TOPWL 31

“Yasin is an artist.”

At Yudit’s words, Yasin’s face flushed. He seemed pleased.

“How can it be this beautiful? But… it’s a little sad.”

Selena dabbed at the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief. Yudit, too, had felt a whirlwind of emotions when he first saw the piece. If he had been alone, he might have quietly wept.

“May I take a closer look?”

“Yes.”

When Selena gestured and spoke, mixing words with motions, Yasin nodded. Seen up close, the tapestry was even more breathtaking. From afar, its sheer scale was overwhelming; up close, its intricate details left one in awe. Not a single color was used carelessly—each was woven together with absolute precision.

“You love Herut, don’t you, Yasin?”

At Yudit’s words, Yasin’s expression darkened slightly.

“N-not exactly… I just… Whenever I start to miss it, I end up sitting in front of the loom. When I’m there… I don’t have to think about anything else. I can just lose myself in the work before me.”

Yudit understood that feeling all too well. Whenever his own world became too burdensome, he had always found refuge in books. This room was Yasin’s world. It was overwhelmingly beautiful, a little sorrowful, and at the same time, awe-inspiring.

“How many years did it take you to weave this?”

“T-two years.”

“Only two years? All of it?”

“Weaving is my only real hobby… A-and I don’t have any friends…”

Yasin scratched his cheek in embarrassment.

A sudden thought crossed Yudit’s mind. Without hesitation, he grasped Yasin’s hands. Yasin flinched violently, like a startled cat.

“W-what, why…?”

Yudit hesitated for a moment. He was about to make a selfish request. Yet, the moment he first stood before this tapestry, a shiver had run down his spine. For the first time, he truly understood the power of art’s beauty. Something crafted with such dedication could convey emotions so vividly to others.

Having made up his mind, Yudit turned to Yasin and spoke.

“Yasin, I have a favor to ask.”

…

On his way home, Yudit rested his chin against the carriage window, watching the scenery pass by. The familiar backstreets flickered past his vision. He needed to read until dawn again tonight, so he should try to get some sleep while in the carriage. Yet, perhaps because he was too exhausted, sleep refused to come.

He looked down at the tapestry in his hands. Within the palm-sized piece, a man on a camel was making his way through the desert night.

“What? That’s impossible!”

Yudit recalled Yasin’s reaction from earlier. When he had asked to borrow a tapestry, Yasin had been utterly horrified.

Yasin had insisted that his work was far too insignificant to be presented before the emperor and his retainers. His frantic refusal had seemed entirely genuine. Yudit had tried to convince him by praising the tapestry’s brilliance, but Yasin had been firm in his rejection.

“I’m sorry. That’s the one thing I can’t do.”

Faced with such strong resistance, Yudit couldn’t push any further. He apologized for making such an unreasonable request. Yasin, in turn, apologized for refusing so adamantly and gave each of them a tapestry of his own creation.

Yudit gazed at the man and camel depicted in the piece. The man was offering the camel a thornbush—its favorite food. Neither of them had any discernible expression, yet Yudit could feel a profound, aching loneliness emanating from them.

To have such a gift for conveying emotion through art, yet feel ashamed to share his work with the world—what a terrible shame.

Upon returning to the palace, Yudit was met with a pitch-dark room. It seemed that his nanny and attendants had already retired for the night. He struck a match and lit the lamp, the flame gradually illuminating the surroundings.

After washing up, he turned his gaze to the tapestry he had hung at the head of his bed. Reaching out, he touched the fabric. That alone brought a small sense of warmth.

It had been a productive day, but his body was utterly exhausted. If he closed his eyes, he would fall asleep instantly.

But it felt like such a waste to sleep.

After a moment of deliberation, Yudit made his decision. He grabbed the book from his bedside table, flipped to the marked page, and immersed himself in reading.

“Done.”

A little past noon, Yudit finally set his pen down. After hours of struggling, he had at last completed the banquet budget proposal. Since this was only a draft, he planned to take it to Selena during their language exchange gathering for review.

Although Yasin had rejected him so firmly that day, Yudit continued to attend the language exchange meetings. He wanted to master at least the conversational skills necessary for the banquet, and beyond that, he simply enjoyed meeting people.

After their first encounter with Yasin, Selena had developed an interest in Herut’s culture and often joined in as well. Lyett and Sonia would also occasionally attend, and whenever they did, Yasin would fuss over them, eager to offer even the smallest hospitality. He was a good person.

Yudit carefully tucked the budget proposal into his inner pocket and rose from his seat. The books he had used to draft the proposal were piled high on his desk like a mountain. As he reached to return them to their original places, a librarian approached to assist him.

“Will you be borrowing these?”

“No, just putting them back where they belong.”

“Then allow me to handle that.”

Yudit said it was fine, but the librarian still carried all the heavy books right to him. Stopping in front of Yudit with the stack nearly reaching his forehead, the librarian hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“Your Highness.”

Wondering if he had something to say, Yudit looked at him. After a brief pause, the librarian finally spoke.

“Stay strong.”

It was an encouragement from the usually curt and strict librarian. His words softened the sharpness in Yudit’s eyes.

“Thank you.”

That seemed to be all he had to say. The librarian swiftly carried the books to the shelves and disappeared among them.

After tidying up his workspace, Yudit left the library and began walking.

“Is this the last thing we need to move?”

“Yes, I’d appreciate it.”

Yudit lifted a chair as he replied. At his words, four laborers gathered around a large dining table, lifting it together. As the table, big enough to seat ten people, was hoisted into the air, wood dust rained down in a flurry. It made the cleaning from a few days ago seem pointless as the floor was once again covered in fine dust.

“Wait a moment.”

Selena approached with a wide cloth. Kneeling, she spread it beneath the table and handed part of it to the workers.

“Hold onto this while you carry it. Too much dust is falling everywhere.”

“Understood.”

With the cloth catching most of the dust, far less fell to the ground. Yudit followed behind them, carrying a chair, and behind him, Selena and Yasin trailed along as well. Noticing the two carrying chairs, Yudit spoke in surprise.

“You don’t have to do this.”

“But Your Highness is doing it too. I can carry at least one chair.”

“M-me too.”

“I invited you here, and yet I keep making you work.”

Yudit looked apologetic, but Selena shook her head resolutely.

“It’s fine. I came here to help in the first place.”

“But I never intended to make you do such menial tasks.”

“Make me? I’m doing this because I want to. It’ll be good to finish quickly, won’t it?”

“That’s right.”

Yasin added in his recently improved pronunciation.

As they chatted, the storage room came into view.

“You’ve arrived.”

The warehouse keeper recognized Yudit and greeted him. Carrying the chair, Yudit nodded in response. Seeing Yudit and the clearly noble group carrying chairs, the warehouse workers hurried over in alarm.

“Please, let us carry those for you.”

“It’s fine. We’re already here.”

Yudit shook his head and carried the chair inside.

Inside the warehouse, a spacious spot had already been prepared—one Yudit had arranged the day before. He had decided not to use tables and chairs for this banquet.

Selena had advised him that forcing people to sit at such rickety, unpleasantly scented furniture would only make the banquet an unenjoyable experience. Yudit had agreed. The old tables and chairs were too worn-out, wobbly, and emitted an unpleasant odor.

Thus, he chose to forgo them entirely.

The laborers removed the cloth and set the table down in its designated spot. Yudit placed the chairs beside it. The workers, whom Selena had introduced, were both strong and efficient. She had told him they were always called upon when extra hands were needed at banquets. Above all, their identities were reliable.

Even though they had been working since morning, they never once complained. In contrast, Yudit, who was only handling small tasks and giving directions, tired out before they did. Selena and Yasin were just as exhausted.