“In that case, I will assume there is no request.”
“…You want to go to trial?”
Lescal’s expression seemed to crack. It wasn’t really a wrong expression. Lescal was truly shocked.
“I don’t want you to kiss me…?”
“No. That’s not why.”
Lasilia unclasped her intertwined fingers. He wouldn’t let her go, so they had to fight for quite a while.
[——————————————————–]
“It cannot be said to be honorable if the imperial family puts pressure on the accuser to end the trial.”
“…Are you willing to endure a trial that did not begin honorably for the sake of the honor of the imperial family, claiming that you have lost your memory?”
She didn’t think he would believe that flimsy excuse, even if he were the emperor.
“And if that’s the case, suspicions about the mark will continue to persist.”
“It doesn’t matter. Nowadays, there are more people who even deny the existence of witchcraft. Because it was a long time ago, and there wasn’t always an emperor who mutated every time there was a blue moon. It is none of your concern.”
“Isn’t it because I was born with the mark that I became Empress?”
“As I said, a mark is just a mark.”
“Other people will only be able to tell your pet apart by sight. If we have to keep a person who killed seventeen people as Empress, we will need solid evidence.”
“Again, there is no evidence that you killed seventeen people.”
“Then it will be revealed at trial.”
“…”
“A trial is necessary not only for the honor of the imperial family but also for my own honor. So, I will accept the trial and the consequences that will follow.”
As she said this, she felt like she had become an incredibly noble person.
‘Actually, I’m just trying to run away.’
Lescal slightly furrowed his brows and rubbed his forehead.
“It’s pointless. What the temple wants to do is cause a fuss. I do not pursue sin for noble reasons, as you think.”
“But still, didn’t you follow the legal procedures? The imperial family can’t be worse than that, Your Majesty.”
“I don’t understand. Why are you bringing this complexity upon yourself?”
Because then she could run away. Before she fell in love with him. Before he kill her.
“Then think of it as because you don’t like kissing. I do not wish to kiss your Majesty.”
For a moment, I thought Lescal had frozen.
“…why?”
Lescal, who had been staring at Rasilia for a while, stiffened, forcibly parted her lips and asked.
“Because I lost my memory. I think that memory also includes the affection I had for Your Majesty. I cannot possibly reduce the sense of distance I feel from Your Majesty.”
“…”
Now Lescal has become something frozen and not breathing. Strangely enough, her heart ached when she saw him.
‘No. This kind of feeling.’
Emotions were dangerous. It was right to cut it off before it started. Lasilia tried to speak calmly.
“Your Majesty said that you can recognize your companion with your eyes, but I don’t think so. I have no idea why I can be an exception.”
“…”
He could see the corners of her eyes becoming distorted. He just wanted it to be a blue moon day. In that case, it would be acceptable for him to touch the area around her eyes under the pretext of being sick.
“I don’t think I can keep my oath to do my best to return as Your Majesty’s companion. Sorry.”
“…”
Leaving Lescal unable to say anything, Lasilia stood up.
“Now that we’re done talking, let’s go.”
“…sleep,”
Lescale stretched out his hand, but it was already too late. Lasilia was leaving the drawing room.
* * *
“What? Does that make sense?”
“No, that won’t work.”
“…It’s really strange.”
After Lasilia made the bombshell announcement that she didn’t want to kiss Lescal and that she would stand trial instead, the imperial palace seemed to have become a huge tomb. It was very quiet.
Lescal fell silent after that, and so did Lasilia. Everyone was so busy looking at the two people that they couldn’t even breathe properly. In the meantime, three shadow knights who were heartbroken met at the halfway point between the emperor’s palace and the empress’ palace. Everyone had a mission, but it was none of their business right now. Lescal did not ask what was going on even though Ryan openly said she would come and take care of some business.
“Your Majesty has been completely… Oh yeah. I think you have become the clock in the end room of the West Palace. There’s a wall clock inside that has stopped working because the device somehow broke down.”
“It seems like Her Majesty has become a painting. She sits by the window and doesn’t say a word.”
The point was that there was no difference between the two. Ryan lost her temper.
“No, your Majesty, but why is Her Majesty the Empress? You got your way, so shouldn’t you at least have a toast?”
“Nandul.”
Even if they put their heads together, it wasn’t like she would be able to figure out what the Empress was thinking.
“Maybe you have other thoughts.”
Dekan opened his mouth quietly.
“Hmm? Who?”
“Your Majesty the Empress.”
“What are you thinking?”
“Once the trial begins, evidence will come out. What they were aiming for from the beginning was not the lives of the courtiers, but a mark.”
Ryan rolled her eyes from side to side.
“Hmm… okay. Although I have no evidence to piece together what put the imperial tailor in that position, I am certain that it was the work of snakeheads.”
“So you weren’t trying to bring them out through a trial?”
“Ah?”
Ryan’s eyes sparkled for a moment, and then Serven sighed.
“In short, the Royal Guards you two are currently digging are so untrustworthy that Her Majesty the Empress has set herself up as bait to catch the snakeheads, right?”
“It’s a possibility. Her Majesty is a smart person and quick to judge situations. You also know that even if a trial is held, the outcome will not be fatal.”
Ryan intervened.
“That’s right. Besides, Her Majesty the Empress is real. It’s not a problem even if the mark is slightly invisible. It’s annoying that the priests can’t find a place to die and attack you, but the trial is nothing special.”
Serben clicked his tongue and shook his head.
“All good. But if you two were doing it on purpose, would Your Majesty have become a wall clock now?”
“Ah…”
“That… okay.”
The Shadow Knights slumped their shoulders with a listless expression.
“Then… I really don’t want to think about it, but does Her Majesty hate you even though you are his real companion?”
After saying this, Ryan violently pulled a handful of her bangs.
“Damn it. I thought that Her Majesty, the Empress, was also feeling moved… No, that’s right. You saw it too, Serven. The first day of the blue moon.”
“Hmm… I saw it.”
The Empress hugged the transformed Emperor all night long. She even went so far as to thoroughly clean hiis blood-soaked face.
“It’s something you can’t do if you’re not a companion. Don’t you think so?”
“Then maybe we still need more time…?”
Serben shook his head from side to side. He thought about it so much that he felt like he was going to get a headache.
“Four years is still too early to forget your former lover… Maybe something like that.”
“You mean Duke Piellion? …shit. I can’t believe I should compare such a person to Your Majesty. It may seem plausible at first glance, but if you take a closer look, it doesn’t even come close to your Majesty’s toes.”
“Your Majesty, the noble Empress, may consider inner beauty instead of appearance.”
“Have you ever seen the inside of Duke Piellion? Are you sure it will be beautiful?”
“That’s not it… Then, Ryan, can you be sure that His Majesty’s insides are more beautiful than the Duke’s insides?”
“Uh, um… Let’s pretend this talk never happened.”
“Well.”
Decan sighed at the conversation between the two and brought up a practical problem.
“So, should we just wait and see the trial proceed like this? We have yet to find out what the Knights of St. Malik did. And for what purpose the temple is working.”
“Ugh, that’s right. It did.”
“It’s like being blindfolded right now. Even if the trial is not too burdensome to Her Majesty, as long as we do not know the exact intentions of the other side, many unexpected variables can arise.”
“That’s right.”
The shadow knights became serious.
“The shield side is still moving, right? Are you sure you didn’t listen to me when I told you that you were demoted?”
“That doesn’t happen.”
“Okay, whatever. I don’t think that will happen there. For now, the only thing I can trust is my shield. It’s all about how much you find out.”
“It’s a heavy weight on my shoulders. I will keep that in mind.”
“Then shall we all go back now? I can’t be away for long.”
Then, Ryan held onto the hem of Serven’s clothes and cried.
“Serven. Change positions with me just for today. I don’t have the confidence to watch over Your Majesty.”
“Do you think Her Majesty the Empress will be any different?”
“No, but the atmosphere might be a little better there. There is a kind maid and a hot-tempered phoenix.”
“I’m demoted anyway, so I can’t be around. I’m just keeping my feet in the hallway.”
“Tsk.”
Ryan clicked her tongue and forced her hips up.
“Ha… I don’t want to go. I don’t want to see your broken majesty. I don’t like it, really.”
“Even if you make a fuss, they won’t accept it. Go quickly.”
“Ha-hate.”
Ryan slowly walked towards the Emperor’s Palace. The other two also turned towards their respective seats with reluctant steps.
* * *
She fell asleep while watching the sunset outside the window. A nap brought her dreams.
-It won’t be that simple.
His palms had no scales. It was the only part of his body that she didn’t have to worry about getting hurt even if she touched it to her heart’s content. She put her palms together and smiled.
-It is a matter of subjugating my blood. It may bring unexpected results to the human body.
The golden eyes of the unknown demon were the same as then. It was heartbreaking and earnest, as if looking at something that was only one in the world.
-You might be sick. Maybe he could become similar to me.
It’s okay though. She moved their palms facing each other. As the skin rubbed, it felt both itchy and warm at the same time. Like this, he wanted to sweep away all of her.
-…You give me feelings I didn’t know I had.
So maybe that’s a good thing?
-No, it’s difficult. Same thing now.
The black scales hid all expressions. So it made me imagine the facial expression he would make when he became fully human. For some reason, she thought her earlobes might turn slightly red as he said that he was in trouble.
-I want to be human, but I don’t want you to get sick in return.
She wanted he to be specific. How and to what extent it could hurt. Was it tolerable?
-I don’t know exactly either. But there’s just one thing I don’t want you to be like.
What was that?
-It will make you very sick.
She knew he was sincere because his eyes looked painful when he looked at her. So what was that?
-That…
When she reached that point, Pipi’s voice suddenly woke her up.
“Beep!”
“Ah, shh. Shh.”
When Yvette put her finger to her mouth and made a soft sound, Pipi also covered his mouth. She felt a blanket being carefully wrapped around her body. She wanted to let them know that she woke up, but her body was too heavy. She felt like she could just sleep like this some more. But then she heard these words:
-Ha, I really don’t know. Was Her Majesty really so unwilling to kiss His Majesty? But it makes no sense for her to go to trial… Is it really because she can’t forget Duke Piellion, as rumored?
She could no longer close her eyes to those words.
“Princess.”
Lasilia opened her eyes and called Yvette.
“Oh my, Your Majesty the Empress. Are you awake?”
“Who is spreading such rumors? Did you hear this from the imperial palace?”
—————————————————————
Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
If you like my work please support me with Ko-fi or Patreon. Next post will be released on January, 21.
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