"Your Highness."
At the Empress's call, he raised his head again to meet his kind mother's face. The Empress, who said all relationships were transactions, seemed to have not an ounce of doubt, and it made him suddenly afraid.
Love shouldn't be a transaction. Love should be wanting to give without receiving. Does Mother even think of love as a transaction? If I can't give Mother what she wants, will she no longer love me? No, does she even love me at all?
Numerous questions arose in his head, but he couldn't utter a single one.
"The Count was worth keeping alive longer… but you mustn't raise hunting dogs for too long. After all, a dog that has tasted blood never forgets it and will eventually bite its master. So remember, if you ever raise hunting dogs in the future, you must kill them when the hunt is over."
To his mother, humans were no different from hunting dogs to be discarded once they had outlived their usefulness. Then what about me? What am I?
"How are your achievements these days? Do you think you'll be able to contract with the Spirit King?"
"...My spirit power has stabilized a lot, but I think I need a little more time."
"I see. You'll have to get more help from the Saintess. You mustn't fall behind that cursed thing any longer. Even if a Divine Beast is by its side, we just need to accomplish more than that. You wouldn't truly want to hand over the throne to that good-for-nothing, would you?"
Ricardo clenched his fist tightly. Yes, it doesn't matter. If even love is truly a transaction, then all he has to do is fulfill what his mother wants. Nothing will change.
"Yes, I will not disappoint you, Mother."
'If Theo gets hurt, no one will be safe. Remember that.'
Is the affection Theodore has like this too? Do I have to struggle to hold onto even an unclear form?
'Then Theodore, I hope your transaction is more cruel than mine.'
It was a wish close to a curse.
After Ricardo left, ending their short tea time, the Empress was lost in thought. It was certainly a remarkable achievement that Ricardo could contract with a high-level spirit and wield its power without difficulty, but the appearance of the Divine Beast had overshadowed it.
As Ricardo said, it would take more time to contract with the Spirit King, but the problem was how long that would take.
"Why did the Divine Beast have to appear to that damn thing of all people…."
As she sighed, rubbing her throbbing head, someone knocked on the door. When the Empress gave her permission, a maid entered, approached her, and handed her a letter.
"What is this?"
"I was instructed to deliver it to Your Majesty."
There were countless people who approached her in this way to get on the First Prince's good side, so it was nothing new.
But the Empress took the letter, which she would normally have thrown away without even opening, and stared at it for a long time until the maid left again, before finally tearing open the envelope and checking its contents.
[The dawn of a new day only comes after the light of the past has completely faded. I know a way to solve the worries that Your Majesty holds. If you need even my humble opinion, please send word to the one you traded with before. I will visit you as soon as possible so that Your Highness does not have to wait long.]
The letter had no sender, but there was no way she wouldn't know who sent it. The first sentence of the letter was mainly used by the priests of the Erebus Order.
Moreover, the one she had traded with before was clearly the black magician who had procured the demonic beasts. He had traded through Count Elmore, but the fact that he had sent the letter directly to her subtly revealed that he knew who was behind this.
"How dare these madmen!"
The Empress immediately crumpled the letter in response to their impudent behavior, but for some reason, she hesitated for a moment before unfolding the crumpled mess and staring down at it quietly.
Tap- tap-.
Her straight index finger tapped the table several times. The Empress pulled the bell cord and ordered the maid who entered in response to the summons.
"I need to see my brother right away. Send word."
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I thought I would be busy for a while after the showy date and wouldn't have a chance to go out, but thanks to the Empress cutting off the Count herself, I had some free time, and Orca, who seemed to have suddenly felt better at some point, suggested going out first.
He even found a place for us to go on a date, saying that there was a place for boating on a nearby lake that many couples had been visiting recently.
I could accept it up to that point, but when he went to a restaurant and packed a lunch for us to eat on our outing, even putting it in a picnic basket, I couldn't help but think that he was not just depressed but in bad shape. So much so that I, who usually liked spending time alone with Theo, cautiously asked.
"Do you want to come with us, Orca?"
"I have some things to investigate. Let's go together next time."
"Oh… okay."
His attitude was too cheerful for someone who said he was staying in the palace because he had work to do, so I wondered if he was subtly being sarcastic, but since Orca wasn't that kind of shady person, I could only assume that he was just feeling better after being depressed all along.
I left the palace in a hurry at Orca's urging to go out and play while I had the chance, so it was still early for lunch. So I left the basket in the carriage for a while and decided to go boating first.
As Orca said, it was quite a famous place, and I saw many couples here and there, but the lake was quite large, so we didn't run into them often.
Following the manager's guidance, Theo and I got on the boat and sat down at either end. I was quite embarrassed to be sitting facing each other, so I kept glancing around, and Theo readily picked up the oars fixed to the boat.
"Are you going to row, Theo? Can't you move it with magic?"
Surprised, I asked, and Theo smiled faintly and replied.
"Of course, I can. But they say you have to row here yourself."
"Oh… why?"
"They say that young ladies like to see their lovers rowing for them."
Who on earth gave you that advice? No, even if that's the case, why when you're with me…? There were many things I wanted to say, but I quickly shook my head.
"That's not bad either, but I'm okay. Besides, this is used by other people too, and it looks a bit old. What if you get a splinter in your hand while rowing with this?"
I was sincere, but after I said it, I wondered if I was being a bit over the top. Theo just stared at me blankly, then burst out laughing.
"I think Shuian is the only one in the world who would worry about that. You cherish me so much. What are you going to do if a gust of wind blows and I fly away?"
It's not that bad! My face flushed at his teasing tone.
"Fine! I'll just flap my wings and steer the boat!"
"Oh dear, I was wrong. I'll have to do my part as a boatman to cheer up my beautiful bird."
Embarrassed, I huffed, and Theo laughed again and slowly started the boat with magic. Even though it was cutting through the water quite fiercely, the boat hardly shook, so I could watch comfortably.
Thanks to Theo's magic, it felt like a gentle breeze was swirling around us, and the sunlight reflecting off the calm surface of the water was like sprinkling ground jewels, making it very beautiful.
I grabbed the railing and looked down at the water below, and I imagined what was beyond the end of the lake that stretched far into the distance. If I had the chance next time, it wouldn't be bad to fly around here.
I couldn't take my eyes off it and was looking around when Theo suddenly reached out and took my hand. His lips, which had been looking at me the whole time instead of the beautiful scenery, were slightly stiff.
"Why?"
"I don't know. I was wondering if I was the one who was worried that you would fly away if a gust of wind blew."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"I'm happy that you seem to like it, but you sparkling in the sunlight like this lake seems to suit you better than when you're by my side. On the other hand, I was afraid that you would disappear like that. So I was afraid that you would forget me and fly away, so I wanted to let you know that I'm here."
The boat, which had been moving smoothly, was now stopped in the middle of the lake. I quietly looked at Theo, who kept caressing my hand, and asked.
"Theo, will the boat capsize if I move?"
Even though it was a sudden question, he faithfully answered my question as always.
"How could it when I'm here?"
It was practically permission to move, so I took Theo's hand and carefully got up, went to the other side, snuggled into his arms, and sat down. I could feel his gaze full of bewilderment, but I pretended not to notice and brazenly asked.
"How about now? Are you still worried that I'm going to fly away?"
Just as Theo had been caressing my hand, I was now freely kneading his large hand with both of mine. I liked that he obediently offered his hand, so I stroked the neatly trimmed ends of his fingernails.
"No, it's a shame that I can't see your beautiful face, but I feel much more at ease. This way, I'll be able to hold you even if you try to fly away."
"Is there no option to let me go without holding me back if I try to fly away?"
So that's why. I knew what the answer would be, but I kept asking obvious questions to get confirmation. Even though he hadn't given me an answer, the corners of my lips were already raised like someone who had gotten what they wanted.
"There's no way there would be."
There was playfulness in his tone, but it was clear that he was sincere, so I finally leaned comfortably against Theo. The lake was beautiful enough, but the moment was made even more perfect by the solid arms that wrapped around my body and the small laughter that fell above my head.
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