On a whim, I decided to speak up and rushed to the Prime Minister’s office right away.
Arundel, standing in front of the door, told the guard,
“I would like to see the Prime Minister.”
The guard, who recognized Arundel, left his post saying, “Just a moment.”
Arundel looked at the door.
Now that she was about to talk with the Prime Minister, she suddenly thought of Royden.
‘While I’m at it, I should ask about Royden’s whereabouts.’
Hitting two birds with one stone.
Not long after, the guard who had left his post reappeared.
“Please come in, Your Majesty.”
Following the guard’s guidance, Arundel entered the Prime Minister’s office.
This was her second visit.
The first time was when she came to pick up Hills.
As the door opened, she could smell the paper that she hadn’t noticed before. It seemed to be due to the documents piled high on the desk.
‘It seems like there are more documents than last time.’
He must be busy.
Arundel wondered if the timing was bad, but she had already come.
Fortunately, the Prime Minister didn’t seem to mind at all. Or maybe it was because her position was that of the Empress.
Anyway, he greeted Arundel with a smile.
“What brings Your Majesty here?”
“I have something to tell the Prime Minister, and I also stopped by to ask about Royden’s wellbeing.”
Having a private conversation with the Prime Minister felt a bit strange.
I had briefly spoken to him when I returned to the Empress’s Palace to ask about Royden’s well-being, but this was the first time we had a serious conversation.
The Prime Minister quickly tidied up the pile of documents on his desk and guided Arundel to a seat.
The Prime Minister also sat down on the sofa across from her, adjusting his disheveled clothes.
“Royden is doing well.”
“That’s a relief. How is his shoulder injury?”
“One day, it noticeably improved. It was as if he had received a divine blessing. Haha.”
Did Mannheim do something? If so, that was really fortunate. Arundel smiled faintly at the good news.
“Oh dear, I didn’t offer you a cup of tea. What kind of tea do you like, Your Majesty?”
“I’m fine with anything.”
“Then, I’ll serve you lavender tea that we recently got from Shalbon Kingdom.”
Arundel nodded at the Prime Minister’s kind consideration.
It seemed that Royden’s affectionate demeanor resembled his father. Arundel thought so as she watched his back.
While waiting for the tea, the Prime Minister opened his mouth first as Arundel was wondering what to say.
“Lately, are you getting along well with His Majesty the Emperor?”
“…No.”
His concern was blown away by a direct hit.
She wondered if the Prime Minister knew something, but she just laughed.
“But you shouldn’t run away.”
There was not a single wrinkle on the Prime Minister’s expression, but Arundel felt that his words were poignant.
Of course, he was fully qualified to say such a thing.
If you were to rank the people who suffered because she ran away, the Prime Minister would be in the ‘top 2’ along with Cain.
The rampage of Zion, the riot of the opposition, the criticism of the people.
She could guess that a lot of physical and mental pain accompanied the resolution of these issues.
Arundel quickly added a word so as not to cause any more trouble to the Prime Minister.
“Haha, of course! It’s just that his behavior has been strange lately…It’s not serious. He’s a person who can’t be tamed.”
“Well, he is a person who can’t be tamed. It’s hard for ordinary people like me to read his intentions.”
He nodded as if he understood.
The time he spent learning about Zion was as long as the wrinkles at the corners of the Prime Minister’s eyes.
There would be few people who knew him as well as the Prime Minister.
“It was the same the first day I saw him. The small face I faced had no expression.”
“Zion?”
The Prime Minister paused for a moment at the word Zion. But soon, a faint smile formed at the corners of his eyes.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve heard the name Zion from someone else.”
“…Because that’s his name.”
Arundel mumbled as if making an excuse.
“It’s good to see. I’ve always been worried about who would call that fierce person’s name.”
Arundel was reflected in the Prime Minister’s deep eyes.
Despite the good news, Arundel’s expression was filled with worry as he thought about Zion’s recent attitude.
“But, he avoids me.”
In the end, she blurted out his complaint.
She had been feeling frustrated and upset because of this issue, but she had no one to talk to.
At first, she wanted to talk to Belle to relieve her worries. But she didn’t want to break Belle’s spirits, who was excited because she was getting along well with His Majesty the Emperor these days.
He considered talking to Hills, but he just laughed and said, ‘That’s good. How about breaking off your relationship with that guy this time.’ So she gave up.
In the end, she grumbled to the kind old man in front of her.
“His Majesty the Emperor…avoids Your Majesty the Empress…?”
“Yes…”
The Prime Minister seemed a bit surprised at the unexpected fact.
“Hmm… It’s strange, but don’t worry too much.”
“But I’m really worried…”
Seeing Arundel’s depressed look, the Prime Minister licked his lips. He seemed to want to say something but was hesitating.
The Prime Minister, who had been fiddling with his teacup, slowly raised his gaze and opened his mouth.
“I would say this, but His Majesty the Emperor might not like it.”
Arundel instinctively brought her ear closer to the Prime Minister’s secretive attitude.
The Prime Minister whispered softly in response to Arundel.
“It’s a secret.”
“Of course.”
The most fun and stimulating thing in the world was a secret story. Especially if it was a secret story related to Zion.
“His Majesty the Emperor is indeed perfect on the outside.”
“…Yes.”
Arundel nodded. Even a passing dog would agree with this.
“Appearance, intelligence, diplomacy, politics, strength, there’s nothing lacking.”
The Prime Minister spread out one hand and whispered to the corner of his mouth.
“But there is one thing he lacks.”
“What?!”
Arundel urged the Prime Minister. The fact that he lacked something,
Even she, who was like an angel, often felt a sense of alienation from him.
If she knew his flaws, it seemed that Zion would approach her more humanely and intimately.
“What he lacks is ‘relationships’.”
“Relationships…?”
Arundel distanced herself, frowning at the very abstract flaw.
Just as she thought it was a disappointing flaw, the Prime Minister gestured for her to come closer again.
Yes, it’s too early to be disappointed. Let’s listen a little more.
Arundel brought her face closer to the Prime Minister again.
“The term ‘relationship’ is actually broad. The relationship I’m talking about is not an external relationship.”
“…Then?”
“I’m talking about a more genuine relationship. For example, personal and deep relationships like friendship or love.”
The Prime Minister’s explanation continued.
“He grew up unable to form a normal relationship with anyone.”
The Prime Minister mentioned Zion’s childhood.
The occasional stories of Zion’s past were hardly good ones.
It was like the content of a novel explaining the narrative of becoming a villain. If it was such a narrative, it would be understandable to become a villain.
“Nobody took care of him in the red-light district. His mother, ‘Empress Meriden’, who passed away, also suffered from severe depression and took her own life.”
Suddenly, Arundel’s expression hardened at the mention of Zion’s mother.
The word ‘mother’ occasionally came out of Zion’s mouth.
Although it was briefly mentioned, whenever she saw his eyes containing pitiful emotions, she had expected that he had experienced a very tragic event.
“How did he come back to the palace then?”
“Well, it’s complicated to tell you about the situation at that time, but I found him in the red-light district. It was also my last chance to reclaim my position.”
The Prime Minister licked his dry lips, recalling the difficult times.
“But even after he returned to the palace, the environment did not change much. Rather, it got worse.”
“…”
“The crown prince was already decided, and he suddenly appeared like an eyesore.”
“…”
“Thanks to that, all kinds of conspiracies and slander related to him were rampant.”
The air around him was heavier than before. The Prime Minister, who noticed, lightened the mood with a light laugh.
“Anyway, that’s why he is clumsy with emotions.”
“…”
“He had to keep his heart closed to anyone to protect himself.”
Arundel recalled Zion’s past. Her chest stung.
“…I see.”
“So he will hardly express his feelings even in a close relationship. The same goes for when a precious person appears.”
The Prime Minister’s words resonated deeply in her heart, but in the end, it was not a word that fit her exactly now.
‘Is he confused because of me now…?’
He keeps setting a strange atmosphere, tries to kiss just by looking, teases as if teasing, when does he rush in like crazy, suddenly confused…? Nothing happened?
Rather, Arundel was confused.
“Looking at your expression, my story doesn’t seem to be very helpful.”
“Oh, no!”
“There may be a time when you understand my words, even if they don’t resonate with you now.”
The Prime Minister looked confident.
Rather, if she was really confused as the Prime Minister said, it was not a big deal.
The original him was obsessed with herself. But after going through various things, there were many changes in the relationship.
Zion could no longer control himself. Rather, he declared himself weak.
She still didn’t know if the fluffy word ‘precious person’ was right.
Arundel, whose throat was dry for no reason, gulped down the already cold lavender tea.
“Now, can I ask why you came here?”
At the Prime Minister’s words, Arundel, who had been startled, put down her teacup.
Come to think of it, she came to see the Prime Minister because he had something to say. Arundel, who had been in another world for a while with Zion’s story, brought up the main point.
“The position of the knight captain is vacant now, right?”
“That’s right.”
Arundel looked around in case the Prime Minister would be upset about mentioning Royden’s vacancy, but the Prime Minister was just sipping his cold tea with a calm face.
“I have someone I want to recommend.”
“That’s a welcome sound. I was anxious because I couldn’t find a successor.”
The Prime Minister asked Arundel.
“Who is it?”
“Um…That’s.”
When he asked, she didn’t know how to explain Hills. If she introduced his simple resume…
Among the strongest in the demon world
Can transform into a dragon
Good at joking
… Handsome
That was the end.
While Arundel was thinking hard about how to package Hills, the Prime Minister asked first.
“Did he belong to any knight order?”
“…He’s not a knight.”
“Huh?”
That’s right, besides, Hills was not a swordsman. She didn’t even know if he could swing a sword.
For the first time, the Prime Minister’s expression was distorted. He seemed to be taken aback by Hills’ absurd history.
“Then… it might be a little difficult. To command the knights of the knight order, unless they are from the same knight…”
“He’s strong!”
Arundel hastily spoke up against the Prime Minister’s negative tone.
“In these chaotic times, don’t we need to quickly fill positions? I think it’s more important to fill them with competent people rather than worrying about their origin.”
Arundel, cornered, blurted out her words. She didn’t take a breath while speaking.
Although she thought of it suddenly, she felt a bit proud of her logical and reasonable words.
The Prime Minister was silent for a moment, seemingly agreeing that the opinion was valid.
The Prime Minister, who had closed his eyes for a moment, opened them and brushed his protruding sideburns as he spoke.
“You’re right. Maybe I was too confined. However.”
“However?”
“Since it’s not a matter I can decide on my own, I think I need to discuss it with His Majesty the Emperor.”
It was expected.
The position of the Knight Captain was very important, so it seemed that the Prime Minister could not decide on his own.
At first, she considered talking to Zion, but she came to the Prime Minister because she couldn’t meet him as he was avoiding her now.
But after all, the final decision maker was Zion.
When things didn’t go well, Arundel looked gloomy.
If she couldn’t get him a job by the end of this week, he might end up with an unwanted slave.
If not, maybe a palace chef… He would be good at handling fire.
While she was thinking about such useless things, the door opened.
At the sudden opening of the door, the gazes of the Prime Minister and Arundel turned. Seeing the person who came in, the Prime Minister spoke.
“His Majesty the Emperor has just arrived. Let’s ask him now.”
Zion, who hadn’t shown a single hair for over a week, burst into the Prime Minister’s office.
“…!”
“…!”
Arundel and Zion’s gazes intertwined.
