Chapter 18
3. Conrad Castle
『The Conrad Family, as a founding contributor to the Empire and a distinguished house for conquering the West, was granted the Marquisate in Imperial Year 54 and the Dukedom in 182, and existed as the central house of the West until 990, 32 years ago.
The 21st Duke, Percival Cesario Conrad, married Emperor Isabel Christina Bavaria, and their eldest son, Lloyd Norbertus Bavaria, and second son, Lowell Sarbellio Bavaria, were born. If the eldest son, Lloyd, were to succeed the throne in the future, the second son, Lowell, was scheduled to inherit the Conrad Dukedom.
However, the succession was nullified upon Duke Percival’s death, and the second son, Lowell, was given the title of Grand Duke of Brienne.
― The following record is the testimony of an administrator who worked at Conrad Castle until 30 years ago.
At the time, Duke Conrad’s territory was filled with celebrated artists and nobles who came to patronize them. Since His Grace, Duke Percival, the then-head of the family, was the consort of Her Majesty the Emperor (*Emperor Isabel), support from the Imperial Family never ceased, to the extent that even a mere administrator like me had gold coins in my pocket.
Banquets were held every day at the Castle, and Conrad Castle was mockingly nicknamed the ‘Birthplace of Art and Bastards.’ But the greater the infamy grew, the higher the Conrad Family’s standing in the art world became, to the point that bills issued by the Ducal House surpassed those issued by three Southern territories combined. Merchant guilds, highly valuing the Imperial Palace’s financial support and the future worth of the affiliated artists, agreed to the continued issuance of bills.
Despite the great Conrad fire in 969 that resulted in the deaths of over four hundred artists, the following year, the two Imperial Princes were born between His Majesty the Emperor and His Grace Duke Conrad, and the Ducal House did not lose its fame as a center of art.
However, after the Northwest Tower collapse accident (*Victim: Vivian, age 21) that occurred during a banquet on April 18, 990, two years later, a scandal regarding the Ducal House spread. His Majesty Lloyd, who had just ascended the throne, implemented a punitive reduction in subsidies, and His Highness Lowell’s succession to the Dukedom was also nullified. Consequently, from the point where the bill payment deadline expired…….』
How did the Conrad Ducal House, once called the ‘Cradle of Art’ for a hundred years, fall in just one year? Elena’s hand, turning the pages of the report with a rather interesting title, slowed down and soon stopped completely. The carriage was too comfortable to read the text written on the stiff paper, and the content was horribly boring.
Noticing she had lost interest, Bella spoke to her, feeling a bit awkward.
“It’s not interesting, is it, that report.”
“Hmm. It has even less substance than I expected. Especially this collapse accident, all it has is the victim’s name and age, and absolutely no related details. The informant who wrote this was Hoen, right?”
“Yes. They supposedly compiled it using data even from the Schleswig side. But no matter how many times I asked them to find out about that woman named Vivian or whatever, they kept repeating that they don’t know. It’s like saying ‘I don’t know’ is completely ingrained in their mouth, even though they’re an informant.”
“Disappointing.”
Elena clicked her tongue and flipped through the report again. The Northwest Tower collapse accident during a banquet on April 18, 990. Victim Vivian. They said the scandal that spread after that accident played a decisive role in the Ducal House’s fall, but as Bella said, the detailed specifics of that ‘scandal’ were nowhere to be found.
“Vivian, huh. A woman’s name, right?”
“A woman’s name, and ah! This wasn’t confirmed so it wasn’t included in the report, but the Schleswig side said there’s a rumor that her hair was reddish-brown.”
“The same as mine, then. And the same age.”
Elena muttered and lightly twirled her own hair. The hair, twisted and released from her long fingers, was the reddish-brown that some called the color of the sunset. It was one of the colors that stood out, as it was uncommon in her hometown, the Southeast, or the Central region.
“What about her eye color? They couldn’t find that out either?”
“Eye color? Just a moment……. Hmm. It’s not in the materials I received. I apologize.”
“Don’t apologize. It’s the informants who didn’t do their job properly.”
Elena told her not to worry and put down the report. Bella quickly gathered the report and subtly watched her expression.
“You mentioned her because of the missing persons story, right?”
“Huh? Ah. That’s right.”
She was just recalling the ‘rumor’ she had read with interest, and Bella brought up that exact story.
Discussion
0 CommentsNo comments yet.