‘How did I end up running away on my tiptoes like this?’
The situation I found myself in began with the news that Delight had sent back the delegation from the Soren Kingdom, including Jayren, without any trouble.
This came as a surprise to me as well.
‘I was sure he would give the King of Soren a hard time!’
Why did he send them back so easily?
I couldn’t help but wonder if there was some hidden motive. At the same time, I was worried about Blueny’s reaction.
As expected, news came in.
Blueny, filled with rage, was stomping her way to find Delight.
This is bad!
I can’t let the misunderstanding between the two of them get any bigger!
To stop them from fighting, I ran towards the room where Delight was.
“Hey, I was just on my way to see you. Where are you off to?”
“To stop Dad… and Mom from fighting!”
“Did you just…?”
“Hmm? What?”
“Did you just call Her Majesty the Empress ‘Mom’…?”
“Huh? Did I?”
I always referred to Blueny as ‘Her Majesty the Empress.’
But since I was in such a rush, it seems that a word I had never spoken out loud before slipped from my lips.
“Argh. That’s not what matters right now!”
I was surprised at myself for blurting out the word ‘Mom,’ but I didn’t have the luxury to dwell on it.
“Where are you rushing off to? You just said you were going to stop the two of them… Are they fighting?”
“Looks like it!”
“I’m coming with you. You can’t stop them alone.”
Serdin started running with me. Right as we were about to reach the room…
“Princess! It’s a relief that I ran into you. You’re the only one who can stop Her Majesty the Empress…!”
It was Zaire this time.
“I’m already on my way!”
“You’re already heading there! I’ll join you!”
Before I knew it, Zaire had joined us as well.
When we arrived in front of the room where Blueny had burst in on Delight…
Once I was there, I realized that barging in unprepared could make things worse.
“What should we do?”
Zaire asked, lowering his voice as much as possible.
When it came to dealing with Delight and Blueny, I was the one in charge.
“First, we have to stop them from fighting.”
It would be best to resolve it through conversation.
If that didn’t work…
“I’ll handle Her Majesty the Empress. Zaire, you handle my dad. Got it?”
We needed to separate them physically first.
“Then what about me?”
“Hmm. Serdin….”
I hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but…
“If we can’t stop them even after talking… could you try to distract my dad?”
The idea was to shift Delight’s attention to Serdin.
“No, that’s too dangerous.”
I was about to say that it was too harsh on Serdin when he spoke up.
“I’m confident. I can definitely draw his attention.”
“…Are you really okay?”
“Yes.”
Serdin nodded with determination.
Ugh.
I was worried, but the priority right now was to stop those two from fighting.
I just had to hope it wouldn’t turn into the worst-case scenario.
Finally, just as I was about to take action.
I cracked the door open just a bit to observe the situation inside, and the sound of their argument seeped through the crack.
The voices were rougher and more intense than I had expected, so I urgently tried to open the door and go inside.
“…Wait.”
I raised my hand to stop them.
“Why? Why aren’t you going in right away?”
“Princess, we don’t have time for this. We have to go in quickly.”
Serdin and Zaire urged me, but I kept my hand on the doorknob and listened closely to the voices coming from inside.
They were definitely fighting, but something about the flow of the conversation felt odd.
‘Let’s watch for a little longer.’
And then I heard it.
“I like you. I’ve liked you from the beginning.”
“…Are you serious?”
“W-well, I’m too worked up right now, but… Yes! I fell for you at first sight! That’s why I proposed an alliance and attached conditions, just so I could marry you! I didn’t even realize I was being used…”
“Me too.”
“It’s just my one-sided feelings anyway, so just ignore— Huh? What did you just say?”
“I like you too.”
I quietly closed the door.
Fortunately, both of them were too caught up in their emotions to notice the small creak.
Then, in a small voice, I whispered, ‘Retreat.’
“If we barge in now, we’ll ruin everything.”
For that fiery love confession to reach its climax, it had to be just the two of them — no one else could interfere.
“If we want a happy ending for everyone, we have to step back.”
“Mm, okay.”
“Zaire. Whatever you do, don’t go looking for my dad today. Got it?”
“…Yes. I’ll follow your instructions for now, Princess.”
Even as he said that, Zaire glanced back anxiously as if still unsure.
I glanced back as well.
The sight of the two of them fighting flashed in my mind.
‘…They’re confessing their feelings in the middle of a fight?’
I finally understood why the two of them had misunderstood and pushed each other away for so long.
“It’s because they’re too alike.”
I couldn’t help but feel exasperated.
Do people really confess their feelings so aggressively?
“…I don’t know anymore.”
“What?”
“If there’s something you don’t know, just ask.”
Serdin and Zaire, almost in competition with each other, eagerly offered to answer any of my questions.
But would they really know?
“Well, I doubt either of you knows this one!”
“You can’t be sure until you ask.”
“Prince Serdin is right.”
Both of them looked at me with serious expressions.
With how confidently they were acting, I figured I might as well ask.
Hmm… No.
“Never mind, I won’t ask after all!”
I didn’t think I would get a proper answer from those two.
It would be faster if I grew up and experienced it myself!
“From now on, I’ll pretend I don’t see it, even if Dad and Her Majesty the Empress are fighting.”
With that resolution, I led Serdin and Zaire away without looking back.
Right now, those two needed their own time together.
***
“It’s already been three days.”
In that time, neither Delight nor Blueny had shown themselves.
Not just me, but no one in the imperial palace had seen the two of them.
That’s because they hadn’t left their room.
By now, there was no one who didn’t understand why.
Well, but for them to remain out of sight like this…
“That must mean things are going well.”
Hehe.
‘There’s no way they’re too embarrassed to come out, right?’
Delight wouldn’t care about people’s stares, and Blueny, surprisingly, seemed pretty shameless too, so I didn’t think that was the case.
Even so, when I met them, I had to pretend I didn’t know anything.
“I wonder what faces they’ll make. Hehe.”
Just then, Monia, who had been watching me with a grin, cautiously asked.
“Do you miss His Majesty?”
“No!”
What kind of nonsense is that!
Startled, I raised my voice out of panic, worried that she might misunderstand.
No way was I going to let anyone go looking for them because of me!
Three days? That’s nothing!
Even if they don’t come out for a week — no, a whole month — that’s fine by me!
“I can have fun and eat well all on my own!”
Come to think of it, Monia had been unusually attentive to me over the past few days.
To be precise, it started after the Empress returned.
She must have been feeling guilty for hiding something from me.
Monia was a kind person.
No matter how hard she tried to hide it, her discomfort showed on her face.
She had been taking care of me and watching over me, all while keeping her secret. It must have weighed on her heavily.
“Monia.”
“Yes, Princess. Do you need something?”
If I left things as they were, Monia wouldn’t be able to let go of the burden of the secret she was carrying.
“I’m so glad that you used to serve Her Majesty the Empress… no, I mean, my mom.”
I intentionally brought up Blueny.
“W-what? Really?”
Monia looked at me with wide, trembling eyes.
To reassure her, I looked her straight in the eyes and spoke firmly.
“Yup. Thanks to that, you’re by my side now. So, I’m grateful to my mom.”
“…Princess.”
“Hehe. You’ll stay by my side from now on too, right?”
“Of course. Even if there comes a moment when you no longer want me by your side, I will still remain with you, Princess.”
Some people might see Monia as indecisive.
But to me, Monia was someone who cherished and never forgot those with whom she had built a connection.
I liked people like that.
So there was no need for her to feel guilty or suffer alone.
Monia was simply being true to herself.
***
“We’ve finally arrived.”
After enduring countless hardships, Jayren finally arrived at the Soren Kingdom, sighing with relief and exhaustion.
Many things had happened on the journey from Promian to here.
The magical teleportation circle, which was supposed to aid in long-distance travel, broke down at the worst possible moment. The horses fell ill, and no matter how much they tried to repair the carriage, it kept breaking down.
In the end, they had no choice but to endure all sorts of hardships and walk to their destination on foot.
To make matters worse, they encountered bandits on the road. The bandits were so vicious that even his elite knights struggled against them, and they lost all the money they had brought along.
The remaining emergency food supplies were all items Jayren couldn’t eat without breaking out in hives.
It was a grueling journey with little to eat or rest.
Time felt like it dragged on endlessly, making him wonder if they would ever reach their destination.
The Soren Kingdom, which he had finally returned to after so much difficulty.
But what awaited him was…
“What… What is all this?!”
Jayren’s face turned bright red with rage.
“Who?! Who dared to do this?!”
As soon as he reached the royal palace, Jayren headed straight for the mana stone mine.
He had a bad feeling, and he felt like he wouldn’t be able to rest until he saw it with his own eyes.
But when he got there…
The mana stone mine was destroyed.
It wasn’t located outside the border, but right within the Soren Kingdom.
A place where no one would dare to trespass!
“The task of handling everything that happens from now on is yours.”
He recalled the last words the Emperor of Promian had said to him.
Was this what he had been referring to?
Damn it!
“Your Majesty, a letter has arrived from Ilnord.”
The timing couldn’t have been worse.
Jayren snatched up the letter irritably.
The content of the letter was as predictable as ever.
— Were there any fruitful results in Promian? I sincerely hope to hear positive news. —
“What in the world am I supposed to say?!”
Jayren’s face twisted into a deep frown.
