“Ready!”

The referee called out with force and raised the flag. The red flag dropped to the ground.

The jockeys all cracked their whips with vigor. The horses began to race across the track in unison. As hooves struck the ground, dirt and dust scattered in every direction. They charged fiercely toward the finish line.

The nobles gripping their betting tickets all screamed as they tracked the horses they had bet on. 

But in the middle of the race toward the finish line, one jockey suddenly dropped to the ground. The riderless horse lost its direction and plunged into the other horses running alongside it.

In an instant the horses became entangled. The agitated animals leapt in every direction. Some jockeys managed to calm their horses and hold their balance, but most went rolling across the track.

At the chaotic scene, Lumière shot to her feet from the royal box. A sharp scream covered the venue.

“Cassian!”

Silence fell at the sudden accident.

The dust that had thickly blanketed the track settled belatedly. The sight of bleeding jockeys and horses tangled together was laid bare.

Only then did people come to their senses and call out the jockeys’ names at the top of their voices.

“Good God, Bertrand!”

“Marceau!”

It was close to a desperate cry. The carefully prepared celebration descended into chaos in an instant as people rushed to confirm the safety of those who had fallen.

“What is to be done……!”

In the midst of it, Lumière, pressing a hand over her mouth, ran swiftly down to the track. Gripping her skirt, she searched for her brother. Calling his name in an urgent voice.

“Cassian, Cassian!”

“……”

Head chamberlain Baptiste moved quickly to bring the situation under control. The attendants who had been standing by in case of emergency swarmed in. The jockeys were loaded onto stretchers and carried outside the track. Trainers worked to calm the agitated, rearing horses.

What someone had prepared with painstaking care came to an end like that. In this absurd scene of fallen riders, the only one who had secured the large sum everyone had been hoping for was Lumière, the host of the race.

Only, since the master of the imperial house, the Emperor himself, had also fallen, no one found anything strange about it.

* * *

By God’s grace, there were no deaths. The most severely injured was the first jockey to fall, a man named Laurencin. Even he had suffered only broken bones in his arms, legs, and ribs.

Deaths from falls were not uncommon, so ending with fractures was a great stroke of luck. Imperial Princess Lumière, perhaps feeling a sense of responsibility for this unfortunate accident, extended the kindness of personally assigning the palace physician to Laurencin.

And so, upon returning to her homeland, the imperial princess’s first self-hosted official event seemed to end in an accidental mishap. That was, until the physician discovered traces of opium in Laurencin.

The cause of the fall, it turned out, was a sudden seizure brought on by opium withdrawal.

The moment opium was mentioned, Gabrienne was thrown into an uproar. It was only natural that the Emperor, who had been caught up in the accident and needed to rest for some time, was furious.

Since poppies had already been found in the Empress’s quarters not long before, a reverse investigation began. People connected to the matter started being brought in one by one.

Among them was the Emperor’s close friend, Maximilian de la Tour.

Feeling unease at how things were unfolding, Maximilian de la Tour went to see the Emperor. Cassian, who always received people with impeccable propriety, met Maximilian in the rare position of reclining against his bed.

“Maximilian.”

“Cassian.”

Unlike the Emperor, Maximilian dispensed with formality. He considered them close enough for that.

If Cassian and Baptiste de L’Isle-Adam were connected through service, Maximilian de la Tour was a duke’s son who had never been a servant to begin with. He had stepped into the imperial court naturally from birth and grown up alongside Cassian.

Maximilian looked Cassian over. He had heard no bones were broken, but that a significant wound had formed on his thigh. The first few days the wound had caused such a high fever that he had refused even private audiences.

Now, a few days later, he showed not a trace of discomfort, as always. But this stiff man receiving visitors while sitting in bed was simply impossible under normal circumstances. His body must not have had the luxury.

Maximilian opened his mouth carefully.

“You being like this…… it really was nearly a disaster.”

“Not at all. Thanks to your concern, I wasn’t badly hurt.”

“Right, looking on the bright side, I suppose it’s fortunate it wasn’t worse. No broken bones, at least. But.”

Maximilian swallowed. Getting straight to the point felt thoroughly unpleasant.

“What are you…… going to do?”

“About what?”

The question came as casually as ever. Maximilian, looking down at Cassian, barely managed to open his mouth.

“Not long ago, Batine threatened me.”

“Baptiste did that.”

“Yes. Because of the opium.”

Those settled blue eyes simply gazed at Maximilian. Cold sweat rolled down his spine for no particular reason.

“You know.”

From Cassian came neither affirmation nor denial.

“Of course, you being hurt is a serious matter. That idiot Laurencin, or Saint-Laurent, or whatever his name is, obviously needs to be dealt with. He can’t be forgiven and doesn’t deserve to be. But……”

That didn’t mean it had to be a fault that dragged Maximilian himself into it……

Those words kept poking at his throat. But he didn’t know what else to say. He was the victim here, wasn’t he?

As Maximilian’s lips moved, Cassian let out a sigh and turned his head slightly. A voice cold as ice followed.

“Even for a friend, there are lines I can overlook and lines I cannot.”

It was effectively a verdict. Maximilian roughly pushed his hair back.

“A friend? Do you actually think of me as a friend?”

“Of course. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have let you in here.”

“Then!”

“Have you forgotten? It is a substance banned in Sehera. For a very long time.”

A businesslike voice came through, without a trace of emotion.

“It is something that was only ever permitted when taming colonies.”

“……”

There was nothing to say. It was true that the substance was strictly prohibited domestically because of its dangers.

“You know what the charge is and what the appropriate punishment for it is. All the more so since Duke Tour is a magistrate.”

“D*mn it, Cassian!”

Maximilian raised his voice before he could stop himself. In principle, it was a capital offense. Yes, in principle.

But who was Maximilian? As Cassian said, his father Duke Tour was still a magistrate, and he himself was the Emperor’s friend. Being expelled from Gabrienne over something like this was infuriating enough.

“It was just opium, for God’s sake!”

“Was it truly just once?”

Cassian asked back. Of course it had not been just once.

Maximilian’s involvement with opium went back a long way. During Astaire’s era, in that licentious world, he had enjoyed opium considerably.

Changing tactics, Maximilian murmured pitifully.

“I’m in pain. Real pain. There’s nothing else that eases my hellish suffering.”

“Is that suffering caused by the opium, or have you contracted some illness?”

If it were the latter, word would certainly have reached the palace. It was a remark that showed an unmistakable will not to yield.

The feeling of facing an impenetrable fortress. In the end, Maximilian let out a lament.

“Ha…… Cassian, Cassian, Cassian!”

“Because you are a friend, because of that friendship, I have turned a blind eye many times until now. I thought you would stop on your own, that by now you would know it was wrong and have stopped. But you did not stop.”

His tone was full of disappointment toward Maximilian.

“On the contrary, you grew bolder with each passing day. I did not think you would extend your reach to an event Sister had prepared.”

“Listen, would I have known about that? Who in their right mind would do something like that.”

He had no choice but to cry out in frustration. If not for that lunatic, Cassian would not have come at him like this, would he?

“But an incident of this magnitude cannot simply be overlooked. Because this is a position that must be fair to all people.”

The words that followed were firm.

“There are no exceptions, Max.”

“Ha……”

Maximilian let out a hollow laugh. He could see no opening to push through.

“You and Batine both…… but you’re worse.”

He had thought, even after speaking so grandly, even after sending off the Duke of Blumir that way, that he himself would be safe. A subordinate and a friend were not the same.

But compromise was impossible. He had come all this way and left with nothing. Maximilian turned away with a cold air.

“There is no one in this world who can live up to your lofty ideals to the end.”

Maximilian walked away with heavy steps and murmured darkly.

“Let’s see how long even Batine, the companion of your soul, lasts at your side.”