The Empire of Reimia (3)

“This book is about the rules of etiquette and traditions of the Rheimian Empire. I haven’t been in Rheim for very long, so I’m not quite used to the local customs yet. I don’t think it’s a particularly interesting topic for conversation, though.” Ryuji leaned his hands on the rooftop railing and paused, lost in thought. “Since we’re talking about the Emperor’s sister, I’d like to know your opinion on one matter. After the incident with ‘Akeso,’ I became curious about Kamia Rinze’s personality and spent a lot of time studying materials about her. What interested me, however, wasn’t her achievements and numerous talents, but an incident that happened during her school years. This issue,” Ryuji took out a neatly folded piece of paper from his pocket, cut from an old newspaper, “was withdrawn by the government, but some copies still made it into the hands of readers, and I was lucky enough to find one of the few remaining copies. The gist is this: Rinze was very popular among her peers. She was beautiful, talented, and always at the top of her class, but despite having many admirers, no one dared to confess their feelings to her. The reason is clear: she was the Emperor’s daughter, and since this fact was never hidden, it was obvious that many gave up, believing she was out of their league. But one day, one of her classmates invited her to meet him on the roof, and there, gathering his courage, he confessed his love to her. What do you think she said in response? She asked him to step over the railing and jump down. ‘Then I’ll know that you care about me more than even your own life,’ she said to him. And he did. Now, it’s hard to say why—maybe it was youthful foolishness and a naive belief that everything would be alright, but that’s not so important anymore. What matters is that it was the last thing he did in his life. Of course, since Rinze was the Emperor’s daughter, this incident, which threatened to turn into a national scandal, was quickly hushed up, but, as it says in this issue, when she was asked about the deceased, she laughed and referred to him as a ‘silly fool.’ I was, to be honest, a little shocked, so I’m curious—maybe I just can’t understand it because of cultural differences and mental peculiarities?”