"Yes, you're here. I'm so glad that the lord came today."
Medea smiled.
Unlike her usual indifferent face, she did not hide her joy at meeting the subjects of her country.
Moreover, if it were a Sissair, he would be the most compatible partner with Valdina than anyone else.
"How are you all doing?"
Sissair stared at the Princess, or rather, his little master, who was now the First Princess of Katzen.
Medea wore her silver hair with pearls and a mauve silk dress.
Her pure skin had a young pink blush, and her clear green eyes sparkled with joy, making her look like a young fairy who had just stepped out into the human world.
"..."
In Sissair's eyes, Valdina's little Princess was superimposed on top of the figure.
Growing up with the love of the former King, her a lively and youthful childhood.
He was bitter about the fact that he had seen the scene again, which was blurring even in his memory, here in Katzen, not in their Valdina.
"...Everyone is getting along so well that His Majesty's worries are overshadowed. I miss Your Highness...That's all. His Majesty... Everyone."
In order not to think about why Medea looked more dazzling than the chandelier that lit up the banquet hall, Sissair had to bite his mouth.
"There are many errands to deliver to Your Highness, including letters from His Majesty. After the banquet, I will send someone."
"Sir, are you planning to go back immediately after the birthday party?"
A faint smile appeared on Medea's expression, not knowing that Sissair was struggling to answer. It seemed to be a sadness that was revealed without him realizing it.
The face was saying, I thought I would stay a little longer.
Without realizing it, Sissair clenched his fists. Then he will be able to catch all that can't be squeezed.
"Yes, forgive me. There are a lot of things that are interspersed..."
"Shouldn't we still get rid of the poison?"
At that moment, a languid voice interjected.
A shadow fell between the two. It was Cesare.
The black hair that received the light had a luster that was darker than the darkness.
The gold embroidery of the imperial pattern embroidered on the black military uniform with sharp collars was the only element that made the man look soft.
"I want you to stay a little longer, though. Even for those who are waiting for the Lord."
Something lightly landed on Medea's shoulder.
It was a lace cape that was finely woven with silver threads.
The lacr was woven with threads made by the elves, and an Instant warmth filled the cold skin.
Cesare said, straddling his wife with amazing skill, the fragile cape that could be torn apart at the slightest mishandling of his fingertips.
"If you leave in such a hurry, Dea will be upset."
He didn't hide that he cared for his wife.
Then, inviting Sissair to his own palace seemed to be an extension of that attitude.
"..."
The eyes of the two met in an Instant.
The wife's servant and the master's companion. The distance between the two was just that much.
"Damn it, Acares. Make excuses!"
"It's okay to call it a contradiction or cowardice. I can't afford to take care of the situation anyway."
A long-standing friendship was broken; no one can remember each other's last moments.
No, as if he doesn't remember.
"..."
Behind the glasses, which were opaque due to the reflection of light, Sissair, who had been silent for a while, bowed down and greeted him.
"...Thank you for your consideration. If so, I will stay for a few days, and as a representative of His Majesty and Valdina, I want to avoid personal misunderstandings, so I will arrange a separate accommodation."
In his smooth voice, which was flawless, diplomatically, he felt nothing but politeness.
"...Yes, as you wish."
However, no one noticed that Cesare's impression was rather hardened by such an answer.
Just in time, the melody of the music changed. It was time for the royal family to dance.
"Medea, you have to go."
Cesare squeezed Medea's hand.
She nodded and turned to face Sissair.
"Sir Sissair, the nights in Katzen are the coolest at this time of year. It's a shame to miss it, so it's better to come back for a while."
It sounded like a suggestion, but Sissair soon realized that it was Medea's Implicit name.
'You're trying to tell me something out of your eyes.'
At that moment, his heart raced, thinking that she was trying to convey her intention to return to Valdina.
But he soon noticed.
'If she had done so, she would not have spoken in the presence of Cesare.'
"...Yes, I think I'm tired and need a break."
Sissair looked at Medea's back as she headed to the floor.
Even that was hidden in Cesare's arms and could not be seen properly.
Eventually, Sissair turned around.
The hallway of the grand banquet hall.
Katzen's cold night breeze greeted the city.
It was the moment when the heat that had been quietly warming inside was erased.
"Oh!"
A middle-aged lady who was busy passing through the hallway swayed with a bend in her chin. The hem of the dark dress swayed.
She turned around and grabbed the stone statue in the hallway, so she avoided falling violently.
However, the brooch on her collar fell off due to the violent movement, and it rolled around.
"Oh, where did it go? It must have fallen here..."
The lady looked around with a hunchback.
"Madam, are you looking for this?"
It was time for Sissair to stop at his feet and pick up the brooch.
"..."
He paused.
This is because the small and elaborate red fox shape engraved on the back of the brooch came in.
It was such a small pattern that he wouldn't have noticed it if he hadn't consciously turned it over and checked it in detail at such a close distance.
"Oh, there you were. Thank you."
The lady approached Sissair with relief.
"I was in trouble because it was an Important Item that I shouldn't lose. Especially on a day like today..."
Taking the brooch, the lady smiled brightly.
Parchment paper was pushed under the fingertips that touched each other.
"Then, to the kind distinguished guest, may the joy of today's birthday party be eternal."
The lady bowed slightly and walked past him.
It was a very ordinary encounter that no one would pay attention to.
Sissair stopped.
'...Your Highness is by the side of the Eastern Empress?'
It was after he had already confirmed that his master was going to the side of the Eastern Empress that he returned to the banquet hall.
Menil, Neril, and the Princess's beasts from Valdina were still in the banquet hall, but they dared to send a stranger to convey this...
'It looks like someone is plotting something with our Valdina today.'
With a nonchalant expression, Sissair shoved the parchment deep into his pocket.
Then, as if nothing had happened, he walked again.
***
Meanwhile, at that time, a carriage entered Katzen's imperial palace late.
The decorations carved on the carriage were not in the style of Katzen but in the style of a foreign country.
The door of the carriage opened, and a middle-aged man got out from inside.
"Welcome to His Majesty's birthday party. This is the grand banquet hall."
"I know."
When the imperial palace attendant tried to guide him, the man waved his hand and walked straight away.
A purple coat with an exotic pattern engraved around its long, thin body.
The man's face had a faint trace of time, but he was still impressively handsome.
It was not difficult to guess that he must have thrilled many youths with his youthful appearance.
"Oh my God, who is this? Alfred!"
Leaving the noisy banquet hall and strolling through the palace gardens, the Katzen nobleman saw the man and opened his arms to welcome him.
"It's been a while."
"How long has this been? You haven't changed at all. The demons of time seem to have taken care of you."
The nobleman stuck out his tongue.
Unlike him, who was already full of sagging and sagging crowns of his head, he looked at the man's thick hair and slender abdomen with envious eyes.
"Yes, it's been decades since I've been in Katzen. I thought I wouldn't be able to set foot here again before I died."
"Oh no, you're a naughty friend. How many times have I sent a communication, but there has never been an answer? You are truly heartless."
The nobleman's grumbling, the man's eyes with a faint smile, brushed across the dome of the imperial palace.
***
At that time, the banquet hall was again.
A sensitive tension appeared in the corners of Western's eyes.
"Princess Strauss was absent today. It seems true that the Northern Empress personally came to the province and took her daughter with her, Your Majesty."
The maid Bridget whispered cautiously in the Western Empress's ear.
Bridget's appearance in a stylish dark dress, befitting a close associate of the Western Empress, naturally blended into the splendid banquet hall.
"There are rumors among the people of the province that the reason why His Highness the 1st Prince attacked the Northern Empress this time was because her daughter was at odds with the 1st Princess."
She put down the cup that Western Empress was holding. Her gaze brushed over the empty seat on the left.
It was the seat of the 1st Princess on the same platform as her.
'After all, it was right to move now. When you openly hate that sissy, when does Your Majesty suddenly try to save face like this?'
Even the Emperor took advantage of the whims, and the 1st Princess was very good at it.
'If I had been careless, that bright blue sissy would now try to sit on top of my head.'
She stared coldly at the young couple who were attached to her, as if she were staring at a pair of nasty Insects.
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