“Child, how have you been?”
As soon as they entered the secret underground chamber of the main library, Moiya, who had been a doppelganger of a bee, returned to her original form and flew to Joseph. Joseph blinked happily.
“Meow! (You missed me, right?)”
Aoshi also ran up and down, scratching at the cursed ice with his two front paws.
“You are always the same, unchanging. This great wyvern is very tired these days.”
'Why?'
Joseph opened his eyes slightly and asked himself.
“A really insignificant human punk came into the house of the human subordinate I’m taking care of, Moiya~.”
Moiya clenched his small fists and trembled as he spoke. Joseph didn't understand what Moiya was talking about at first, but he thought he seemed to be dissatisfied with something lately.
“You don’t even blink at my words? But all he knows how to do is cry, poop, and eat. Ugh, when will he grow up and act like a human being?”
'Aren't you still a kid?'
Joseph looked at Moiya and smiled inwardly.
“Well, I’m not expecting filial piety from him. But since he was born as a human, you know the favor of being raised, right? Later on, you won’t say something like you don’t remember because you were a baby, right?”
“Meow. (They say humans don’t remember when they were babies.)”
Aoshi said as he looked at Moiya with a pitiful look.
“Really? Anyway, I said that humans are inferior animals. Ugh, except for our master...”
Moiya was making a sharp criticism of humans, but then Zelda came to mind, and he immediately corrected himself.
'Hey... Moiya, the area around your mouth where you breathed fire last time seems to be melting a little. You may not know, but I can feel it.'
Joseph hoped Moiya would continue to spit fire at the same spot today. He thought that if the cursed ice melted a little more, he might be able to move his mouth a little.
“I can’t stay long because I have to take care of the human baby. Even though you can be fine on your own like this, Rams can’t.”
It seemed to Joseph that Moiya, despite his grumbling, was affectionate towards the baby named Rams.
'Why?'
“Because there are people who prey on that small and insignificant thing.”
Moiya, who had somehow managed to figure out Joseph's wide-open eyes, added a reason why they had to go quickly.
“Meow? (But can I tell the kid about Rams? Rosie clearly said it was a secret.)”
“Hey, where would he go to talk? Maybe he’d know if he had a mouth open. In that sense, should I spit fire at my throat again today?”
Moiya took a ready stance, turning his neck this way and that, and then breathed fire in the same position as Joseph had wished.
Aoshi and Moiya waved their hands and greeted Joseph. Moiya, who had transformed back into honey on the wall, clung to Aoshi's fur and muttered.
“A strange man is coming. Let’s go, Miss. We have to go back now!”
'Bye, thanks guys.'
Joseph greeted him with his eyes. Moiya and Aoshi left, and a while later, the innermost ice in the area where Moiya had been spitting fire began to melt little by little like cookie crumbs. Joseph was able to move his lips, even if only slightly.
Emperor Adrian stayed in the main palace after the banquet, saying he wanted to see the inside of the main palace. In fact, it was an excuse. There was another reason why he stopped walking back to the annex.
'I can definitely sense the aura of a wyvern somewhere around here...'
Emperor Adrian walked around the main palace with Empress Elan and his secretary, pretending to admire the view. As he headed in the direction where the wyvern's energy was becoming stronger, he found himself climbing the central staircase.
“What’s on this floor?”
Emperor Adrian stopped on the steps where the wyvern's aura was clearly visible and asked his secretary.
“It is said that there is His Majesty Linel’s office, audience chamber, and palace library.”
The secretary answered while unfolding the booklet containing the interior of the palace and the main facilities that he had received from the attendant Lapion in the villa. Emperor Adrian went up to the second floor without saying a word, stood in front of the central staircase, and looked at the left and right corridors alternately. To the left was the Emperor’s office and the audience room, and to the right was the library.
“Your Majesty, is there a place you are looking for?”
Empress Elan asked cautiously.
“To the right.”
Emperor Adrian gestured to Empress Elan towards the right corridor and walked slowly.
'We're getting closer and closer.'
But the wyvern's energy suddenly stopped in front of the library.
“Why?”
Surely, even on the steps, the energy was strongly felt here? If it wasn't an illusion, there was only one answer.
“I guess he got away in the meantime.”
Emperor Adrian looked out the arched window that stood wide open across from the library door, to feel the lingering energy after the wyvern had disappeared.
“It’s true.”
Emperor Adrian closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then spoke to himself in a confident voice. Then he turned around and looked at the large library door.
“Why did you come there...”
There was no way a wyvern would come to read a human's book. No, maybe. Wyverns are a very eccentric and peculiar species, and their behavior is hard to predict.
“Open it.”
Emperor Adrian walked slowly towards the front of the library and gave orders to his secretary.
“Yes, Your Majesty. Please come in.”
As the secretary quickly opened the library door, only Emperor Adrian and Empress Elan entered the library. Despite the library’s large size, there was no separate librarian to manage it. Emperor Adrian, who was looking around at the enormous number of books, opened his eyes dimly and approached the bookshelf with the fireplace.
“Your Majesty, is there something here?”
Empress Elan followed him and asked.
“The spirit of the wyvern. But now it seems to have disappeared, leaving only traces.”
Emperor Adrian smiled sadly with a regretful expression.
'Wyvern?!'
Empress Elan couldn't close her mouth in surprise and began to look around the library carefully. Emperor Adrian stood in front of the space where the wyvern's energy remained and tilted his head. There was also a strong cursed energy mixed in.
“Ha, hahaha. You brought it here.”
Emperor Adrian muttered with a meaningful smile. He began to tap the bookshelf here and there with his palm with the aforementioned expression.
“...Your Majesty, what are you doing?”
Empress Elan approached him, puzzled by his strange behavior.
“You should try tapping on the bookshelf nearby with your palm. There should definitely be a button or something that will take you behind the bookshelf.”
Empress Elan, not even having the courage to ask what he meant, began to tap her hands on the shelves here and there as he told her. After a while of tapping on the bookshelf. Swish-
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty...!”
When Empress Elan put her hand on a shelf and pressed it, the bookshelf and wall were pushed aside at once. And just as Emperor Adrian had said, there was space.
“My lovely Empress. You bring me joy again.”
Emperor Adrian said, caressing Empress Elan's injured right cheek.
“You wait here. I’ll go down and come back in a moment.”
“I don’t know what’s down there, so isn’t it dangerous?”
“There is nothing to be afraid of, nothing to worry about. As long as Emperor Linel does not show up.”
“?”
“It won’t take long.”
“...Yes, I will wait, Your Majesty.”
Emperor Adrian left Empress Elan behind and entered the dark space. As he went down the stairs, a gray wall appeared. As he stepped onto the fourth and final step, the gray wall slowly opened to the side.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, after the Valley of Death.”
Emperor Adrian approached and greeted Emperor Linel's younger brother, Joseph, whom he had seen in the Valley of Death three years ago.
“I never thought you would hide Grand Duke Joseph in a place like this. Emperor Linel has surprised me many times today.”
Joseph was nervous about the strange visitor. Then, upon looking closely at his face, he realized that he was Emperor Adrian of the Tebello Empire on the Southern Continent.
'Why is he here? More importantly... how did he get in?'
Joseph looked at the door of the secret room. He thought Emperor Adrian had come with Commander Macrom, Raphael, or Stiane, but he was alone. He had seen Emperor Adrian from afar in the Valley of Death, the last battlefield three years ago. That was all. Moreover, this was a place where anyone wearing only a uniform like that would not be able to withstand the strong cold of the cursed ice. But why...
'Emperor Adrian doesn't seem to be bothered?'
“The volume of ice isn’t as big as I thought. And it’s even melting little by little...”
Emperor Adrian's expression, which had been smiling as he spoke, suddenly turned cold.
“It must be the wyvern’s doing?”
'Oh my, you even know about Moiya's existence?!'
Joseph opened his eyes wide without realizing it.
“Looking at your surprise, it looks like the wyvern did come by a little while ago.”
Emperor Adrian looked around the secret room, lost in thought. How did the wyvern find this secret room? Did Emperor Linel tell him? No, it seemed that he still did not know about the existence of the wyvern. Then, Empress Zelda? No, that would not be it. When he met her on the trail near the West Palace a while ago, he had hinted at the existence of the wyvern. Until then, she had not even realized that she understood the wyvern’s language, let alone its existence. So the wyvern must have sensed the aura of the curse and found this place...
“He’s a guy with quite a wide forehead.”
Emperor Adrian muttered with laughter. Joseph felt an extreme sense of foreboding.
As soon as they entered the secret underground chamber of the main library, Moiya, who had been a doppelganger of a bee, returned to her original form and flew to Joseph. Joseph blinked happily.
“Meow! (You missed me, right?)”
Aoshi also ran up and down, scratching at the cursed ice with his two front paws.
“You are always the same, unchanging. This great wyvern is very tired these days.”
'Why?'
Joseph opened his eyes slightly and asked himself.
“A really insignificant human punk came into the house of the human subordinate I’m taking care of, Moiya~.”
Moiya clenched his small fists and trembled as he spoke. Joseph didn't understand what Moiya was talking about at first, but he thought he seemed to be dissatisfied with something lately.
“You don’t even blink at my words? But all he knows how to do is cry, poop, and eat. Ugh, when will he grow up and act like a human being?”
'Aren't you still a kid?'
Joseph looked at Moiya and smiled inwardly.
“Well, I’m not expecting filial piety from him. But since he was born as a human, you know the favor of being raised, right? Later on, you won’t say something like you don’t remember because you were a baby, right?”
“Meow. (They say humans don’t remember when they were babies.)”
Aoshi said as he looked at Moiya with a pitiful look.
“Really? Anyway, I said that humans are inferior animals. Ugh, except for our master...”
Moiya was making a sharp criticism of humans, but then Zelda came to mind, and he immediately corrected himself.
'Hey... Moiya, the area around your mouth where you breathed fire last time seems to be melting a little. You may not know, but I can feel it.'
Joseph hoped Moiya would continue to spit fire at the same spot today. He thought that if the cursed ice melted a little more, he might be able to move his mouth a little.
“I can’t stay long because I have to take care of the human baby. Even though you can be fine on your own like this, Rams can’t.”
It seemed to Joseph that Moiya, despite his grumbling, was affectionate towards the baby named Rams.
'Why?'
“Because there are people who prey on that small and insignificant thing.”
Moiya, who had somehow managed to figure out Joseph's wide-open eyes, added a reason why they had to go quickly.
“Meow? (But can I tell the kid about Rams? Rosie clearly said it was a secret.)”
“Hey, where would he go to talk? Maybe he’d know if he had a mouth open. In that sense, should I spit fire at my throat again today?”
Moiya took a ready stance, turning his neck this way and that, and then breathed fire in the same position as Joseph had wished.
KWAAAAH- KWAAAAH-!
“Meow?! (Huh? The fire seems a bit stronger than last time?!)”
Aoshi looked up in amazement at Moiya, who was flapping his wings in the air and spitting fire. Ten minutes had passed since he had been spitting fire without stopping.
“Oh my god, I’m dying.”
Moiya, who looked obviously exhausted, seemed to collapse on the floor and then collapse on her back.
“Even if you twist a wyvern’s neck, dawn will come! There’s an old saying like that, but I guess it’s all a lie. It feels like if I breathe fire, its neck will break. If I keep doing this, I’ll die at dawn.”
“Meow? (You’re a great wyvern, and you’re joking because you did that?)”
Aoshi scolded Moiya, who was lying on the floor, by tapping his feet with his front paws. Moiya sat up with his mouth wide open.
“They say cats are evil spirits... but they’re really quick-witted, aren’t they~? Hehe.”
Aoshi was right. Moiya was not tired, but rather bored, so he deliberately made a death sound to get out of the secret room quickly. Moiya looked up at Joseph with an apologetic expression.
“Oww?”
But when he thought about it carefully, Joseph didn't understand what the cat was saying. Moiya realized this and changed his expression again, speaking to Joseph in a hoarse voice.
“I worked so hard that I feel like I’m going to lose my voice... I’ll come back later. Thank you so much today, right?”
Joseph blinked several times with a look of gratitude in his eyes.
“I’ll come back next time with a better fire, so take care until then. Oh, maybe I’ll come back after the hunting competition.”
“Meow? (Should we join the hunting competition?)”
Aoshi asked in surprise.
“Isn’t it natural that our master is leaving?”
Moiya put both hands on his hips and shouted proudly. No one would stop him even if he were told not to follow. He could doppelganger of anyone and follow them.
“I’ll come back even greater!”
I heard from Rosie that the Continental Hunt was starting in three days. So I might not have a chance to stop by Joseph before I leave.
“Meow meow... (I’ll miss you...)”.
“Meow?! (Huh? The fire seems a bit stronger than last time?!)”
Aoshi looked up in amazement at Moiya, who was flapping his wings in the air and spitting fire. Ten minutes had passed since he had been spitting fire without stopping.
“Oh my god, I’m dying.”
Moiya, who looked obviously exhausted, seemed to collapse on the floor and then collapse on her back.
“Even if you twist a wyvern’s neck, dawn will come! There’s an old saying like that, but I guess it’s all a lie. It feels like if I breathe fire, its neck will break. If I keep doing this, I’ll die at dawn.”
“Meow? (You’re a great wyvern, and you’re joking because you did that?)”
Aoshi scolded Moiya, who was lying on the floor, by tapping his feet with his front paws. Moiya sat up with his mouth wide open.
“They say cats are evil spirits... but they’re really quick-witted, aren’t they~? Hehe.”
Aoshi was right. Moiya was not tired, but rather bored, so he deliberately made a death sound to get out of the secret room quickly. Moiya looked up at Joseph with an apologetic expression.
“Oww?”
But when he thought about it carefully, Joseph didn't understand what the cat was saying. Moiya realized this and changed his expression again, speaking to Joseph in a hoarse voice.
“I worked so hard that I feel like I’m going to lose my voice... I’ll come back later. Thank you so much today, right?”
Joseph blinked several times with a look of gratitude in his eyes.
“I’ll come back next time with a better fire, so take care until then. Oh, maybe I’ll come back after the hunting competition.”
“Meow? (Should we join the hunting competition?)”
Aoshi asked in surprise.
“Isn’t it natural that our master is leaving?”
Moiya put both hands on his hips and shouted proudly. No one would stop him even if he were told not to follow. He could doppelganger of anyone and follow them.
“I’ll come back even greater!”
I heard from Rosie that the Continental Hunt was starting in three days. So I might not have a chance to stop by Joseph before I leave.
“Meow meow... (I’ll miss you...)”.
Aoshi and Moiya waved their hands and greeted Joseph. Moiya, who had transformed back into honey on the wall, clung to Aoshi's fur and muttered.
“A strange man is coming. Let’s go, Miss. We have to go back now!”
'Bye, thanks guys.'
Joseph greeted him with his eyes. Moiya and Aoshi left, and a while later, the innermost ice in the area where Moiya had been spitting fire began to melt little by little like cookie crumbs. Joseph was able to move his lips, even if only slightly.
***
Emperor Adrian stayed in the main palace after the banquet, saying he wanted to see the inside of the main palace. In fact, it was an excuse. There was another reason why he stopped walking back to the annex.
'I can definitely sense the aura of a wyvern somewhere around here...'
Emperor Adrian walked around the main palace with Empress Elan and his secretary, pretending to admire the view. As he headed in the direction where the wyvern's energy was becoming stronger, he found himself climbing the central staircase.
“What’s on this floor?”
Emperor Adrian stopped on the steps where the wyvern's aura was clearly visible and asked his secretary.
“It is said that there is His Majesty Linel’s office, audience chamber, and palace library.”
The secretary answered while unfolding the booklet containing the interior of the palace and the main facilities that he had received from the attendant Lapion in the villa. Emperor Adrian went up to the second floor without saying a word, stood in front of the central staircase, and looked at the left and right corridors alternately. To the left was the Emperor’s office and the audience room, and to the right was the library.
“Your Majesty, is there a place you are looking for?”
Empress Elan asked cautiously.
“To the right.”
Emperor Adrian gestured to Empress Elan towards the right corridor and walked slowly.
'We're getting closer and closer.'
But the wyvern's energy suddenly stopped in front of the library.
“Why?”
Surely, even on the steps, the energy was strongly felt here? If it wasn't an illusion, there was only one answer.
“I guess he got away in the meantime.”
Emperor Adrian looked out the arched window that stood wide open across from the library door, to feel the lingering energy after the wyvern had disappeared.
“It’s true.”
Emperor Adrian closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then spoke to himself in a confident voice. Then he turned around and looked at the large library door.
“Why did you come there...”
There was no way a wyvern would come to read a human's book. No, maybe. Wyverns are a very eccentric and peculiar species, and their behavior is hard to predict.
“Open it.”
Emperor Adrian walked slowly towards the front of the library and gave orders to his secretary.
“Yes, Your Majesty. Please come in.”
As the secretary quickly opened the library door, only Emperor Adrian and Empress Elan entered the library. Despite the library’s large size, there was no separate librarian to manage it. Emperor Adrian, who was looking around at the enormous number of books, opened his eyes dimly and approached the bookshelf with the fireplace.
“Your Majesty, is there something here?”
Empress Elan followed him and asked.
“The spirit of the wyvern. But now it seems to have disappeared, leaving only traces.”
Emperor Adrian smiled sadly with a regretful expression.
'Wyvern?!'
Empress Elan couldn't close her mouth in surprise and began to look around the library carefully. Emperor Adrian stood in front of the space where the wyvern's energy remained and tilted his head. There was also a strong cursed energy mixed in.
“Ha, hahaha. You brought it here.”
Emperor Adrian muttered with a meaningful smile. He began to tap the bookshelf here and there with his palm with the aforementioned expression.
“...Your Majesty, what are you doing?”
Empress Elan approached him, puzzled by his strange behavior.
“You should try tapping on the bookshelf nearby with your palm. There should definitely be a button or something that will take you behind the bookshelf.”
Empress Elan, not even having the courage to ask what he meant, began to tap her hands on the shelves here and there as he told her. After a while of tapping on the bookshelf. Swish-
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty...!”
When Empress Elan put her hand on a shelf and pressed it, the bookshelf and wall were pushed aside at once. And just as Emperor Adrian had said, there was space.
“My lovely Empress. You bring me joy again.”
Emperor Adrian said, caressing Empress Elan's injured right cheek.
“You wait here. I’ll go down and come back in a moment.”
“I don’t know what’s down there, so isn’t it dangerous?”
“There is nothing to be afraid of, nothing to worry about. As long as Emperor Linel does not show up.”
“?”
“It won’t take long.”
“...Yes, I will wait, Your Majesty.”
Emperor Adrian left Empress Elan behind and entered the dark space. As he went down the stairs, a gray wall appeared. As he stepped onto the fourth and final step, the gray wall slowly opened to the side.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, after the Valley of Death.”
Emperor Adrian approached and greeted Emperor Linel's younger brother, Joseph, whom he had seen in the Valley of Death three years ago.
“I never thought you would hide Grand Duke Joseph in a place like this. Emperor Linel has surprised me many times today.”
Joseph was nervous about the strange visitor. Then, upon looking closely at his face, he realized that he was Emperor Adrian of the Tebello Empire on the Southern Continent.
'Why is he here? More importantly... how did he get in?'
Joseph looked at the door of the secret room. He thought Emperor Adrian had come with Commander Macrom, Raphael, or Stiane, but he was alone. He had seen Emperor Adrian from afar in the Valley of Death, the last battlefield three years ago. That was all. Moreover, this was a place where anyone wearing only a uniform like that would not be able to withstand the strong cold of the cursed ice. But why...
'Emperor Adrian doesn't seem to be bothered?'
“The volume of ice isn’t as big as I thought. And it’s even melting little by little...”
Emperor Adrian's expression, which had been smiling as he spoke, suddenly turned cold.
“It must be the wyvern’s doing?”
'Oh my, you even know about Moiya's existence?!'
Joseph opened his eyes wide without realizing it.
“Looking at your surprise, it looks like the wyvern did come by a little while ago.”
Emperor Adrian looked around the secret room, lost in thought. How did the wyvern find this secret room? Did Emperor Linel tell him? No, it seemed that he still did not know about the existence of the wyvern. Then, Empress Zelda? No, that would not be it. When he met her on the trail near the West Palace a while ago, he had hinted at the existence of the wyvern. Until then, she had not even realized that she understood the wyvern’s language, let alone its existence. So the wyvern must have sensed the aura of the curse and found this place...
“He’s a guy with quite a wide forehead.”
Emperor Adrian muttered with laughter. Joseph felt an extreme sense of foreboding.
'Why on earth did you come here?'
Being trapped in ice, he felt threatened, but he had nowhere to run. However, no one could harass him, trapped in the cursed ice. He never thought that there would come a day when he would feel safe on the ice. Young Joseph found this situation very strange.
“Do you know how much I sacrificed because of this cursed ice?”
Emperor Adrian raised his left hand, touched the ice, and spoke to Joseph.
“Emperor Linel lost his right arm.”
Suddenly, Emperor Adrian's voice changed. It was the voice of a completely different person. Joseph's pupils were filled with fear. It was a greater shock than when he first saw Moiya in the secret room. The voice that came out of Emperor Adrian's mouth just now was a voice Joseph had heard before. Moreover, it was a voice he could never forget.
'This man!'
The one who sent a curse that would trap him in the Canyon of Death, while also giving Linel hypothermia and stealing Commander Macrom's eyesight... The Southern Continent wizard who handles wyverns, Philike. After Joseph was moved to the secret room by Commander Macrom and Raphael, he heard the story of the wizard Philike. He said that when he fainted immediately after being cursed by Philike, an enraged Linel struck the man's right arm with his sword and threw him into the Canyon of Death. He had heard that he disappeared after that. But why did that wizard transform into another face, and into Emperor Adrian of the Tebello Empire?
“You remember my voice, don’t you? How wonderful.”
Emperor Adrian had no qualms about revealing his identity to Joseph, since Joseph, trapped in the cursed ice, would not be able to tell anyone anyway.
“The sorcerer Philike is no more. I was reborn into the body of Emperor Adrian. In order to continue living here, I need to drink some blood periodically.”
Emperor Adrian spoke in a grumbling tone, then changed his expression again.
“The wyvern has done something useless, so I will restore it to its original state and then leave.”
He recited the spell and raised his left hand to run it up and down the cursed ice. The cursed ice began to become harder and more solid than before. Joseph’s face turned into a look of distress.
'Oh, no! I don't like it!'
The corners of his mouth, which had been able to move very slightly, became rigid again.
“I will come back to see you again once the Continental Hunting Competition is over and things are settled. I will come to kill you then, though.”
Emperor Adrian bowed to Joseph, then turned around and left the secret room.
'Moiya... Aoshi... Guys, I'm so scared...'
Tears flowed from Joseph's eyes. Before they could flow, they were absorbed into the cursed ice and frozen.
Being trapped in ice, he felt threatened, but he had nowhere to run. However, no one could harass him, trapped in the cursed ice. He never thought that there would come a day when he would feel safe on the ice. Young Joseph found this situation very strange.
“Do you know how much I sacrificed because of this cursed ice?”
Emperor Adrian raised his left hand, touched the ice, and spoke to Joseph.
“Emperor Linel lost his right arm.”
Suddenly, Emperor Adrian's voice changed. It was the voice of a completely different person. Joseph's pupils were filled with fear. It was a greater shock than when he first saw Moiya in the secret room. The voice that came out of Emperor Adrian's mouth just now was a voice Joseph had heard before. Moreover, it was a voice he could never forget.
'This man!'
The one who sent a curse that would trap him in the Canyon of Death, while also giving Linel hypothermia and stealing Commander Macrom's eyesight... The Southern Continent wizard who handles wyverns, Philike. After Joseph was moved to the secret room by Commander Macrom and Raphael, he heard the story of the wizard Philike. He said that when he fainted immediately after being cursed by Philike, an enraged Linel struck the man's right arm with his sword and threw him into the Canyon of Death. He had heard that he disappeared after that. But why did that wizard transform into another face, and into Emperor Adrian of the Tebello Empire?
“You remember my voice, don’t you? How wonderful.”
Emperor Adrian had no qualms about revealing his identity to Joseph, since Joseph, trapped in the cursed ice, would not be able to tell anyone anyway.
“The sorcerer Philike is no more. I was reborn into the body of Emperor Adrian. In order to continue living here, I need to drink some blood periodically.”
Emperor Adrian spoke in a grumbling tone, then changed his expression again.
“The wyvern has done something useless, so I will restore it to its original state and then leave.”
He recited the spell and raised his left hand to run it up and down the cursed ice. The cursed ice began to become harder and more solid than before. Joseph’s face turned into a look of distress.
'Oh, no! I don't like it!'
The corners of his mouth, which had been able to move very slightly, became rigid again.
“I will come back to see you again once the Continental Hunting Competition is over and things are settled. I will come to kill you then, though.”
Emperor Adrian bowed to Joseph, then turned around and left the secret room.
'Moiya... Aoshi... Guys, I'm so scared...'
Tears flowed from Joseph's eyes. Before they could flow, they were absorbed into the cursed ice and frozen.
***
After greeting the guests in the banquet hall, we were the first to leave. Linel had to go to the conference hall because he had a meeting with the ministers. However, he said there was still some time left before the meeting and took me to the bedroom. We had something to say to each other, but we didn't say anything until we entered the bedroom.
“Your Majesty, why did you suddenly change the destination?”
As soon as I entered the bedroom, I said what I had been meaning to ask throughout the dinner.
“Did you fall asleep while the Emperor was speaking at the banquet?”
He tilted his head and smiled.
“I don’t think it’s just for convenience.”
“You have a pretty good eye for detail.”
Linel admitted it readily.
“There’s a real reason... right?”
“It’s because of you, Empress.”
“Me?”
I was dumbfounded by his words, so I put my hand on my chest and asked back. My heart started beating faster without me knowing why.
“Yes, for you.”
Linel took something out of his uniform pocket.
“Your Majesty, why did you suddenly change the destination?”
As soon as I entered the bedroom, I said what I had been meaning to ask throughout the dinner.
“Did you fall asleep while the Emperor was speaking at the banquet?”
He tilted his head and smiled.
“I don’t think it’s just for convenience.”
“You have a pretty good eye for detail.”
Linel admitted it readily.
“There’s a real reason... right?”
“It’s because of you, Empress.”
“Me?”
I was dumbfounded by his words, so I put my hand on my chest and asked back. My heart started beating faster without me knowing why.
“Yes, for you.”
Linel took something out of his uniform pocket.
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