Among the distinguished guests, Rosie and Melanie decided to stay in the palace where they had lived as concubines.
Zelda judged it more comfortable than the separate villa where the distinguished guests occupied each floor.
The West Palace, where the concubines had lived, was currently empty.
"How is it, being back after so long?"
Hetor asked Melanie as he entered the bedroom.
"It reminds me of the old days,"
Melanie replied, her face soaked with reminiscence.
"Aha, those lonely days when the Emperor didn't even glance at you, the concubine?"
Melanie rolled her eyes at Hetor's teasing tone.
"I'm just joking."
Hetor sat down on the bed, pulling Melanie onto his lap and laughing.
"It's true, so I can't be angry."
Melanie coolly acknowledged her past.
"You weren't lonely after meeting me. That's all that matters."
Hetor's large hand stroked Melanie's small face.
"I was pretty, wasn't I?"
Melanie poked her cheek with her index finger and asked,
“Even our Mao wouldn’t do that.”
Hetor grabbed Melanie’s hand and pulled it down, but deep down, he’d always thought his wife was cuter than his young daughter.
“Mao won’t do it, so I’ll do it,”
Melanie said slyly, this time pressing her lips against Hetor’s cheek.
Melanie was cuter than her daughter.
“I thought I was pretty? Is that why you liked me?”
Melanie asked again, and Hetor retorted,
“I liked you first?”
It felt like her memory had been manipulated.
“Who was it that seduced you by throwing me a not-so-delicious pomegranate?”
Hetor summoned up the memory.
Melanie couldn’t argue when the pomegranate came up. Hetor, seeing the moment, continued his questioning.
“Did I look really cool?”
“I admit it. Aside from His Majesty Linel, I’ve never seen anyone so handsome.”
“?”
That’s what they call being blinded by blindness, isn’t it?
Hetor burst out laughing.
It wasn't that he was ugly. But at the time, there were plenty of people in the Lapion royal family who were more handsome than him.
Prince Norton, Grand Duke Martins, and Magic Tower Lord walked around the palace with open arms.
And even Prince Tesla, though a madman, had once resided in the Lapion royal palace.
Comparing himself to their looks was a bit embarrassing.
"Do you still think so?"
But Melanie's subjective assessment was more important to Hetor than the objective assessment.
"Of course. Now that we're together again, I can see it for sure."
"What?"
"That my husband is the sexiest."
"Well, that's a subjective judgment, but if you're my wife, then so be it."
Hetor's cheeks twitched.
"Even objectively, my husband is the best."
Melanie declared with conviction. Hetor felt pleased, even if it was just empty words, and patted Melanie's waist with his hand as she sat on his lap and fussed.
"Thank you for the words."
"You didn't just say that to make me feel better, did you?"
“Really? Then, objectively speaking, what makes me the biggest?”
He asked without much expectation, but Melanie’s expression was quite serious as she answered.
“My husband is the tallest.”
“...What?”
“Huh?”
“You have to explain what that is. If you just say that... Melanie, there’s room for misunderstanding.”
“Oh, of course, I mean height. Height!”
Melanie giggled, holding her stomach, wondering what the man was thinking.
“I could be the biggest in other things, too.”
“For example?”
“My head, my hands, my feet...”
“I think you missed something?”
Melanie asked, her eyes narrowed slightly.
“I can’t tell you because I can’t check that part.”
Melanie’s laughter, which had barely stopped, burst out again at Hetor’s answer.
The two lay on the bed, looking at each other casually.
“Anyway, my life started to be enjoyable after I met you.”
Melanie whispered, her hand brushing Hetor’s fluctuating Adam’s apple before raising her voice again and continuing.
"Oh, I was talking in the living room yesterday, and we said we were still hot, right? But you guys don't believe me, do you?"
"Why?"
“We’ve been married for seven years, so there’s no way that’s possible. Only Empress Zelda sympathizes, while Empress Rosie and Lady Catherine are suspicious.”
“Then you can brag about it later.”
“What?”
“You said you made love even when you came here.”
“Just now... did you get a signal?”
“I’ve been here for a while.”
Hetor took off his uniform jacket.
“But today is a bit of a dangerous day.”
“What?”
“It’s a day when we might have a fourth child.”
“That’s not a dangerous day, it’s a blessed day. Is having a fourth child not a good idea?”
Hetor tilted his head and kissed her.
Memories from seven years ago flooded back vividly, and their gestures grew more intense.
Knock, knock.
A polite knock echoed through the bedroom.
“Who is it?”
Hetor sat up, adjusting his clothes.
“I wonder? A servant?”
Melanie muttered with a regretful expression.
When Hetor called them in, the bedroom door timidly opened.
“Mao? You’re alone?”
Zelda judged it more comfortable than the separate villa where the distinguished guests occupied each floor.
The West Palace, where the concubines had lived, was currently empty.
"How is it, being back after so long?"
Hetor asked Melanie as he entered the bedroom.
"It reminds me of the old days,"
Melanie replied, her face soaked with reminiscence.
"Aha, those lonely days when the Emperor didn't even glance at you, the concubine?"
Melanie rolled her eyes at Hetor's teasing tone.
"I'm just joking."
Hetor sat down on the bed, pulling Melanie onto his lap and laughing.
"It's true, so I can't be angry."
Melanie coolly acknowledged her past.
"You weren't lonely after meeting me. That's all that matters."
Hetor's large hand stroked Melanie's small face.
"I was pretty, wasn't I?"
Melanie poked her cheek with her index finger and asked,
“Even our Mao wouldn’t do that.”
Hetor grabbed Melanie’s hand and pulled it down, but deep down, he’d always thought his wife was cuter than his young daughter.
“Mao won’t do it, so I’ll do it,”
Melanie said slyly, this time pressing her lips against Hetor’s cheek.
Melanie was cuter than her daughter.
“I thought I was pretty? Is that why you liked me?”
Melanie asked again, and Hetor retorted,
“I liked you first?”
It felt like her memory had been manipulated.
“Who was it that seduced you by throwing me a not-so-delicious pomegranate?”
Hetor summoned up the memory.
Melanie couldn’t argue when the pomegranate came up. Hetor, seeing the moment, continued his questioning.
“Did I look really cool?”
“I admit it. Aside from His Majesty Linel, I’ve never seen anyone so handsome.”
“?”
That’s what they call being blinded by blindness, isn’t it?
Hetor burst out laughing.
It wasn't that he was ugly. But at the time, there were plenty of people in the Lapion royal family who were more handsome than him.
Prince Norton, Grand Duke Martins, and Magic Tower Lord walked around the palace with open arms.
And even Prince Tesla, though a madman, had once resided in the Lapion royal palace.
Comparing himself to their looks was a bit embarrassing.
"Do you still think so?"
But Melanie's subjective assessment was more important to Hetor than the objective assessment.
"Of course. Now that we're together again, I can see it for sure."
"What?"
"That my husband is the sexiest."
"Well, that's a subjective judgment, but if you're my wife, then so be it."
Hetor's cheeks twitched.
"Even objectively, my husband is the best."
Melanie declared with conviction. Hetor felt pleased, even if it was just empty words, and patted Melanie's waist with his hand as she sat on his lap and fussed.
"Thank you for the words."
"You didn't just say that to make me feel better, did you?"
“Really? Then, objectively speaking, what makes me the biggest?”
He asked without much expectation, but Melanie’s expression was quite serious as she answered.
“My husband is the tallest.”
“...What?”
“Huh?”
“You have to explain what that is. If you just say that... Melanie, there’s room for misunderstanding.”
“Oh, of course, I mean height. Height!”
Melanie giggled, holding her stomach, wondering what the man was thinking.
“I could be the biggest in other things, too.”
“For example?”
“My head, my hands, my feet...”
“I think you missed something?”
Melanie asked, her eyes narrowed slightly.
“I can’t tell you because I can’t check that part.”
Melanie’s laughter, which had barely stopped, burst out again at Hetor’s answer.
The two lay on the bed, looking at each other casually.
“Anyway, my life started to be enjoyable after I met you.”
Melanie whispered, her hand brushing Hetor’s fluctuating Adam’s apple before raising her voice again and continuing.
"Oh, I was talking in the living room yesterday, and we said we were still hot, right? But you guys don't believe me, do you?"
"Why?"
“We’ve been married for seven years, so there’s no way that’s possible. Only Empress Zelda sympathizes, while Empress Rosie and Lady Catherine are suspicious.”
“Then you can brag about it later.”
“What?”
“You said you made love even when you came here.”
“Just now... did you get a signal?”
“I’ve been here for a while.”
Hetor took off his uniform jacket.
“But today is a bit of a dangerous day.”
“What?”
“It’s a day when we might have a fourth child.”
“That’s not a dangerous day, it’s a blessed day. Is having a fourth child not a good idea?”
“No~? Children are living proof of our love. By the way, how much time is left until dinner?”
Melanie twisted her body, pounding Hetor’s chest with her fist, and asked the time.
“This much is left.”
Hetor looked at his watch and held up four fingers.
“Enough to make love four times?”
“...Well, I didn’t mean it like that, but four hours isn’t an impossible number of times.”
Melanie twisted her body, pounding Hetor’s chest with her fist, and asked the time.
“This much is left.”
Hetor looked at his watch and held up four fingers.
“Enough to make love four times?”
“...Well, I didn’t mean it like that, but four hours isn’t an impossible number of times.”
Hetor tilted his head and kissed her.
Memories from seven years ago flooded back vividly, and their gestures grew more intense.
Knock, knock.
A polite knock echoed through the bedroom.
“Who is it?”
Hetor sat up, adjusting his clothes.
“I wonder? A servant?”
Melanie muttered with a regretful expression.
When Hetor called them in, the bedroom door timidly opened.
“Mao? You’re alone?”
In the Kingdom of Aklatto, the twins always got along well together, but Mao had appeared alone.
“Theo is still in the main palace. In Princess Lily’s room.”
“What are you doing there?”
“He’s with Moiya and Moni. Everyone else is playing there.”
“So you came back to the West Palace alone? From the main palace?”
Hetor asked in surprise.
“It would be simple if I just asked the servants. What?”
Mao pulled out a chair and sat down facing Hetor and Melanie.
“What happened? Did you fight with anyone?”
Melanie looked at Mao's sullen face with worried eyes.
"Am I a child? Fighting?"
"Because you're a child, you fight."
Hetor sneered. Mao tilted her head, then asked,
"Then my father is only a young adult?"
"...What?"
"I heard you fought a lot at sea until a few years ago. Because of piracy."
Mao asked bluntly.
He didn't know when piracy changed to piracy, but the embarrassment was still there.
"...Who said that?"
Hetor couldn't deny it in good conscience, so he chose to question the person who had revealed the truth.
"No, Mao. That never happened."
Melanie blurted out a lie in embarrassment.
The children could know that when they were adults.
Her young daughter didn't have to know that her father, a mountain of a man, had become infamous for piracy.
"Moiya and Moni don't lie."
If that was the source of the rumor, denying it was pointless.
Mao was sure to trust Moiya and Moni more than her parents.
While they tended to exaggerate, they were also the kind of people who never said anything they didn't like, so the Princes and Princesses of each country already had a lot of trust in them.
This was true even for the adults who sent them letters and updates every other day.
Still, he was grateful that they had softened the description of piracy to the children, calling it the "business of piracy."
"Father... hasn't been in the business for years. That means he doesn't fight anymore."
"You've come to your senses, even if it's late. Congratulations."
"...Yes. Thank you."
Hetor answered absentmindedly, then chuckled.
Seeing Mao's genuinely relieved face, he couldn't be angry.
Mao, on the other hand, sighed deeply, as if troubled by something.
"Honey? What's wrong?"
Melanie asked soothingly.
"Mother, I have a question for you."
"Huh? Yes, that's right."
"You said compromise was a virtue, didn't you?"
Whenever Mao and her twin brother, Theo, fought, she brought up something Melanie always said.
The fights usually started over each other, demanding to read a new book first.
"Yes. Compromise is a virtue. But why? Is there something you need to compromise on?"
"Yes. But I don't want to. What should I do?"
The fact that the usually gentle Mao was saying such things suggested that she had developed a deep desire for something.
Mao's expression was so serious that Hetor and Melanie both became serious.
"What do you have to give up?"
"A man."
"What, what?"
"What?"
Melanie and Hetor were both shocked.
The words Mao had never expected to say came out.
"I gave in, but what if I still like him? Should I become his concubine?"
"I'll just get it."
Hetor, not knowing what was going on, jumped straight to suggesting a solution.
His thoughts were truly typical of a pirate king.
"The problem is that the opponent is too strong. They're reckless. They're ignorant..."
Mao took off her shoes, turned them upside down, and shook them out.
Dirt fell out of them with a thud.
Princess Lily had undoubtedly put the dirt in them.
She hadn't seen it with her own eyes, but she had witnessed her scooping up dirt with a small shovel in the garden and stuffing it into the bag she was carrying, making Princess Lily the most likely suspect.
Mao briefly spoke with Prince Rams in Princess Lily's room in the main palace, taking off her shoes under the table, but shr couldn't tell whether she had put dirt in them.
However, when she put them back on, Princess Lily seemed to stare at her, warning Mao with her eyes.
Something stirred within Mao, so she pretended not to notice and left the room. She boarded the carriage waiting outside the main palace, and somehow, she'd worn her shoes full of dirt all the way to the west palace.
"If Theo had been as tall and handsome as Prince Rams, this wouldn't have happened."
"Who are you? Prince Rams? Didn't Prince Rams come this time?"
Lily quickly responded to Hetor's question.
"He just arrived at the main palace."
"Oh, you've already greeted him?"
Melanie asked with a smile.
"I only greeted him? I was already on my way here to offer my heart."
"!"
"!"
It was a new side of her daughter, who she'd always thought was demure.
Hetor and Melanie gaped at Mao's words.
"But Mao. Could it be that the man you're giving up is Prince Rams?"
Melanie said, holding back a laugh.
"That's right."
"So you're having trouble deciding who to give up Prince Rams to?"
"Princess Lily."
"What? What the...!"
Things were getting strangely complicated.
"What on earth is Theo doing?"
Even though he'd told her to stay right next to Princess Lily.
Melanie wiped her smile and asked.
"I don't know. He was just picking his nose."
"Princess, a homing pigeon came from the palace."
A woman entered the room at a shabby inn in the Lapion Imperial Palace and said to Resilia.
"Really?"
Resilia paced nervously around the room before smiling brightly.
Seven years had passed since she had been stripped of her Princess status, but there were still forces that followed the siblings, the legitimate heirs of the Kingdom of Shattonil.
They, too, had fallen from power and were thus of little help. However, they were quite useful for running errands or as a messenger.
Thanks to this, Resilia was able to live without major inconveniences in the monastery. While it wasn't quite as comfortable as royal life, it was incomparably more comfortable than being confined to the dungeons of the Spire.
Her brother, Prince Tesla, was also a monk in a monastery far from the capital of the Kingdom of Shattonil.
Because of royal surveillance, they couldn't meet or write letters, so followers occasionally traveled between the two monasteries to relay their well-being.
The two had a nomadic existence, moving between monasteries in the Kingdom of Shattonil and the Empire of Lapion. They were required to move between the two countries once a year, citing the danger of consolidating power in one place if they settled for too long.
Resilia was on her way to the monastery in the Empire of Lapion, where she would spend a year starting this month.
She was lucky.
The monastery was only an hour away from the Imperial Palace of the Empire of Lapion, but she decided to spend two days at the inn there.
One of the knights guarding Resilia was also a member of her followers, and she was allowed to go out briefly if she accompanied them.
Elsa, who had just sent a carrier pigeon, was a servant working for the Shattonil royal family.
Elsa also shared the shocking news that the newly crowned Grand Duke Martins had adopted Melody, the daughter born to Pecilini.
As Melody's close attendant, she accompanied her to the Lapion Empire for the recent birthday banquet for Princess Lily.
The letter Elsa sent via the carrier pigeon announced that Prince Rams of the Pasha Empire, who had not arrived at the birthday banquet yesterday, had arrived at the palace today.
Resilia believed that God had answered her prayers.
“Our Rams have come!”
“Yes, he arrived this afternoon.”
“My son has arrived. Finally...”
It seemed as if Rams had come to save her.
“What are you planning, Princess?”
The follower who had received the carrier pigeon’s letter asked cautiously.
“I must go see my son,”
Resilia answered, gritting her teeth.
“Theo is still in the main palace. In Princess Lily’s room.”
“What are you doing there?”
“He’s with Moiya and Moni. Everyone else is playing there.”
“So you came back to the West Palace alone? From the main palace?”
Hetor asked in surprise.
“It would be simple if I just asked the servants. What?”
Mao pulled out a chair and sat down facing Hetor and Melanie.
“What happened? Did you fight with anyone?”
Melanie looked at Mao's sullen face with worried eyes.
"Am I a child? Fighting?"
"Because you're a child, you fight."
Hetor sneered. Mao tilted her head, then asked,
"Then my father is only a young adult?"
"...What?"
"I heard you fought a lot at sea until a few years ago. Because of piracy."
Mao asked bluntly.
He didn't know when piracy changed to piracy, but the embarrassment was still there.
"...Who said that?"
Hetor couldn't deny it in good conscience, so he chose to question the person who had revealed the truth.
"No, Mao. That never happened."
Melanie blurted out a lie in embarrassment.
The children could know that when they were adults.
Her young daughter didn't have to know that her father, a mountain of a man, had become infamous for piracy.
"Moiya and Moni don't lie."
If that was the source of the rumor, denying it was pointless.
Mao was sure to trust Moiya and Moni more than her parents.
While they tended to exaggerate, they were also the kind of people who never said anything they didn't like, so the Princes and Princesses of each country already had a lot of trust in them.
This was true even for the adults who sent them letters and updates every other day.
Still, he was grateful that they had softened the description of piracy to the children, calling it the "business of piracy."
"Father... hasn't been in the business for years. That means he doesn't fight anymore."
"You've come to your senses, even if it's late. Congratulations."
"...Yes. Thank you."
Hetor answered absentmindedly, then chuckled.
Seeing Mao's genuinely relieved face, he couldn't be angry.
Mao, on the other hand, sighed deeply, as if troubled by something.
"Honey? What's wrong?"
Melanie asked soothingly.
"Mother, I have a question for you."
"Huh? Yes, that's right."
"You said compromise was a virtue, didn't you?"
Whenever Mao and her twin brother, Theo, fought, she brought up something Melanie always said.
The fights usually started over each other, demanding to read a new book first.
"Yes. Compromise is a virtue. But why? Is there something you need to compromise on?"
"Yes. But I don't want to. What should I do?"
The fact that the usually gentle Mao was saying such things suggested that she had developed a deep desire for something.
Mao's expression was so serious that Hetor and Melanie both became serious.
"What do you have to give up?"
"A man."
"What, what?"
"What?"
Melanie and Hetor were both shocked.
The words Mao had never expected to say came out.
"I gave in, but what if I still like him? Should I become his concubine?"
"I'll just get it."
Hetor, not knowing what was going on, jumped straight to suggesting a solution.
His thoughts were truly typical of a pirate king.
"The problem is that the opponent is too strong. They're reckless. They're ignorant..."
Mao took off her shoes, turned them upside down, and shook them out.
Dirt fell out of them with a thud.
Princess Lily had undoubtedly put the dirt in them.
She hadn't seen it with her own eyes, but she had witnessed her scooping up dirt with a small shovel in the garden and stuffing it into the bag she was carrying, making Princess Lily the most likely suspect.
Mao briefly spoke with Prince Rams in Princess Lily's room in the main palace, taking off her shoes under the table, but shr couldn't tell whether she had put dirt in them.
However, when she put them back on, Princess Lily seemed to stare at her, warning Mao with her eyes.
Something stirred within Mao, so she pretended not to notice and left the room. She boarded the carriage waiting outside the main palace, and somehow, she'd worn her shoes full of dirt all the way to the west palace.
"If Theo had been as tall and handsome as Prince Rams, this wouldn't have happened."
"Who are you? Prince Rams? Didn't Prince Rams come this time?"
Lily quickly responded to Hetor's question.
"He just arrived at the main palace."
"Oh, you've already greeted him?"
Melanie asked with a smile.
"I only greeted him? I was already on my way here to offer my heart."
"!"
"!"
It was a new side of her daughter, who she'd always thought was demure.
Hetor and Melanie gaped at Mao's words.
"But Mao. Could it be that the man you're giving up is Prince Rams?"
Melanie said, holding back a laugh.
"That's right."
"So you're having trouble deciding who to give up Prince Rams to?"
"Princess Lily."
"What? What the...!"
Things were getting strangely complicated.
"What on earth is Theo doing?"
Even though he'd told her to stay right next to Princess Lily.
Melanie wiped her smile and asked.
"I don't know. He was just picking his nose."
***
"Princess, a homing pigeon came from the palace."
A woman entered the room at a shabby inn in the Lapion Imperial Palace and said to Resilia.
"Really?"
Resilia paced nervously around the room before smiling brightly.
Seven years had passed since she had been stripped of her Princess status, but there were still forces that followed the siblings, the legitimate heirs of the Kingdom of Shattonil.
They, too, had fallen from power and were thus of little help. However, they were quite useful for running errands or as a messenger.
Thanks to this, Resilia was able to live without major inconveniences in the monastery. While it wasn't quite as comfortable as royal life, it was incomparably more comfortable than being confined to the dungeons of the Spire.
Her brother, Prince Tesla, was also a monk in a monastery far from the capital of the Kingdom of Shattonil.
Because of royal surveillance, they couldn't meet or write letters, so followers occasionally traveled between the two monasteries to relay their well-being.
The two had a nomadic existence, moving between monasteries in the Kingdom of Shattonil and the Empire of Lapion. They were required to move between the two countries once a year, citing the danger of consolidating power in one place if they settled for too long.
Resilia was on her way to the monastery in the Empire of Lapion, where she would spend a year starting this month.
She was lucky.
The monastery was only an hour away from the Imperial Palace of the Empire of Lapion, but she decided to spend two days at the inn there.
One of the knights guarding Resilia was also a member of her followers, and she was allowed to go out briefly if she accompanied them.
Elsa, who had just sent a carrier pigeon, was a servant working for the Shattonil royal family.
Elsa also shared the shocking news that the newly crowned Grand Duke Martins had adopted Melody, the daughter born to Pecilini.
As Melody's close attendant, she accompanied her to the Lapion Empire for the recent birthday banquet for Princess Lily.
The letter Elsa sent via the carrier pigeon announced that Prince Rams of the Pasha Empire, who had not arrived at the birthday banquet yesterday, had arrived at the palace today.
Resilia believed that God had answered her prayers.
“Our Rams have come!”
“Yes, he arrived this afternoon.”
“My son has arrived. Finally...”
It seemed as if Rams had come to save her.
“What are you planning, Princess?”
The follower who had received the carrier pigeon’s letter asked cautiously.
“I must go see my son,”
Resilia answered, gritting her teeth.
Comments
Post a Comment