***
A mountain located slightly away from the capital of the Promian Empire.
A boy who was lying leisurely feeling the mountain breeze suddenly stood up and waved his arms.
“Lord Luciel! Why have you come back already?”
Hiel, who had been waiting for him from the moment he approached, wagged his tail to greet him. Of course, there was no visible tail.
Since his true form was a wolf-dog born between a wolf and a dog beast, it wasn’t entirely wrong to say so.
To him, who always traveled alone, Hiel was his only companion.
Not that he always followed him, but Luciel would often leave him behind with errands he has do, and Hiel would wait for his return.
This time, since he said he was heading to the Promian Empire, he thought he would have to wait longer.
But why did he come back so early?
“Last time, you managed to stay for at least a month. Has Delight’s temper gotten worse?”
Hiel asked as if he knew the answer without looking.
“Haha. It would be a disaster if it got any worse. Well, it has changed a bit.”
“Really? How has it changed? Does he no longer start by cursing at you?”
“Hmm, he still does that.”
“Ah, so it’s the same.”
Hiel, expectedly, looked disappointed.
In fact, Hiel knew Delight quite well too.
He even lived with him.
Being a mixed-blood, abandoned by both wolf and dog beast, he had a hard time surviving alone until he was found by none other than Delight’s master.
After she passed away, Hiel followed Luciel instead of Delight.
Though he missed Delight who used to play in the mountains as a child, the relationship between the two had soured, so Hiel did not accompany Luciel to the Promian Empire.
Still, he was inwardly curious this time.
“How was it? Did you see the baby?”
Curious about seeing Delight’s child, Hiel’s eyes sparkled as he asked.
“Cute. Seemed smart. But it would be good to check other places that haven’t been confirmed yet.”
The last dragon of the continent had always lived wandering.
So, when he suddenly left for somewhere, Luciel’s acquaintances accepted it naturally.
Thus, no one noticed that he had been moving with a specific purpose for the past few years.
He only discussed this with Hiel alone.
“Why? Wasn’t that child is the one?”
“Well, I’m concerned about it, but I’m still not sure.”
The two shared their secret cryptically.
Luciel hadn’t visited Promian just because he wanted to see Delight.
“Even if it’s true, it will be hard to confirm immediately.”
Luciel, looking uncertain, gazed at the distant sky and spoke.
“I’ll have to go see again later.”
Maybe it will become clear when the child grows up a bit more.
Even if it’s not, using it as an excuse to see Delight again wouldn’t be bad either.
He smiled slyly at Hiel.
“Next time, you should come with me.”
“Really?”
Hiel asked eagerly.
“Yes. You’d like to see him too.”
“Great!”
Hiel jumped with joy. Actually, he had wanted to see the child ever since hearing about its birth. He was already looking forward to that day.
While Luciel was looking around, he patted Hiel’s head and spoke.
“Then, let’s get going again.”
The two began to walk. The direction they headed was moving farther from the Promian Empire.
***
“According to His Majesty’s instructions, we investigated everyone who was in the garden at that time.”
As soon as Delight returned after spending time with the princess, Zaire immediately reported the investigation results.
There was friction with Luciel during the day, so they passed it quietly for now, making up some ridiculous excuse.
But it was impossible for the princess to have come quietly all by herself.
“They say Prince Serdin was in the garden.”
And there was someone else too.
“He’s a prince from the Ilnord Empire sent as a hostage.”
Zaire added just in case.
But even without explaining, the name Serdin alone naturally brought his face to mind.
“Prince Serdin. He’s been inconspicuous for the past year, but lately, he’s often making his presence known.”
Rising from his seat, Delight muttered lazily.
It was something he did when he was deep in thought.
So Zaire too held his breath and waited until he made a decision.
“……..?”
But then, as he walked slowly, he suddenly stopped.
“Hmm. As expected, no handprints are left.”
Out of nowhere, Delight stood in front of a mirror in the corner of the office, checking his shoulder and muttering lowly.
It was where the princess had been hitting him hard earlier.
“Well, naturally. Even if she hits with those small, weak hands, it won’t leave a mark or even an itch.”
However, Delight, thinking her hands might be surprisingly strong, checked and clicked his tongue in regret.
“Your Majesty, I am asking just in case.”
Zaire, who had been observing, could no longer hold back and spoke up.
A tense atmosphere filled the room as if he had mustered up the courage to ask about something dangerous and secretive.
“Do you feel pleasure or happiness, or want to be hit again, when someone hits you?”
“………..”
“Haha, it sounds absurd, right? But perhaps Your Majesty isn’t aware of it.”
“Do you even know what you’re saying?”
Delight was so taken aback that he couldn’t even think of getting angry. It was that absurd.
But Zaire had spoken after much contemplation.
Watching how he interacted with the baby until now naturally brought such doubts to mind.
Realizing Zaire’s audacious thought, Delight’s lips curled.
“Your words are getting more nonsensical by the day.”
“Then why do you seem to enjoy it every time the baby’s princess behaves aggressively towards you?”
“Well, it’s my Ollia’s way of showing affection, so there’s no reason to dislike it.”
Delight answered naturally without any hesitation or change in his expression.
“… Affection?”
No matter how much he cherished and loved the princess, wrong is wrong. If he wanted to believe that, it needed correction. Just as Zaire was about to open his mouth reluctantly.
“Isn’t she reacting to me? How adorable it is to see her react to my every word. It would be disappointing not to see that.”
He was even thinking dangerously about provoking her more just to see it.
Every time Ollia smacked him, his heart tingled, and it felt like he might sneeze.
“I think I understand a little why kids like toys or boxes that pop out surprises.”
Ollia had an unpredictable charm, not knowing what action would come next.
Just watching her being still made him smile, but his heart pounded when she tried to attack him while looking straight at him.
At that moment, Delight could feel more alive than ever before. He liked it.
As Delight smiled brightly, lost in thought again, Zaire couldn’t just laugh along.
“………..”
That’s extremely dangerous and weird.
Fortunately, Zaire managed to hold back his words at the last moment.
It was an unexpected answer, but simultaneously a wearying one.
At times, he doubted whether the emperor he knew was the same person. Sometimes the emperor was too normal to be strange, but now, he was too strange to be real.
However, it was certain that he was feeling entirely different emotions due to the princess.
These strange behaviors always surfaced in matters related to the princess.
Oddly, Zaire found himself smiling too, finding this inexplicable appearance not so bad.
“Ahem.”
When Zaire realized he had loosened up too much, he coughed awkwardly.
“Ollia will stay in the palace until she grows up.”
“What?”
Zaire couldn’t help but be shocked. The emperor staying in the palace had significant implications.
“Your Majesty, those words mean…”
Zaire’s voice trembled involuntarily. This wasn’t a simple whim; it was an overwhelming change.
But Delight seemed already decided, unfazed.
“Ilnord, who lost in the last battle, won’t be able to cause trouble first.”
The direction of future wars was practically in Delight’s hands.
Thus, his decision to cease war was almost akin to a truce.
In fact, it was something Delight had been pondering since the empress returned pregnant.
He had led a massive victory by forcing himself to the battlefield without even seeing the baby to stop the war.
And after holding Ollia in his arms, he couldn’t bear to leave her.
“I’ve been running nonstop all this time, so it should be fine to rest until Ollia grows up a bit.”
Delight made a decision for a truce, which he had never done before.
