Delight, having received word about what Lianne had done, came to find me and Blueny.
The moment he arrived, Delight recognized the wolfdog by my side. As his gaze narrowed, he stared at Hiel intently, causing Hiel to avert his eyes.
“This dog… why is it here?”
“Is it a dog from the imperial palace? This dog protected Violyana,”
Blueny said, stroking the large wolfdog admiringly and praising Hiel to Delight.
“Oh, really? Even though he’s a mutt that rolled in from who-knows-where, he’s impressive,”
Delight responded cryptically.
“He’s not a palace dog? Then….”
Blueny’s question went unanswered. Delight was still staring at Hiel as though drilling through him with his eyes, and Hiel was desperately avoiding his gaze by looking at me.
Help me!
“Hiel. Now, you’re my dog.”
I hugged Hiel tightly.
I’d planned to tell Delight soon that Hiel was with me anyway, so that Hiel could enter and leave the palace more comfortably.
“Since when? And how did you know his name?”
“Since the last time Mr. Luciel visited! That’s when he told me his name, too!”
“Hm.”
Delight seemed to ponder something, calculating his thoughts.
“At least, I like the way you call him Mr. Next time you see him, make sure you call him ‘Mr.’ again, got it?”
Delight emphasized the word ‘Mr,’ as if it were important to him. Even though Hiel’s presence was bothering him, that word seemed to stick.
However, he hadn’t completely ignored Hiel, as his gaze soon shifted back to him.
“Can I go play with this dog for a bit?”
“Huh? Dad?”
There was no way he was actually going to play.
The issue was, I had no real reason to refuse.
Hiel, visibly terrified of being alone with Delight, shook his head intensely.
Hiel. It’s something you’ll have to face sooner or later. Hang in there!
“Alright. But you have to bring him back soon, okay?”
Our feelings clashed simultaneously. Hiel looked instantly distressed, while Delight gave me a satisfied pat on the head before turning away.
“What are you waiting for? Aren’t you coming?”
Hiel, hesitantly trailing behind, looked forlorn as Delight spoke to him in a detached yet subtly threatening tone.
‘Master. Please help me!’
I could hear his silent plea.
‘You’ll be fine. He wouldn’t dare do anything… right?’
Don’t worry and just go.
With his ears drooping, Hiel followed behind Delight reluctantly.
***
“What are you plotting?”
“Plotting? I mean… she likes me, the princess, I mean. And, well, I like her too….”
Hiel, now back in human form, was kneeling on the sofa across from Delight.
Once, they used to play together, but now he was watching every move, subdued.
Despite the humiliation of a wolfdog being reduced to this, Hiel answered Delight’s questions sincerely.
Delight was still glaring sharply at Hiel.
“So you hid from me all this time?”
“I wasn’t hiding. I’d just come by occasionally to play with her, and, like today, to protect her when something happens….”
Hiel was answering diligently, but every time his eyes met Delight’s, he shrank a little more.
“Do you think I’d ever do anything to the princess? She’s not just anyone….”
He held back the words that almost slipped out and continued.
“Delight, she’s your daughter. Naturally, to me, she’s like a niece. She’s cute, lovely, and I’d want to give her everything.”
“She don’t need an uncle like you.”
“…that’s harsh.”
Hiel’s head dropped, looking utterly defeated.
“Haaahh.”
Delight leaned his head back, letting out a deep sigh. He then looked at Hiel once more, sighed even deeper, and finally spoke.
“Do as you please.”
“Yeah, I thought you’d say that… huh? Really? So, I can stay by the princess’s side from now on? You’re giving me permission?!”
Not expecting it to go this smoothly, Hiel was thrilled with Delight’s unexpected reaction.
Seeing Hiel’s excitement, Delight frowned and muttered in a low tone.
“Having someone… or even just a dog to protect Ollia isn’t a bad idea.”
He didn’t like the situation, but he knew he could trust Hiel. With the danger of counterfeit magic stones, they needed as many people as possible to protect Ollia.
“Haha. Of course, there’s no one as reliable as me, right? You can leave it all to me!”
Hiel, back in his original form, ran out, his tail wagging furiously. Watching him leave just made Delight feel annoyed for no reason.
Stop wagging that tail!
“Still, it’s reassuring to have Sir Hiel around,” Zaire said beside him.
Hearing this, Delight couldn’t help but smile slightly as he recalled the first time he saw Hiel, stationed protectively by Ollia’s side.
Hiel had wrapped his tail around one of Ollia’s legs, standing guard as if protecting her. The scene reminded Delight of an old, familiar image.
‘It’s just like when he was always glued to Teacher’s side.’
Hiel always liked to stand guard with his tail wrapped around one of his teacher’s legs. In reality, it was his teacher who protected him, with Hiel being the one who was sheltered.
Hiel had been deeply devoted to his teacher. They would play together, yet they would also often fight fiercely over who got closer to the teacher.
He didn’t seem to want to follow anyone else but was now behaving the same way with Ollia.
‘Does he realize it himself?’
After all this time, memories of his teacher, which he had tried to forget while focused on vengeance, came flooding back.
There was a time when just the thought of those memories would bring nightmares.
But now…
‘It’s alright. It even feels kind of nice.’
A faint smile appeared on Delight’s face as he walked out of his office.
“There you are.”
Standing in front of him was Blueny.
“Are you looking for me?”
Delight asked, curious.
Blueny, showing a small injury on her elbow, replied.
“I got hurt here a little.”
The bruise was from when she fell during the chaos Lianne had caused.
As soon as he heard this, Delight’s expression turned serious.
“Did you not call a doctor? I’ll summon one now, so please get treated.”
“It’s not that serious,”
Blueny replied, quickly waving her hand.
“Could you… maybe put some ointment on it for me?”
Blueny held a small box containing simple ointment.
“…Pardon?”
“It’s just something I wanted to try. It’ll only take a moment.”
“…………”
Delight was momentarily speechless.
In the end, he found himself treating Blueny’s wound in a corner of his office, just as she requested.
Zaire, who had been watching, suddenly cleared his throat and commented, “Ah, I just remembered—I need to fetch some documents,” and quietly slipped out of the room, leaving the two alone.
Once they were alone, Blueny spoke up,
“Actually, this is just an excuse.”
“Then, go ahead and say what you really want to say.”
Delight had sensed from the start that Blueny had a purpose for coming to see him.
Nonetheless, he continued to apply the ointment carefully to ensure the wound healed well, looking up at her as she spoke.
“I wanted to respond to what you told me last time.”
“What I said last time?”
“Yes. That time, Your Majesty abruptly scolded me and walked away without letting me say anything.”
“……….”
He knew exactly what she was referring to. During breakfast the other day, Delight had bluntly told Blueny that she didn’t need to put in any special effort.
He’d noticed that her behavior had been unusual since then.
Just as he was about to calmly explain, Blueny continued,
“You were angry back then, weren’t you?”
“It seems there’s been a misunderstanding. I wasn’t angry at that time.”
“Then were you just criticizing me?”
“……….”
Every time Delight tried to clarify, Blueny countered sharply.
He found himself unable to explain properly.
“I was angry. I was mad because you misunderstood me, and I was even more upset when you left without waiting for my response.”
And she made no effort to hide it.
“And since I don’t remember anything, I was even more frustrated, unable to say anything. Am I supposed to do nothing until my memory returns?”
“Empress, I believe there’s been a misunderstanding. The reason I said that was to avoid burdening you. It’s only now that I know you were the empress.”
All the information Blueny had about her past was what Delight had told her. Naturally, her actions now were based on the knowledge he had shared, which made him uncomfortable watching her.
“Moreover, I meant that you don’t need to feel obligated just because I am your husband. I only wanted you to live for the present.”
As he spoke, he realized that he had once said the same thing to her in the past. He had told her the same words within a week of their political marriage.
At that time, her reaction was straightforward.
“Understood. I know what you mean. Don’t worry; I won’t be a bother.”
Her response implied that she hadn’t planned to cause him any trouble anyway, so why was he even bothering to remind her?
Naturally, he assumed Blueny would accept it just as easily this time if she understood it clearly.
But in that moment…
“What are you talking about?!”
Blueny suddenly shouted, glaring sharply at Delight.
