act29side

Then let's have a chat with the conductor and the principals after this.

By the way, I recall you mentioning that you brought a young lady to see me.

Ja, Your Majesty.

This is Viviana, Werner's daughter.

Pleased to make your acquaintance, Ewigegnade—Your Majesty.

Ah, even better than expected. Are you still getting used to Leithanien after your return from Kazimierz?

I am grateful for your concern. Leithanien is... far more elegant and beautiful than I remember.

No need to be so formal. Cora and I often meet outside the Spires for a chat, like the one we're having now.

You must still be in mourning over Werner's recent passing. If we had the luxury of time, I'd much rather you have a chance to relax in the city first.

You mean, before you appoint me as—

An Empresses' Voice.

As you've heard from Cora, this was Werner's request.

I am... truly honored by the opportunity.

The nobles prefer to send me their youngest sons when they're about ten years of age, but I believe you're fully qualified for the position.

And after meeting you in person, I'm even more sure of it.

You praise me too highly.

Modesty is a virtue, but so is the courage to speak your mind.

While I'd be more than glad to fulfill your father's request, I'd also like to hear your own thoughts on this.

How do you truly feel about yourself, about Leithanien, and about the future before us?

Your Majesty, I was not aware that you would be entertaining a guest.

It's fine, Brandt. This is the time I told you to come over, after all. Tell me about your findings in Sturmland.

Their copy of the Güldenesgesatz was stolen from the Kurfürst's spire.

The thieves are most likely part of the same group behind the Kurfürst's assassination, who call themselves the 'Echoes of Herkunftshorn.'

Herkunftshorn... The Genesis Horn. Now that's a name I haven't heard in a long time.

...The Witch King's remains.

I interrogated one of their men. They have sent the copy to Zwillingstürme.

To this very city...

Cora, how many years have we done Das Kaiserinnensfest?

This year will be the twenty-third, Your Majesty.

So he's been dead for twenty-three years now.

How many of these people working tirelessly in his name have even seen him with their own eyes?

It's something I've always found saddening. Just what is it about the Leithanien of today that fills them with so much resentment?

Resentment has never been rational, Your Majesty.

Perhaps I should call off this year's event.

If they really intend on using the Movement to cause chaos in the capital... I don't want anyone who came for the celebration to come to any harm.

We still have three days to go.

I will find them and retrieve it.

I should have dispatched several Voices to work on this together.

...Allow me, Your Majesty.

The Empresses' Voice represents the glory and majesty of the Kaiserinnen, so if they were to suddenly show up across the city, they will naturally attract the attention of both civilians and the enemy.

But I... Or rather, what the people know me for has nothing whatsoever to do with this matter.

An interesting proposal.

Your Majesty, I believe we shouldn't let an untrained—

Brandt Reiner. I'm sure you and Viviana will be enough to solve this problem for me.

...Ja.

Also... Another Voice has just brought back a couple of interesting pieces from Kreis Wasserland. Ask Hildegard if she would like to come by my tower for a listening session.

After all, you're going to go see her after this, yes?

...Ja, Your Majesty.

Grandmaster Ioleta has taught you well. I have a feeling you'll be my favorite Voice.

Danke schön.

Anyway, I don't need an answer today, but I'll allow you to act as an Empresses' Voice in the meantime. Of course, any new Voices will only officially enter the Spires after the celebrations are over, as per usual.

Until then, I'll be anticipating your answer.

My true feelings...

Sadly, our meeting has been as brief as a sunset.

Ah, hold on.

It's time. Do you see it?

The... fountain in the plaza?

Beautiful, no?

It is not simply water splashing along to a melody. The flowing water is itself the medium playing it.

I've heard that many of the buildings and streets in Zwillingstürme are themselves instruments.

Back in the day, I took a bit of time to figure out a way to keep them stable for decades. It seems that was time well spent.

So you designed them personally?

Viviana, no matter what choice you make in the end...

I do hope you'll fall in love with this place, as I have.

Until then, let Zwillingstürme's afterglow bring you some solace.

...The afterglow.

She had often imagined what kind of city Zwillingstürme would be like.

She had a good guess from the novels and poems she read as a child.

She understood what it really looked like from the news and foreign television programs.

But only now does she stand in the center of the capital for the first time, experiencing the city's lights and shadows, its sounds and scents.

Colors out of a classical painting.

The timbre of accordions playing.

And the fragrance of marigolds.

It's just like a living poem... Surprisingly, the evening in Zwillingstürme is exactly how I imagined it.

You didn't need to involve yourself in this.

Her Majesty never gave me a chance to excuse myself before they spoke about it. Which means I was already involved.

Besides, there are things I'm curious about too.

You want to uncover the truth behind your father's death.

Not just that.

I also wish to... find myself, within the darkness about to descend upon us.

Then, are you already prepared to step into the night?

Before I returned, I gave away my entire book collection to a friend of mine.

She, too, had just returned to the homeland that once expelled her, and carried with her a certain conviction.

I'm sure you'll laugh at me for saying this, but back then, I imagined countless times how she must have felt at that moment.

And now, I think I have the slightest inkling of that feeling.

You have concerns about Lieselotte's decision.

The Empresses' Voices chosen by Ewigegnade have always been qualified, and I will not question her judgement in that regard.

Frau Viviana Droste is an excellent caster. I've seen recordings of her skilled manipulations of candleflames and shadows.

But... her experience in handling actual crises may be lacking. After all, all of her experience in battle has occurred on artificial stages.

Brandt Reiner.

Your allegiance no longer lies with the Hochberg family.

...No one is more aware of that than I, Your Majesty.

Otherwise, I wouldn't have simply stood there with a blank stare that night, twenty-three years ago.

I lost the right to choose long ago. The blade and Arts of a Gesatzswächter belong only to the Güldenesgesatz and to Leithanien.

The Güldenesgesatz, and Leithanien.

What if you could only choose one?

The Güldenesgesatz defines Leithanien. In over a thousand years, the two have never diverged.

The Movement's melody was created by Leithanians, and it's hardly impossible to alter it.

Herkunftshorn certainly did.

Bearing but one part of the responsibility necessarily means abandoning the others.