FVB - Chapter 45

After admiring the lake to my heart's content, enough to picture it vividly even with my eyes closed, we finished our boat ride and returned to land. 

It was the perfect time for lunch, so we immediately spread out our picnic mat and took out the food Orca had packed from the picnic basket. It was a simple meal of sandwiches and fruit juice, and I was pleased that my portion was filled with meat and no vegetables.

"Theo, look at this. So much meat!"

"That looks delicious."

Theo never really enjoyed the act of eating itself and wasn't particularly picky, but he actually had surprisingly strong preferences. 

First of all, he disliked sweets and anything with a strong scent or flavor, and he wasn't a big fan of greasy food either. In other words, he had a typical villain's palate. So, this meat-filled sandwich was likely something he wouldn't prefer.

Even now, he was complimenting it along with my excitement, but it probably wasn't genuine. As proof, Theo's sandwich had a perfectly balanced ratio of meat and vegetables, almost textbook.

"Want a bite?"

"Should I...?"

At my question, asked with sparkling eyes, Theo looked troubled but didn't refuse. No one would believe that a man who could be so sweetly considerate was the ultimate villain.

"I know you don't like it, Theo. I was just kidding."

"Oh, that's a relief."

We smiled at each other.

For dessert, there was ice cream that had been kept perfectly frozen with ice magic. He really put a lot of thought into the meal... Is Orca really not feeling well?

After finishing our meal, we sat and rested for a while before making flower crowns, just like Orca had diligently taught me. He watched me intently for a long time as I worked, and as the shape gradually formed, he somehow knew it was for him and smiled brightly. Seeing that face, I got excited and made a flower crown, and then immediately made a flower ring.

"Can you put the flower crown on your head?"

"Just a moment."

He cast a preservation spell, just in case his grip would crush it, and then carefully placed the flower crown on his head. 

I was a little disappointed that there weren't any sky-blue flowers, which I liked, so I decorated it with the prettiest pink flowers I could find nearby, which went well with Theo's black hair.

I was once again struck by how his destructive beauty suited everything, when he said with a smile.

"I think I'll have to buy a new display case."

"A display case?"

"A single flower is small enough to keep in a drawer, but a flower crown might be a bit much."

If he bought a very large display case, Shuian would fill it up diligently, right? I kept repeating his words, playfully added. A single flower...

Then, a memory suddenly came to mind. Back when I was planning to become human and wasn't feeling well. Thinking it was because I wasn't getting enough exercise, I took a light stroll in the glass greenhouse that wasn't yet finished, and I picked a sky-blue flower that I happened to find where Theo could see it and gave it to him. I wanted to give him his favorite sky, and I wanted to see him smile.

It was also one of the many days I wanted to be human. I asked one more time to be sure.

"You don't mean that blue flower I gave you in the greenhouse when I was an eagle, do you?"

"Yes."

"You still have it? I thought you would have thrown it away a long time ago..."

"Of course not, how could I throw away something you gave me?"

His straightforward answer made the corners of my mouth keep trying to turn up, so I tried to control them, but it wasn't very effective and they twitched uncontrollably. Eventually, I couldn't stand it anymore and jumped up and ran into Theo's arms.

"Theo, I like you so much!"

Maybe it was because I had been trying so hard to hold it in, but my true feelings burst out like a balloon, startling me for a moment, but fortunately, Theo didn't seem to take it too seriously.

"I'll fill the display case until it's overflowing!"

"I'll be looking forward to it."

Seeing Theo smiling gently, I, overly excited, gave him the flower crown and flower ring, which were almost too much to fit in his large arms. It was only natural that the servants froze when they saw us returning to the palace in that state.

ꕥ

Theodore looked at the large display case, which seemed to cover an entire wall of his office, with a satisfied expression. It looked empty because it was so large, and it was a spectacle of flowers that didn't suit the purpose of the office at all, but Theodore was very pleased.

Because he disliked cumbersome things and was bothered by too many unnecessary things in his field of vision, his bedroom and office were more like barren spaces, but in fact, things that didn't suit the office had been appearing for quite some time.

At some point, swings, beds, and fluffy cushions started to appear one by one, turning the place into something that was hard to tell whether it was a playground or an office, and now, there was even a large display case that covered an entire wall on one side, but Theodore didn't particularly care. 

Shuian had completely changed his life, so what did it matter if a place he didn't care about changed a little?

Knock knock-.

He thought that he could easily spend the whole day just imagining what kind of bizarre things would fill that display case, and let the owner of the knock into the office.

"Shuian seems to like the place you recommended. Should I give you a bonus?"

Theodore, who knew who was coming in without even having to check, said while keeping his eyes fixed on the display case.

"Can you give me a vacation?"

"Who was it who kept refusing the vacations I offered? Stop whining to Shuian. He seems to genuinely pity you."

"I have to whine if I'm going to work anyway."

Orca, who would immediately refuse if he was offered a vacation, shrugged and turned his head, following Theodore's gaze. 

He thought that something strange had been added again, but he smiled slightly as he looked at the display case. The shapes of the flower crown and flower ring were clumsy, but Shuian was still a student worth teaching.

"But why did you put that display case in your office? I thought you would put it in your bedroom."

"Well, I did think about it... But I spend more time in the office than in the bedroom, and there are more people coming and going in the office than in the bedroom."

The bedroom was a more personal space than the office, and Shuian spent the most time there, so only a limited number of people could enter, but the office was frequented by Orca, other aides, nobles, and servants. In other words, putting it in the office meant that there would be more people to show it off to.

Of course, he had cast multiple layers of magic to prevent anyone from touching it carelessly. If anyone touched it carelessly, they would be roasted alive, turned into an ice sculpture, or meet death in some other form.

"A hopeless fool..."

"So, did you check?"

At Theodore's question, Orca immediately frowned.

"It seems to be the work of the Erebus Order. Artificial traces have been found in all of the recent rifts."

The reason why the priests of the Erebus Order were called madmen was that they artificially tore rifts to increase the influence of 'Chaos'.

"Thanks to that, the Imperial Knights are very busy these days. I think His Majesty will be ordered to go on an expedition soon."

There were several knight orders directly under the Imperial Family, but most of them were mainly responsible for subjugating monsters and demonic beasts, except for the Guardian Knights, who were responsible for guarding the Emperor, and the Imperial Constabulary, who were stationed in the capital and were responsible for maintaining public order.

Traditionally, the princes each took charge of one of the knight orders and participated in subjugation missions, fulfilling their duties as members of the Imperial Family, but the only exception was Ricardo. 

The knight order under Ricardo's command was the Imperial Constabulary, which had no need to go on expeditions, so that alone was a disgrace, but Theodore's situation was not much better, as he had a knight order that was mostly made up of slave soldiers or children of noble families who had been pushed out of the succession battle due to the Empress's schemes.

"There must be a reason why those gloomy guys are suddenly moving like this, so I'll look into it further."

"Okay."

Orca, who was about to leave the office after finishing his report, stopped again.

"Oh, and by the way, the Saintess will be attending the upcoming Imperial banquet."

Once a month, all the members of the Imperial Family gather for a state dinner at the Sun Palace, where the Emperor resides. It goes without saying, but it was an Imperial tradition that had existed for a long time, not just by the Emperor's order.

Because all the consorts and concubines, including the Emperor, and all their children gathered, the table would have been more than full, but the current Emperor had only two consorts and concubines, and even the concubine had been dead for a long time, so the state dinner hall always looked empty. Even if Ariel's seat was added, it wouldn't change much, but he was concerned about the Empress's intentions.

"Is she really thinking of bringing her in as the Prince's consort?"

But why? And isn't the timing too early? Theodore, who lightly brushed aside the questions that filled his head in an instant, raised the corners of his mouth.

"Tell His Majesty the Emperor. It seems like I'll need one more seat next to me."

"Don't tell me, are you going to sit with Lord Shuian?"

"Yes, I'll have to see what kind of tricks she's trying to pull, but I don't want to see her running around with her tail up."

Orca, who imagined the Empress's face hardening when she saw Shuian, replied cheerfully.

"That's the right decision."​