The cowardly emperor abandoned his country and fled, leaving the empress—whom he had never paid any attention to—behind in the capital. Empress Lentia of Lekeon took on the task of negotiating with the nomadic army that had invaded the empire on behalf of the emperor who had disgracefully run away.
The man sitting across from her at the negotiating table, representing the enemy forces, was a young general named Kirta. Beneath his affectionate smile lay an inscrutable mind, and he gave her a most unexpected offer.
“I would like to propose to Your Majesty,” he said.
It was an unforeseen marriage proposal.
—
“Your Majesty, if Your Majesty chooses to remarry, I would like to assist you in my own way.”
“Really? In what way?” Lentia asked, her tone casual and without caution, as Kirta began to speak earnestly.
Lentia –
At that moment, I should have sensed the gravity of the situation and prepared myself.
“I would like to propose to Your Majesty,” Kirta said.
The moment those words reached me, my mind temporarily went blank, and my vision seemed to dim.
“If you wish, I will become your second husband.”
Time seemed to slow, and each word was engraved in my ears with startling clarity, yet their meaning eluded me.
“Please accept me and retain the position of empress,” he continued.
Unable to comprehend anything, it felt as though the entire world had come to a standstill.
