Chapter 76 - 7-2
Queen Consort Yumeria Alish of the Kingdom of Siddim had lunch alone with His Majesty the King during the dead of winter. It had been a long time since she had seen His Majesty. The King was always busy; there was not a single moment when he was not a public figure.
Meanwhile, the Queen's own presence had grown somewhat dull recently.
This had been the case since Prince Yunias Alish was designated as the Crown Prince.
On the single point that she was not the mother of the Crown Prince, the evaluation Yumeria received from those around her had dropped significantly. That said, she was the mother of Prince Clorot, and above all, His Majesty was attentive to Yumeria.
Yumeria herself remained composed regarding the changes around her.
Although the conversation during lunch was not particularly lively, Yumeria was happy to share a table with her husband. The topic of Lucy came up. Yumeria listened with a smug expression to the news that Lucy had been elected as the Representative of the first-year students at the girls' convent.
—Well, a girl like her would do at least that much.
However, upon hearing that some nun had received the same number of votes and that the two of them had become joint Representatives, Yumeria felt it was pathetic. Had Yumeria been in the same position, she would have monopolized the seat of Representative even if it meant putting pressure on the convent.
"The Church is so inconsiderate."
"Indeed."
His Majesty was laughing. The King of Siddim, regardless of the era, maintained a precise and constant distance from the Roma Church. He never uttered words that could be heard as criticism of the Church. Perhaps his true feelings leaked out that day, for Yumeria also let out a stifled laugh.
After finishing the meal, Yumeria rose from her seat first and approached His Majesty. Intending to greet him, she kissed his forehead, and the King stood up with a beaming expression. Before she knew it, her slender body was held in His Majesty's hands, and Yumeria's body floated in the air. As it was, she was placed upon the table where the servants had cleared the dishes, her lips were stolen, and she could not make a sound. His Majesty stripped away the Queen's garments one by one.
In short, they had suddenly begun.
One of the several servants burst out laughing and was scolded by the Imperial Guard guarding the entrance.
"Hey, don't laugh. Get out, get out, hurry."
As if fleeing, they all left the royal living quarters. When the last person softly closed the large doors, the King and Queen both burst into laughter. The panic of the others had been amusing.
The two moved to the rug by the fireplace and intertwined, stark naked. It is said that snakes intertwine and copulate for days; the mating of the Snake God King and his wife was similar. In Yumeria's understanding, His Majesty had been on the indifferent side.
Yet, the King that day was just like a lecherous old man.
He savored the Queen's white naked body with his palms, tasted the inside of the female body's mucous membranes with his tongue, and it felt as if every single hair was being licked. The Queen, too, was like a prostitute. She took postures devoid of bashfulness, trembling the curved parts of her body. Electricity of pleasure ran through the points where skin touched skin, and just as her consciousness seemed about to fall away, she was held fast by the King of Siddim's muscles, and the Queen let out a cry of ecstasy. Snot dripped along with tears of joy. When she reached for the scattered undergarments intending to wipe it away, His Majesty took Yumeria's nose into his mouth and ended up slurping up and drinking the nasal mucus.
Communicating through laughter and moans alone, they rolled about here and there, and finally, around evening, the two stopped the rhythm they had repeated. Confirming their happiness in each other's smiles, they both stood up and began to dress.
At this moment, Yumeria was struck by a strange intuition.
—I'm pregnant.
And with a boy.
Rather than a premonition, she felt as if she had a physical sensation. It was a feeling as if something had been fixed within her lower abdomen.
Though she must have exchanged words with His Majesty, Yumeria could not remember what had been said afterward.
Even the next day, amidst the lethargy of her body, there remained the remnants of pleasure and happiness, and the intuition that she was pregnant did not vanish. Soon, she realized that that which should come did not come, and through back pain, abdominal pain, and the condition of her breasts, it became certain—she was pregnant with a royal child.
Yumeria Alish experienced the pinnacle of happiness.
She realized that until now, she had been nothing more than a foolish young girl fond of romance. The loves of her past were fakes, deliberately dressed up. The men of her past were nothing more than immature brats.
"My daughter will also be giving birth soon."
When Clorot's wet nurse, Madam Mcgillis, said this, the Queen sobbed while striking the expensive table with her fist.
"Krisina is? That girl is?"
Krisina was supposed to have become the wife of some strange little man in the East.
Apparently, that little man's child would be born to the white-haired woman. Could there be anything more wonderful? Miracles were pulsating through the world. Yumeria felt as if she might choke from the emotion.
As a celebration, the Queen decided to give Krisina Mcgillis the highest-grade necklace she cherished as a treasure. The wet nurse, Madam Mcgillis, turned almost pale and tried to dissuade Yumeria.
"A triple-strand necklace paved with diamonds—what would people think if a woman other than the Queen wore such a thing!"
"No. She will receive it. I can hardly say that I was kind to Krisina."
Thus, she forced her to accept it.
Even for Yumeria, whose moods had become volatile, there were moments of calmness.
In those moments, she thought. It was about His Majesty. At that time, did His Majesty not conceive Yumeria with the will to make her pregnant?
Pregnancy is not necessarily something that can be managed by a man's will. She knew that.
However, he was the King of Siddim. He was a descendant of the Snake God.
If one pored over the history books, the successive Kings of Siddim had performed various miracles. Representative ones were the recovery of withered legs and blindness. When the King placed his hand on the patient's affected part, the man with withered legs would immediately stand, and the blind would open their eyes and shed tears.
The reason this could not be dismissed as a lie was that the current King, His Majesty Swad Alish VII, also frequently performed miracles. What Yumeria had witnessed was the recovery from paralysis. Not once, but she had seen several examples. That is to say, as soon as His Majesty touched the affected area, limbs that had not moved began to move.
Yumeria knew it was not a staged performance arranged by the castle governor. However, she also thought it did not seem to be a manifestation of the King's supernatural power.
Most likely, the recovered paralysis patients simply had mental rigidity that had affected their physical bodies. They must have been patients who believed their limbs would not move due to some sort of illusion. The emotion of seeing His Majesty with their own eyes was simply too great, the mental rigidity was released, the illusion broke, and the body regained sensation.
Despite remaining detached while thinking this, there was this pregnancy.
Was it not as if His Majesty had released the rigidity of Yumeria's womb, which had been refusing to become an adult?
Yumeria certainly did not feel bad about it.
Being conquered in both body and soul was almost pleasant.
—I must cherish Clorot.
She thought such things. Yumeria had insisted that her first child, Clorot, was His Majesty's child. Now she could say it honestly. That one was the child of Laicanel Thora.
His Majesty's child was now growing rapidly inside her stomach.
The meaning of this child was not small. For the first time, a prince would be born into the current royal family without a single drop of Thora family blood.
Most likely, a boy.
—I shall name him Yude.
Yumeria thought amidst a melting happiness.
It was the name of His Majesty's father. A prestigious name of the Alish royal family.
If he learned that name, what kind of face would Sedias Thora make? He would surely make a disgusted face. Just imagining that sour expression doubled Yumeria Alish's happiness.
After safely giving birth to a girl and completing her postpartum recovery, a messenger from her parents' home came to Krisina Danforth. He was a middle-aged knight named Curier who served the Mcgillis family. He was a man deeply trusted by the Mcgillis family as a capable person who could be entrusted with difficult tasks, such as traveling to other territories on secret missions.
"Princess Krisina."
Curier knelt with a nostalgic way of addressing her and presented a package to Krisina.
When she opened the package of items carried by the honest knight, a mass of brilliance appeared that seemed to illuminate Krisina's white face. It was a diamond necklace.
"What is this?"
"It is a birth gift from the Queen of Siddim, Yumeria Alish-sama."
"No, surely, no matter how much..."
Krisina lifted the necklace to show it.
A stir, like a scream of "Gyaaa," arose.
She had been in the living room with the women of the Danforth family—the Countess of Dint, Cloden's mother, his sisters-in-law, and Cloden's older sisters. Everyone gathered around.
"Princess, please first read the private letter from the Marchioness."
Curier said. The Marchioness referred to Krisina's mother.
"Please sit there as well. I will brew some tea."
Krisina brewed tea while reading the letter.
It began with her mother's unique philosophy: 'The first counterattack in the boring life of a woman who has married begins the moment she gives birth to a child.'
As she read further, Krisina learned that the Queen had become pregnant.
The necklace was also mentioned.
'The Queen's determination is firm, and even if you attempt to return it, she will absolutely not accept it. Give up and accept it as a family heirloom. Furthermore, she says you should not give any thought to a return gift whatsoever.'
—What a troublesome Queen.
Krisina nostalgically recalled her life at the detached palace. The days spent with Princess Lucy felt as if they had happened in a distant foreign land.
Krisina poured tea to the brim into the ceramic cup of the knight Curier. "Mother seems to be doing well."
"Very much so. Everyone is in good health."
"What does it say?" Countess Rosa of Dint turned to Krisina.
"That I should add it to the family treasures. Even if I want to return it, the Queen will not accept it."
"Yay!" her niece Mirya said.
"I'll try it on," said her sister-in-law Daya.
"Idiot, you, stop it!" said her sister-in-law Teresa. "Krisina, you should wear this and go to tonight's dinner."
Krisina laughed. "No way. What would the people of the Ramirez family say—I've brewed the tea. Who has an empty cup?"
"It's the Queen's necklace, Krisina."
Teresa seemed serious. She snatched the pot from Krisina's hand and placed it on the table. She took the necklace, which made a clear sound, went behind Krisina, and placed it around her neck.
"Wow," Sarie, the wife of the eldest brother, exclaimed. "As I thought, you are our pride."
"Auntie, you are truly beautiful," her niece Alora praised.
"Indeed," even Curier's face softened.
"Prepare a red evening gown and a black shawl," said her mother-in-law Rosa. "The trick is to take off the shawl once seated, revealing the Queen's necklace underneath."
"Mother-in-law, that's the best," Teresa said.
"No," Krisina said hurriedly. "If I wear such a luxury item, wouldn't that be when Cloden would be embarrassed?"
"It's fine, Krisina. Just show off and intimidate them," Daya said, her eyes sparkling.
"Exactly that," Teresa nodded. "We'll show those people this huge jewel. They won't be able to speak rudely to our Krisina ever again."
Behind her back, the people of the Ramirez family called Krisina the "White-Haired Woman."
"Besides, it's also for Cloden's sake. Cloden is surely being bullied by the Ramirez lot. If we show off that we can receive such a wonderful thing from the Queen, Cloden will feel a bit more satisfied, right?"
Krisina had adjusted to this remote mountain country. She had adjusted as if she had known she would.
The majority of the Dint territory was a plateau extending northward at the foot of the Dwarf Mountains. The sunlight hours were short. For Krisina, who suffered from pigment deficiency and was naturally averse to sunlight, the dimness that Dint wore was comfortable.
Even in a countryside on the mountains, there were countless Roma churches, church schools where children flocked, and bells rang through the mountains morning and evening. There were taverns, men who drank themselves into a stupor and made their wives miserable, occasional sad murder cases, and scandals like affairs that drew attention. Human emotions and human activities found anywhere seemed pastoral and simple here, perhaps because of the beautiful nature.
One could not hope for the reservation of modest attitudes or the refined, superficial rhetoric seen in the city. The people of Dint laughed maliciously at others' failures. But those same people did not forget to offer words of comfort to the one who failed.
—After all, we are all people of Dint.
That seemed to be the consciousness.
Above all, the reason Krisina could adjust to this land was thanks to the people of the Danforth family. The white-haired young lady who came as Cloden's bride was pampered as if she were a celestial maiden descended to earth. Cloden's father, Count Vizic Danforth of Dint, was a towering giant of a man and was very taciturn.
"Krisina is the treasure of this house."
The taciturn Count of Dint had declared this first.
The women of the Danforth family treated Krisina as a sickly younger sister. Once Krisina proved she could handle most of the housework, their attitude changed from treating her like a fragile object to recognizing her as someone they could tease.
The women of the Danforth family were always fighting with someone. Krisina was taken aback at first, but it seemed that verbal spats and arguments were their way of killing boredom; they were always picking fights with someone for fun.
In short, it was a lively household.
The people of the Danforth family slept and woke in a count's annex called the Haimeiz Hall.
The main building, Rattle Manor, and Hybaness Castle had been seized by the Ramirez family who came from the west. The Ramirez family, the Thora family's Betto (T/N: administrative official). Betto—that must be an administrative official. It was an old-fashioned title, and she didn't know where they had dug it up from.
With the royal army blocking the highways, Dint had no choice but to surrender. Now, nothing could be decided in Dint without consulting the Ramirez family.
—But will it always be like this from now on?
Many people of Dint thought this.
When Krisina first came to this land, the reputation of Count Urgil Necrat of Carossa was extremely poor. Why had the East been trampled by the hated Thora family? It was rumored that the reckless actions of the Count of Carossa were the root cause, and that Marquis Ganlord and Marquis Kraff had also suffered as a result of the Count of Carossa's actions.
One night, at the Danforth family table, the topic of Urgil Necrat came up. Everyone likely thought to make it a form of entertainment, and a lively battle of criticism began, competing for the sharpness of their insults. At that moment, the taciturn Count Vizic Danforth cleared his throat and made a displeased face.
The table fell silent, another topic was immediately provided, and the topic of the Count of Carossa never rose at the table again.
This small incident leaked outside.
Then, surprisingly, the criticism and insults toward the Count of Carossa stopped almost simultaneously throughout Dint.
The Count of Carossa was killed because he opposed the Thora family.
That was known throughout the entire East.
—The Lord does not think poorly of that Count of Carossa.
The people of Dint must have taken it that way.
—Sympathetic to the great villain, Count Carossa.
The Ramirez clan likely thought so.
When the sun set and a messenger boy came from the main building, Krisina had finished changing and was letting her daughter Mia nurse through the gap in her evening gown.
Hearing the knock, she replied, and the door opened.
"Princess, the preparations are complete—oh."
Curier hurriedly stepped outside.
In his place, Uriya entered Krisina's room. Uriya was also one of Cloden's older sisters. She was married to a nearby knight. She had also just given birth to her third child around last summer and had come specifically to look after Mia.
"Thank you for your help, Uriya. Though, I'll be returning in less than half an hour."
"Don't worry about that," Uriya said, taking the baby from Krisina's arms and burping Mia with a practiced hand. "More importantly, wow, is this it?"
Looking at the necklace on the dressing table, her eyes widened.
"To tell the truth, I'm a bit embarrassed to wear this..."
"That's certainly true," Uriya laughed. "But you won't be outshone by the jewels. Go with your chest held high. You can't exactly hide something received from the Queen."
Seen off by the beaming smiles of the Danforth clan, Krisina left the annex. The main building, Rattle Manor, was within the grounds of Hybaness Castle and was not very far. Krisina sat side-saddle on the horse like a noblewoman. Curier led the horse.
"Please report to Mother that Mia is darker-skinned than I am."
"Yes. However, the Marchioness is not worried about Mia-sama's skin color. Rather, um, instead—"
Curier hesitated.
War was about to begin. The East might become a battlefield.
Because of that, Cloden was being worked to the bone by the Ramirez family, running around everywhere. This time, he had apparently circled the Dint territory. Tonight, the Ramirez family had invited them to dinner to mark Cloden's safe return.
—Will the Thora family and the royal army protect the East?
Krisina had asked her husband once.
'No, I'd like to say we'll protect the East,' Cloden had said. 'The Thora family intends to sweep up all the young people of the East and throw them at the Kosa army. The youth of Dint will likely be taken one by one.'
He didn't want to simply and obediently hand over the residents; he felt that he must understand the residents best in order to resist the conscription orders. With those feelings, Cloden was running throughout Dint, while being caught in a pincer between the pressure from the Ramirez family.
The afterglow bordering the mountain ridge turned indigo, and the evening darkness approached.
As they climbed the slope, Rattle Manor, with its low eaves giving a heavy impression, came into view.
Krisina dismounted the horse with Curier's help. After leaving the horse with the stable boy, she entered the manor accompanied by Curier and headed for the great hall.
In the great hall, the meal had already begun. The sound of clinking tableware and noisy voices filled the air. When Krisina bowed at the entrance, several people returned the gesture with nods mixed with thin smiles.
Cloden Danforth was at the lower seat, looking toward the window. Since Cloden had grown up in this manor, he must have been reminiscing about the scenery. He immediately noticed Krisina and approached.
"Oh, Krisina. Tonight you are once again radiant... is that Curier-dono?"
"It has been a long time, Cloden-sama."
"Welcome back, husband."
"I managed to return, Krisina. Come, let's sit. Curier-dono, thank you for coming."
Cloden flashed his white front teeth. He looked healthy, which relieved Krisina.
"How is the little diaper-chan doing?" Cloden pulled out a chair for Krisina.
"She's doing well. Uriya came specifically to look after Mia." Krisina took off her shawl and hung it on the back of the chair. "I'm really helped by everyone teaching me about the baby."
"My sisters have nothing else they're good at... hey, hey, Krisina."
Cloden was staring at Krisina's chest with a surprised face.
Startled, Krisina covered her chest.
Curier, who sat next to Cloden, began to explain in a low voice. Cloden listened while nodding. Before they knew it, the great hall had fallen silent. Over twenty pairs of eyes were all poured onto the area of Krisina's chest.
"Queen Mother Yumeria Alish-sama!" Cloden licked his lips and raised his voice. "I see, I see. She gave such a thing as a birth gift!"
"Yes, well..."
"It's fine, Krisina. Given the relationship between you and Yumeria-sama, such a thing is possible. Don't hide it! It's a gift from the royal family! It would be rude to the Queen. Come, lower your hands; this is the kindness the Queen has shown. Show it to everyone."
It was not because Cloden told her to.
Feeling the silent demand of the gazes of the people in the great hall, Krisina lowered both hands. Then, the legs of the chairs made a sound all at once. The Ramirez clan rose from their seats and gathered before Krisina.
"This. This, such a... this is amazing."
Dwight Ramirez, the Thora family's Betto, reached out with trembling fingertips.
"Whoops!" Cloden said. "Did you try to touch my wife?"
"I-idiot!" The fifty-something Dwight Ramirez immediately turned red. "That's absurd. A false accusation!"
"I wonder if this is real," the Ramirez lady said without reservation. She reached out her hand directly.
"Do you doubt it?"
At Cloden's words, the lady's hand stopped just before touching the jewel.
She looked at Cloden with hateful eyes.
As Krisina held her breath wondering what would happen, the Ramirez lady eventually withdrew her hand. She had to evaluate that the authority of the Queen Mother was formidable.
"It suits your hair well," said Leila, the eldest daughter of the Ramirez family, her voice carrying an unconcealable jealousy.
"A fine opinion indeed," Cloden responded cheerfully. "I shall make a special note of it in the thank-you letter to the Queen. That Leila Ramirez-sama evaluated the Queen's feelings in such a way."
Leila Ramirez stepped back two, three steps, turning pale as if she might faint.
"No, surely," said Rustov, Leila's cousin. "There was no strange meaning. Leila was praising the beauty of your wife. Now, shall we return to our seats?"
"No, wait a moment," said the oldest elder of the Ramirez family, Rot Ramirez. "Is it not strange? Why would the consort of the King of Siddim give such a deformity—"
"Father!" Dwight Ramirez raised a high-pitched voice.
Cloden's lips trembled, and he was about to say something.
"I disagree, Rot-sama," Krisina said reflexively. "I was entrusted as the Head Maid to Her Imperial Highness Princess Luchentin Alish. Naturally, I am acquainted with both the Queen and His Majesty. I was quite fond of the Queen."
"To the extent of receiving such jewelry, that is," her husband nodded.
"Yes. —I nostalgically recall Yumeria-sama's kindness."
She told a great lie. If she didn't say so, it wouldn't end.
"Speaking of which, there is news about Lucy's current situation that I wish to share. I will tell you later, Cloden. And also the Queen's happy occasion. I wonder if it's alright to speak of it here—no, I don't intend to be pretentious."
"No, Krisina. Our couple, so to speak, has had a family-like relationship with the royal family. I think you shouldn't say anything careless."
Cloden also told a solemn lie.
"Yes, indeed."
"Sorry, everyone. Now, please disperse, now, now, now."
"Honestly, idiot! Really!"
On the way back, Krisina did not ride the horse but walked side-by-side with Cloden. Striking Cloden's shoulder with her fist, Krisina said, "You really get carried away so easily!"
"But it was funny, right?"
"Not at all. Honestly!"
The two descended the night road while laughing.
"Still, I wonder why the Queen gave us such a thing."
"That is truly a mystery. But surely, it's just a whim."
"Once we've received it, it's ours. Even if she tells us to return it, let's ignore her." Cloden called out to Curier, who was leading the horse ahead. "Curier-dono, please have another drink with me."
"I would be delighted!"
Curier looked back, holding up the lantern. He had a truly happy face.
Cloden was also leading his own horse.
Returning to Haimeiz Hall, Curier and Cloden headed to the stables, and Krisina entered the hall alone.
She was greeted by the women of the Danforth family.
"How was it?" she was asked by her sister-in-law Daya.
"Yes. Cloden returned safely."
"Well, of course he did. —Not that," Daya laughed. "You've become quite capable of being mean, haven't you?"
Krisina giggled. "I silenced the people in the great hall with the light of the jewel."
The women gathered at the entrance cheered with joy.
Krisina headed to her room and felt relieved seeing Mia's sleeping face. While talking with Uriya, she returned to the living room, just as Cloden and Curier returned with serious faces.
Cloden first showed his face to the people in the living room, and then headed to the Count of Dint's room to report his return.
In the meantime, Curier told the women about what happened in the main building in an amusing way.
Although they hadn't done anything particularly refined, Krisina thought it was much better than just taking the hits. At least it would become a funny story.
Cloden returned to the living room.
"Krisina, I request some wine."
Cloden signaled to Curier and entered a private room adjacent to the living room, which was called the drawing room, carrying a candlestick.
Krisina quickly prepared a plate of appetizers and brought them along with the wine.
"I simply cannot get used to having the Princess serve me like this," Curier said. He was a stiff knight.
"What are you saying. Truly, we should welcome Curier as a guest of this house. To make you accompany us to dinner."
"It was an honor to be chosen as an escort. Princess, actually, there is something I wish for you to hear as well. I intend to retire after this job."
"Oh—"
"I lost my wife, and my sons are doing well. Yet, I can still work better than average. That is why I want to retire and be free."
"I see... what do you mean by that?"
"I wish to serve Cloden-sama."
When Krisina looked, Cloden shrugged his shoulders slightly. The first thing she thought of was the Danforth family's economic situation.
As if to discourage Krisina's concerns, Curier said:
"According to Cloden-sama, I can receive a salary and board equivalent to a servant. Even that is more than I deserve. I have savings. At this time when a crisis approaches Siddim, it is not permitted for a knight who can still move his body to retire."
"If that's the case," Cloden said, "why not enter the service of the Thora family? They are the ones waging war. With your record, you'd be a battalion commander."
"—The Princess is here. That is the primary reason. Another is... I believe the true war is right here. Cloden-sama, I am a knight."
Krisina could sense a certain determined atmosphere from Curier.
For example, the nobles of the Siddim central region, like the Mcgillis family, had a strong feeling that they were the true vassals of the royal family. They were those who held land at the feet of the Siddim royal family. They likely looked down on the Thora family of the western countryside. Then, before they knew it, Sedias Thora had made a rapid ascent. The dissatisfaction that the Thora family was neglecting the royal family was likely smoldering in the central region.
Cloden looked down and said, "What do you think, Krisina?"
"This Godly Curier is an unrivaled knight. As for not betraying loyalty, he is guaranteed. I believe he can be of use not only to Dint but to the East."
"Is that so," Cloden raised his face. "...I have two regrets. One is that I could not see the Kandasyata Plateau with these eyes. The other is that while knowing that the son of Urgil Necrat, Yugis Necrat, was apparently alive, I did not go to search for him."
Cloden had been put in prison by the Thora family. Immediately after being released, he had apparently met a servant of Yugis Necrat and heard the story. According to the servant, Yugis had boarded a ship to Koroi.
This was the first Krisina had heard of it. She had vaguely thought that the youth named Yugis was dead.
Cloden had not leaked the possibility of Yugis's survival even to Krisina. The fact that he was so cautious likely meant there was something he was anticipating.
"I want to know if that bastard is still alive. As it stands, the East might be in trouble. The governors sent by the Thora family seem to have nothing in their heads but sucking up to the Thora family. The East needs our banner..."
"You think the man named Yugis will become that banner?" Curier said.
"I thought he wouldn't. But I was wrong. The East is surprisingly sympathetic to the Carossa and Necrat families."
Curier straightened his posture and said, "Please leave it to me. I will surely find him and bring him here to Dint."
"No, no, first," Cloden said. "First, please visit a man named Haider Skyner of Belgau. He surely knows a man named Lian Belghiyo. That fellow Lian is the one who assisted Yugis's escape from Malfa City."
"I see."
"It would be ideal if you could meet him and hear the story, but Belghiyo is a dangerous man. Please do not overdo it. —Also, Dint has a masterless small plot of land run only by tenant farmers for times like this. I will discuss it and have them welcome you as the master."
"No, but—"
"When it comes to this, I'll have you fight alongside Dint, Curier-dono."
The honest knight beamed and bowed his head.
Cloden looked up at Krisina.
Krisina nodded strongly.
There was nothing else she could do for him.
More than that, though it was completely out of place, Krisina was remembering Lucy. On the morning the Princess departed for the Euryas Girls' Convent, Krisina had felt an intense sense of loneliness, but in truth, there was room in her heart.
—I will surely, definitely, meet the Princess again.
Krisina was certain.
It was impossible to believe that that Princess could end her life as a nun.
She didn't know what. But the Princess would do something.
Whatever she did, Yugis-sama would likely be involved.
That premonition Krisina held seemed to still be breathing somewhere in her heart.