Returning hastily to the capital, Lucart opened the door to Arthur’s room.
As soon as he did, he saw Arthur sitting there with a grim expression. The moment Lucart saw him, he felt a chill run down his spine.
What’s going on? Is the reason the imperial family is looking for Shekina due to something bad? If that’s the case, should I overthrow the entire imperial family… No, why am I even thinking like this?
Lucart suddenly felt embarrassed.
Who had been the most suspicious of Shekina all along? Who was the one who didn’t trust the child and left them to get hurt?
And now I’m here worrying, acting all concerned. Lucart felt quite pathetic.
“Vice-captain.”
Lucart, clearing the awkward smile from his face, addressed Arthur.
“Tell me exactly what’s going on.”
“Ah, my lord.”
Arthur, as if finally regaining his composure, slightly stiffened his jaw.
Arthur’s unusually serious expression, which was now more visible up close, caused Lucart to feel tense again. Lucart looked at Arthur with more seriousness than usual.
“It’s……”
Arthur exhaled deeply and straightened his shoulders before continuing.
“The Empress wants to see Lady Shekina.”
“…The Empress?”
At this unfamiliar word, Lucart furrowed his brows slightly. The imperial family, the Emperor, the Empress… Ah, the Emperor’s wife.
He only just remembered. It’s understandable that he was confused since there was no such title in the Demon Realm.
“Ah, right, humans have people like that. I completely forgot.”
“Yes, well, it’s not like we care about humans anyway, so that’s understandable.”
Arthur shrugged his shoulders.
“Anyway, the Empress wants to see Lady Shekina. But this is quite an awkward situation.”
“What’s awkward about it?”
Arthur extended an envelope that had been lying on the desk.
“It’s a simple invitation for tea. Yes, among the capital’s human nobles, it’s definitely an invitation one must never ignore. But are we ordinary human nobles? We could just pretend not to know and return to the north.”
He had a point.
After all, the imperial family has no influence in the north. Even if they were offended or angered by ignoring their invitation, they wouldn’t be able to send troops after them.
The north is the north. It has always been the domain of the Count of Daimon.
So Lucart was even more puzzled.
“Then what’s the problem?”
“There will be a prince attending.”
“…Hmm?”
And? So what?
Lucart barely managed to hide his shifting eyes as he gauged Arthur’s expression.
“Why do you think they would bring along a young boy, who hasn’t even come of age, to this meeting?”
“………”
“Wow, how have you managed to keep your position as the Demon King with that level of awareness?”
“You’re being too blunt about your thoughts.”
“Oh, my apologies.”
With an expression that showed no remorse, he answered and then suddenly slammed the desk and lifted his head.
“Anyway, the reason they invited him to the tea time is because…”
The reason?
“They want to pair him with Lady Shekina!”
…What?
“To the discarded Empress, who was abandoned by the Emperor, we’re like a gold nugget she found on the street. Oh, these people seem fine even though the temple said otherwise? Oh, they’re living well without imperial support? Oh, maybe I should get involved too? That’s exactly what’s happening!”
Lucart, who had been listening blankly to Arthur’s rapid explanation, slowly started to process it.
“So… what you’re saying is…”
As he belatedly began to understand the general situation, his face hardened.
“They want to arrange an engagement between the prince and Lady Shekina?”
“That’s exactly their plan!”
“How dare those foolish humans…!”
Crack!
The floor under Lucarts’ feet caved in as he momentarily lost control of his strength.
“Oh… It’s going to cost a bit to fix the inn.”
Ignoring Arthur’s murmuring, Lucart ground his teeth.
He wanted to run to the imperial palace immediately and grab those cursed humans by the throat, but he held back. No, he didn’t just restrain himself, he thought. He thought and thought again, recalling who the decision-maker in this situation was. Lucart took a deep breath and, forcing each word out deliberately, said:
“First, bring Shekina here.”
The imperial family will be dealt with afterward.
Lucart’ eyes gleamed.
***
“Aha.”
Having listened to the whole explanation, Shekina briefly pursed her lips in thought.
The imperial family, the Empress, the prince…
She put together the image these three elements painted in her mind.
“Hmm. It’s not bad.”
To be precise, it was quite favorable.
She had actually been thinking about turning the imperial family to their side anyway.
Of course, she had hesitated because the prince was much weaker than Yuriel, but… wouldn’t this be a good opportunity to get acquainted?
With this thought, Shekina smiled brightly as she looked at Arthur and Lucart.
“Well, I guess we first need to figure out what they really want, but… I think there aren’t many possible scenarios, so I should be able to prepare.”
“Possible scenarios?”
One of Lucart’ eyebrows rose.
“Are you saying you can predict how they will react?”
“Yes.”
“Speak.”
“Well… the most likely thing is…”
Shekina nonchalantly picked her ear and said.
“An engagement, right?”
“Pffft!”
Arthur, who was drinking tea, suddenly choked and spat out the tea.
“Cough! Cough!”
After a few moments of coughing, he wiped his tears and lifted his head abruptly.
“An engagement? No way! Even if they’re crazy, they wouldn’t go that far…!”
“Why are you so surprised? You know, Arthur. Do you think they invited me and the prince just to play house? They must have had a reason for calling us.”
Shekina shrugged her shoulders.
“I’ve heard that noble humans sometimes arrange engagements before the age of 10.”
“………”
Arthur had suspected this reason too. Before they called Shekina, he had been discussing this with Lucart. But hearing it directly from Shekina was still shocking.
Arthur opened his mouth a few times, grabbed the back of his neck, sighed, and then cautiously spoke.
“So, Lady Shekina…”
“I don’t mind.”
Shekina answered with wide eyes.
“If it happens, we’ll just deal with it later. If I’m engaged, we’ll become closer to them, which is good for us.”
“Hah. Hahaha. Hahaha!”
Arthur leaned back and let out a hollow laugh, stunned.
“No! Absolutely not!”
Even though they had always respected Shekina’s opinions, this was one thing Arthur couldn’t accept. It was something that could never happen.
“We cannot let Lady Shekina go through such nonsense. An engagement with a human? Haha! Those crazy fools are really asking for it…! I should capture them, skin them alive, and…!”
This was the manifestation of gradual rage.
Watching him, Shekina scratched the back of her head.
“No, really, I’m fine. As I said, it’s a good chance to get closer to the royal family, which would be beneficial for everyone…”
“Enough.”
At that moment, Lucart, who had been silent the entire time, stood up abruptly.
“We’re returning to the north.”
Ah, going back to the north… What?
“Right now.”
“…What?”
Lucart ignored Shekina’s bewildered expression and grabbed the back of his neck. Wait, what?
“I’ll go ahead, so follow me.”
“What?! Ah, no! What do you mean by that…?!”
“Hurry along. We’ll go slowly.”
“Wait a minute…!”
Flash!
The light of teleportation magic enveloped Shekina and Lecaites.
When Shekina opened her eyes again…
“Oh…”
Whoosh!
She saw the snowy mountains of the northern region, where a blizzard was raging.
