend it together with Lord Zexais. And this is very important—most important, in fact—you must take this opportunity to directly appeal to him about our kingdom’s dire financial situation."

…Wait. Financial situation?

"H-hold on, Father! What do you mean by ‘financial situation’!?"

What the heck kind of turn is this conversation taking!?
“Appeal our financial troubles”? That sounds like our kingdom’s about to go bankrupt!

…Then again, my allowance has been shrinking lately.
Wait. Don’t tell me—seriously!?

"Since it’s come to this, I’ll tell you, Sonia. The truth is, our kingdom’s finances are in flames because of the costs of waging war against the Demon Lord’s army."

Wha—what!?
You’ve gotta be kidding me.

"That’s why you must gain the Guild’s favor. Negotiating better terms for war funding—that’s your duty as a member of the royal family."

"E-even if you say that so suddenly…"

This is bad. They’re setting the bar way too high.
It’s not like I have any negotiation skills!

"It’s nothing complicated. You’ve fought against the Demon Lord’s army before, haven’t you? Just tell him about your experiences. Surely, with his insight, Lord Zexais will recognize the immense value of our kingdom as a bastion against the Demon Lord’s forces."

"Do you know Lord Zexais personally, Father?"

If he was speaking with such confidence, maybe he knew the man?

"Hmph. I’ve only met him briefly at a party once."

"Ah. I see."

So… a total assumption, then.

"Lord Zexais is also the second prince of the Grand Preich Empire—one of the most powerful nations in the western lands—and, I’ve heard, a relative of the Pontiff himself. Compared to their empire, our kingdom’s economic scale, territory, and population are… well, vastly smaller."

"That’s… quite the person indeed."

Wow. So he’s on a completely different level.
I always suspected our kingdom was small, but this really drives it home.

"Which is why, Sonia—you are to attend the opera, deliver this royal letter, and ensure our nation’s worth and dire circumstances are properly conveyed!"

"…Y-yes, Father."

Refusing was clearly not an option.
And so, reluctantly, I found myself preparing for yet another opera outing.

Sigh. I really don’t want to go…

It was the very same opera hall I’d been taken to once before—by that silver-haired, odd-eyed gentleman who’d called himself Zex, alongside the Demon Lord.

And just like last time, I was seated in exactly the same spot.

A cold sweat crept unpleasantly down my back.

"Fufu. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Princess Sonia. I am Zexais, a member of the Guild Council. Ah, and yes, that’s my real name."

Before me stood the silver-haired, odd-eyed man, smiling pleasantly.
But I wasn’t about to be fooled by that smile.

"H-how do you do… I-I’m Sonia."

I managed a nervous greeting, unable to meet his eyes.

"Strange, isn’t it? Even though this is our first meeting, I feel as if we’ve met somewhere before. Fufu… perhaps it’s fate?"

"Uh, well… maybe we ran into each other at some party or something. Hahaha…"

I tried to laugh it off.
It probably wasn’t convincing, but I forced it through anyway.

"Ah, this is a personal letter from my father, King Merkuma, addressed to Lord Zexais. Please, accept it."

I handed him the letter Father had entrusted to me.

"Fufu, I’ll gladly take it. Let’s see… if I had to guess, it’s a request for financial support, isn’t it?"

"! …I-I wasn’t given permission to read its contents, so I couldn’t say."

Wh—what the heck? Can this guy read minds or something?
Or does he already know everything about our internal affairs?

Noticing my fixed stare, Zexais smiled softly and shook his head.

"No, no, don’t worry. Ah, just talking to myself. The Guild has never once forgotten the contribution of the Sugarcre Kingdom, who stands as the western nations’ shield against the Demon Lord’s army. There’s no need for concern on that point, Princess Sonia."

"T-that’s… very kind of you to say…"

He’d answered before I even had the chance to bring up the subject.
But things were going far too smoothly—almost as if we were following a script.

"Now then, enough of politics. Let’s enjoy the opera, shall we? How about a drink? This wine is a fine vintage. Or perhaps… yes, mead would suit you better?"

"Ah, um… then, I’ll have the mead."

I accepted the drink and took small, cautious sips.

Still, I couldn’t shake my wariness toward Zexais—Zex, really—so I decided to keep conversation to a minimum and quietly focus on the opera instead.

"Oh? Have I said something to sour your mood, Princess Sonia? You neither drink nor speak much."

"Ah, no, it’s just… the opera is so captivating that I’ve been focusing on it. My apologies."

I replied with a polite, well-practiced smile—my trusty iron mask was still holding strong.

"…We’ve run out of drinks," said the attendant, who then excused himself to fetch more.

The moment he left and we were alone, Zex spoke again.

"You know, you could relax a bit more."

"I am quite comfortable, thank you…"

"We’re meeting for the first time, after all… there’s much I’d like to learn about you. For instance—what sort of men do you find attractive?"

"Ah—well, I’m afraid I can’t speak on that. I’m already betrothed, you see."

Walls have ears, and screens have eyes.
I couldn’t afford to say anything careless—and every instinct told me it was dangerous to give him even the smallest hint of personal information.

Still, based on what the Demon Lord had told me, Prince Silot of the Paptes Kingdom—my so-called fiancé—had already been branded “black.”
Even if he ever returned from the Demon Lord’s army, there was no chance of us rekindling anything.

Which means… I’m destined to stay single, huh?

Maybe I should take a page from that British queen and call myself The Virgin Queen or something.

As that silly thought crossed my mind, I suddenly realized—Zex was right beside me, whispering softly into my ear.

"I have a rule, you see. Anything I want… I make sure I get it. Remember that."

Just then, the attendant returned with a fresh bottle of wine.

Startled, I turned to look at Zex—only to find him seated exactly where he’d been before, posture and distance unchanged, as if he’d never moved at all.

Wha—what… what just happened? What did he mean by that?

All I could do was shudder.