Episode 85. Just a Brief Answer
Kelita was circling anxiously alone in the empty imperial banquet hall.
A deep frown was carved into her forehead above her lips, which were chewing her nails. Beside Kelita, who looked anxious, her maid, Rosie, was playing with her hands clasped in front of her navel, as if worried.
“Princess Kelita.”
Just then, a voice came from the back of the banquet hall along with a rustle.
However, Kelita didn’t seem to hear, showing no reaction.
“Your Majesty! Are you here?”
“Countess Rosie. It’s been a while.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. It’s been a while.”
Rosie, having spotted Lawrence first, greeted her politely.
Then, she approached Kelita and carefully took her arm.
“Why?”
“Princess. Her Majesty the Empress is here.”
“What? Who is here?”
The sharp voice slowed for a moment.
Lawrence, who noticed Kelita with a blank expression, opened his frowning eyes and smiled brightly.
“Princess Kelita. I must have interrupted you.”
Lawrence smiled and held out her hand in front of Kelita.
"Now, this is a gift for beautiful Kelita."
A pair of butterfly wings fluttered in Lawrence's palm.
"Wow. Beautiful."
The small butterfly fluttered its silver wings, as if mesmerizing people.
“Yes. It’s so beautiful.”
Empress Lawrence scanned Kelita’s face, which was gazing at the butterfly as if entranced.
“Young and beautiful. But you, fool, don’t know how to use that value.”
“...Huh?”
“If it were me, I would use it more properly.”
Kelita’s gaze, which had been gazing at the parallel butterfly, suddenly shifted to Lawrence.
“...!”
Whoa!
Kelita’s sudden scream startled Rosie, who had been waiting outside the banquet hall.
“Princess!”
Without a moment’s hesitation, she opened the door and stepped inside.
Then she saw Kelita’s back, standing in the center of the hall.
Rosie approached cautiously and asked,
“Princess?”
At the voice calling, Kelita and Empress Lawrence, who was standing beside her, turned their heads simultaneously.
The two smiled, their faces as if carved out of butterfly wings.
“Yes, Rosie.”
“It’s okay, Rosie.”
Seeing the two smiling brightly, Rosie blinked her small eyes tightly and then opened them again.
Swish-
Gerard raised his head to look at the rain falling fiercely, but he couldn’t even open his eyes properly.
The pouring raindrops stung his skin.
The servant beside him ran to the carriage carrying the luggage, frantically pulling out an umbrella, and ran towards him.
Even that creaked, and in the moment, Gerard’s hair was stuck to him like soaked seaweed.
As expected, he raised a wet hand to wipe the moisture from his eyes, and in his blurry vision, he saw Bercheria standing upright.
When she reached out into the air, a golden light flashed and burst out, instantly taking shape as a long staff.
The people watching simultaneously exclaimed in awe.
Bercheria’s staff.
It was an exclamation of awe, seeing that famous sacred object for the first time.
“Emperor Gerard. You’d best remember that from now on.”
The only ones who remained dry in this rain were Bercheria, Lacrahan, and Groovy, who was hiding behind him.
The heavy rain was seeping into everyone near the gate.
“I possess the power to destroy Periat, but for now, I intend not to.”
The people finally remembered, after a long time, that the weather god could kill everyone if she so chose. Things they had temporarily forgotten, as the goddess had been absent from humanity for so long.
She was Bercheria, the greatest of the gods who ruled this continent.
Her golden eyes pierced Gerard sharply.
“Of course, on the condition that you, the Emperor, do not dare to challenge me.”
Raindrops fell from Gerard’s head and flowed down his face.
“Emperor Gerard. Do you dare challenge me?”
The rain stopped in an instant.
Drop, drop.
Only the droplets falling from afar were evidence of the rain that had just fallen.
Bercheria tilted her head, urging Gerard, and he quickly looked around.
Everyone who had gathered to see off the Emperor as he departed the north was watching.
Those gazes slashed at Gerard's pride.
"Wh-what nonsense! You're the goddess who abandoned this land! Why should I listen to you!"
Gerard's voice echoed throughout the castle, becoming a lingering sound.
Rumble- Boom!
The sky suddenly darkened, and lightning struck right in front of Gerard's feet.
"Huh!"
Gerard fell backwards in surprise without realizing it, and his buttocks slapped against the puddle with a loud thud.
Bercheria took a step forward in front of him, flustered.
Gerard looked up at Bercheria, who was blocking his path, and swallowed.
"Just a simple answer."
He unconsciously tilted his creaking head up and down.
Bercheria turned and spoke to Gerard's attendants standing nearby.
"Please quickly raise His Majesty the Emperor."
The people nearby quickly came and helped Gerard to his feet.
Lyone approached, brushing the dust off Gerard's clothes as she glanced at Bercheria.
Behind her, Groovy, who had been anxious the entire way there, wondering if he'd be dragged away by the Emperor, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Lyone's hands, brushing the Emperor's clothes, gradually slowed.
Bercheria, Groovy.
Her gaze, gazing at the two children, was clouded with complexity.
“Good. Then the greatest goddess has returned.”
Gerard’s voice drew everyone’s attention, including Lyone’s.
Despite his disheveled appearance, he spoke with a dignified tone and face.
“Let’s leave together for the imperial palace, not here in the north, right now.”
Gerard smiled with satisfaction, as if he couldn’t bear to let this happen.
“Shouldn’t a goddess be treated as a goddess?”
Bercheria tried to keep a composed expression, but Gerard sensed her panic.
Kelita was circling anxiously alone in the empty imperial banquet hall.
A deep frown was carved into her forehead above her lips, which were chewing her nails. Beside Kelita, who looked anxious, her maid, Rosie, was playing with her hands clasped in front of her navel, as if worried.
“Princess Kelita.”
Just then, a voice came from the back of the banquet hall along with a rustle.
However, Kelita didn’t seem to hear, showing no reaction.
“Your Majesty! Are you here?”
“Countess Rosie. It’s been a while.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. It’s been a while.”
Rosie, having spotted Lawrence first, greeted her politely.
Then, she approached Kelita and carefully took her arm.
“Why?”
“Princess. Her Majesty the Empress is here.”
“What? Who is here?”
The sharp voice slowed for a moment.
Lawrence, who noticed Kelita with a blank expression, opened his frowning eyes and smiled brightly.
“Princess Kelita. I must have interrupted you.”
“Ah.”
Kelita lowered her head, her blank expression still blank.
“Your Majesty.”
But there was no respect in her eyes.
A poor woman who couldn’t even get her share of the food, pushed aside by the Emperor’s government.
It wasn’t just Kelita who didn’t think highly of Lawrence or treated her poorly in this imperial court.
Most people ignored Lawrence.
“I came to talk to the Princess for a moment,”
Lawrence added, glancing at Rosie, who was standing nearby.
“It’s an important conversation that we should have just the two of us.”
Kelita pouted, then gestured outside to Rosie.
Having awakened from her faint, she'd been exhausted with so much to think about, and honestly, the fact that he'd even asked her to talk to the Empress made her feel annoyed.
But she couldn't fully express it.
An Empress was, after all, an Empress.
Watching Rosie hurriedly disappear from the banquet hall, Kelita fantasized about what it would have been like if she were Empress.
The imperial family still held such great power in this land that vassal kings and lords had no choice but to obey.
If she were Empress, she would use her Empress's authority to summon Lacrahan and force him to marry her.
"Kelita. Grand Duke Lacrahan will soon be coming through the portal from the north."
Kelita's head snapped up from where it had been.
"Huh?"
"Once he arrives at the imperial palace, I intend to order the marriage between Princess Kelita and Lacrahan."
Kelita's mouth fell open at the completely unexpected words.
She blinked and looked at Lawrence. She couldn't quite understand what was happening.
Did she read my mind?
"What are you talking about all of a sudden?"
"Before that, I came to ask Princess Kelita how she feels. Princess Kelita also wants to marry Lakrahan, right?"
Kelita lowered her head, her blank expression still blank.
“Your Majesty.”
But there was no respect in her eyes.
A poor woman who couldn’t even get her share of the food, pushed aside by the Emperor’s government.
It wasn’t just Kelita who didn’t think highly of Lawrence or treated her poorly in this imperial court.
Most people ignored Lawrence.
“I came to talk to the Princess for a moment,”
Lawrence added, glancing at Rosie, who was standing nearby.
“It’s an important conversation that we should have just the two of us.”
Kelita pouted, then gestured outside to Rosie.
Having awakened from her faint, she'd been exhausted with so much to think about, and honestly, the fact that he'd even asked her to talk to the Empress made her feel annoyed.
But she couldn't fully express it.
An Empress was, after all, an Empress.
Watching Rosie hurriedly disappear from the banquet hall, Kelita fantasized about what it would have been like if she were Empress.
The imperial family still held such great power in this land that vassal kings and lords had no choice but to obey.
If she were Empress, she would use her Empress's authority to summon Lacrahan and force him to marry her.
"Kelita. Grand Duke Lacrahan will soon be coming through the portal from the north."
Kelita's head snapped up from where it had been.
"Huh?"
"Once he arrives at the imperial palace, I intend to order the marriage between Princess Kelita and Lacrahan."
Kelita's mouth fell open at the completely unexpected words.
She blinked and looked at Lawrence. She couldn't quite understand what was happening.
Did she read my mind?
"What are you talking about all of a sudden?"
"Before that, I came to ask Princess Kelita how she feels. Princess Kelita also wants to marry Lakrahan, right?"
Kelita nodded, barely holding back tears. All the humiliations she'd suffered flashed before her eyes.
"Since the ten years since the engagement to the Grand Duke Lacrahan was announced, I've lived my life thinking of him as my only husband."
Lawrence folded her hands in front of her chest with a pitiful expression.
"Oh."
"But!"
Suddenly, Bercheria appeared, ruining everything.
Things began to go awry when that goddess, or whatever she was, was suddenly thrust into the space between Lacrahan and Kelita.
Tears welled up in Kelita's eyes.
"I really wish a goddess like Bercheria would die."
"Oh my. How hard it must have been for our Princess."
Lawrence reached out and hugged Kelita tightly.
She then patted her back.
"Princess Kelita. I, too, wish Bercheria would die."
"Is that true?"
"Of course. And then, if the Princess marries Lacrahan, there's no better picture."
Kelita pulled away from Lawrence's embrace and stared at her.
Then, tilting her head, she asked,
"Since the ten years since the engagement to the Grand Duke Lacrahan was announced, I've lived my life thinking of him as my only husband."
Lawrence folded her hands in front of her chest with a pitiful expression.
"Oh."
"But!"
Suddenly, Bercheria appeared, ruining everything.
Things began to go awry when that goddess, or whatever she was, was suddenly thrust into the space between Lacrahan and Kelita.
Tears welled up in Kelita's eyes.
"I really wish a goddess like Bercheria would die."
"Oh my. How hard it must have been for our Princess."
Lawrence reached out and hugged Kelita tightly.
She then patted her back.
"Princess Kelita. I, too, wish Bercheria would die."
"Is that true?"
"Of course. And then, if the Princess marries Lacrahan, there's no better picture."
Kelita pulled away from Lawrence's embrace and stared at her.
Then, tilting her head, she asked,
"Your Majesty, was this your usual self?"
Lawrence smiled and held out her hand in front of Kelita.
"Now, this is a gift for beautiful Kelita."
A pair of butterfly wings fluttered in Lawrence's palm.
"Wow. Beautiful."
The small butterfly fluttered its silver wings, as if mesmerizing people.
“Yes. It’s so beautiful.”
Empress Lawrence scanned Kelita’s face, which was gazing at the butterfly as if entranced.
“Young and beautiful. But you, fool, don’t know how to use that value.”
“...Huh?”
“If it were me, I would use it more properly.”
Kelita’s gaze, which had been gazing at the parallel butterfly, suddenly shifted to Lawrence.
“...!”
Whoa!
Kelita’s sudden scream startled Rosie, who had been waiting outside the banquet hall.
“Princess!”
Without a moment’s hesitation, she opened the door and stepped inside.
Then she saw Kelita’s back, standing in the center of the hall.
Rosie approached cautiously and asked,
“Princess?”
At the voice calling, Kelita and Empress Lawrence, who was standing beside her, turned their heads simultaneously.
The two smiled, their faces as if carved out of butterfly wings.
“Yes, Rosie.”
“It’s okay, Rosie.”
Seeing the two smiling brightly, Rosie blinked her small eyes tightly and then opened them again.
***
Swish-
Gerard raised his head to look at the rain falling fiercely, but he couldn’t even open his eyes properly.
The pouring raindrops stung his skin.
The servant beside him ran to the carriage carrying the luggage, frantically pulling out an umbrella, and ran towards him.
Even that creaked, and in the moment, Gerard’s hair was stuck to him like soaked seaweed.
As expected, he raised a wet hand to wipe the moisture from his eyes, and in his blurry vision, he saw Bercheria standing upright.
When she reached out into the air, a golden light flashed and burst out, instantly taking shape as a long staff.
The people watching simultaneously exclaimed in awe.
Bercheria’s staff.
It was an exclamation of awe, seeing that famous sacred object for the first time.
“Emperor Gerard. You’d best remember that from now on.”
The only ones who remained dry in this rain were Bercheria, Lacrahan, and Groovy, who was hiding behind him.
The heavy rain was seeping into everyone near the gate.
“I possess the power to destroy Periat, but for now, I intend not to.”
The people finally remembered, after a long time, that the weather god could kill everyone if she so chose. Things they had temporarily forgotten, as the goddess had been absent from humanity for so long.
She was Bercheria, the greatest of the gods who ruled this continent.
Her golden eyes pierced Gerard sharply.
“Of course, on the condition that you, the Emperor, do not dare to challenge me.”
Raindrops fell from Gerard’s head and flowed down his face.
“Emperor Gerard. Do you dare challenge me?”
The rain stopped in an instant.
Drop, drop.
Only the droplets falling from afar were evidence of the rain that had just fallen.
Bercheria tilted her head, urging Gerard, and he quickly looked around.
Everyone who had gathered to see off the Emperor as he departed the north was watching.
Those gazes slashed at Gerard's pride.
"Wh-what nonsense! You're the goddess who abandoned this land! Why should I listen to you!"
Gerard's voice echoed throughout the castle, becoming a lingering sound.
Rumble- Boom!
The sky suddenly darkened, and lightning struck right in front of Gerard's feet.
"Huh!"
Gerard fell backwards in surprise without realizing it, and his buttocks slapped against the puddle with a loud thud.
Bercheria took a step forward in front of him, flustered.
Gerard looked up at Bercheria, who was blocking his path, and swallowed.
"Just a simple answer."
He unconsciously tilted his creaking head up and down.
Bercheria turned and spoke to Gerard's attendants standing nearby.
"Please quickly raise His Majesty the Emperor."
The people nearby quickly came and helped Gerard to his feet.
Lyone approached, brushing the dust off Gerard's clothes as she glanced at Bercheria.
Behind her, Groovy, who had been anxious the entire way there, wondering if he'd be dragged away by the Emperor, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Lyone's hands, brushing the Emperor's clothes, gradually slowed.
Bercheria, Groovy.
Her gaze, gazing at the two children, was clouded with complexity.
“Good. Then the greatest goddess has returned.”
Gerard’s voice drew everyone’s attention, including Lyone’s.
Despite his disheveled appearance, he spoke with a dignified tone and face.
“Let’s leave together for the imperial palace, not here in the north, right now.”
Gerard smiled with satisfaction, as if he couldn’t bear to let this happen.
“Shouldn’t a goddess be treated as a goddess?”
Bercheria tried to keep a composed expression, but Gerard sensed her panic.
“You were acting all braggart, weren’t you? If I just take you to the imperial palace, you’ll end up in my treasure trove.”
“How about going to the imperial palace with me?”
Bercheria stared at Gerard for a moment before replying.
“Of course.”
Then she turned and disappeared.
Gerard smirked behind her.
Bercheria met Lacrahan’s eyes and smiled faintly, so that only they could tell.
Pathetic Gerard.
Bercheria returned to find what she had lost.
Everything was proceeding according to the will of the weather goddess.
“How about going to the imperial palace with me?”
Bercheria stared at Gerard for a moment before replying.
“Of course.”
Then she turned and disappeared.
Gerard smirked behind her.
Bercheria met Lacrahan’s eyes and smiled faintly, so that only they could tell.
Pathetic Gerard.
Bercheria returned to find what she had lost.
Everything was proceeding according to the will of the weather goddess.
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