🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 11
Getting a promise of support for the Empire out of Biern was surprisingly easy.
Of course, no matter how young, a dragon is still a dragon.
He didn’t say he would help without asking for something in return.
“Ha! Three crème brûlées a day, and twice a day I’ll have that thing I just ate…”
“Tiramisu, Your Highness.”
“Yes, that! And once a day you must bring me a new dessert I’ve never had before!”
“That might be difficult.”
Cecilia answered firmly.
Unrealistic conditions were best refused outright.
“…So you want me to eat the same dessert for the rest of my life?”
No one had asked him to help for life.
“Of course not. Every time I ask for Your Highness’s help, I’ll give you a new dessert.”
Mejina was a country of strict asceticism.
No matter how hard Cecilia tried to remember, she could not recall ever eating a dessert at the Tower of Guardians other than fresh fruit.
If crème brûlée was the most delicious food Biern had ever tasted, then satisfying him would be no difficult matter.
The lizard’s eyes sparkled.
“Now we’re speaking the same language. I like it very much.”
But then Biern seemed to think he had shown too much of his real feelings and quickly corrected himself.
“But the dessert must please me! If you bring me something trivial, I won’t help.”
Cecilia smiled.
“I’ll keep that in mind, Your Highness.”
Snacking and idling with Biern, before she knew it the sun had set and night had come.
This time, Cecilia did not refuse the bathwater the maids had prepared for her.
Of course, a snap of her fingers could make her as clean as if she had just bathed, but she had missed the feeling of being tended to by others.
“Your skin is so fair, Your Majesty!”
Rosemary gasped in admiration.
“Your hair is so silky too… I’d heard about the Empress’s beauty, but I didn’t quite believe it. Now I see it’s all true.”
“Oh? And what sort of rumors were those?”
Just as Rosemary was about to answer, Isabel nudged her sharply in the ribs with an elbow.
Cecilia smiled.
“It’s fine. Whatever people said, I won’t hold it against you. Tell me honestly.”
“Well…! They weren’t bad rumors at all. Just that… you were more beautiful than any other woman alive…”
Cecilia was momentarily at a loss for words.
Exaggerations were to be expected, but this was a bit much.
I’m pretty, but not to that extent.
The most beautiful woman in the world?
Perhaps the most beautiful in the Rinec Empire, at best.
When her bath was finished, the maids dressed her in a soft, flowing nightgown.
The fabric felt cool and pleasant against her skin, instantly lifting her spirits.
It was the perfect farewell to the rough garments of the Tower of Guardians—
Though of course, she had altered those with magic to feel as smooth as silk.
That had been against the rules, but only Branto had seen through her trick, and he hadn’t said anything since he did the same himself.
Shortly afterward, the maids led her to her bedchamber.
Though there was no trace of human warmth, the neatly made bed and dust-free furniture spoke of the care they had given the long-abandoned Empress’s Palace.
Just before the maids extinguished the lights, Cecilia raised a hand to stop them.
“Isabel, Rosemary.”
The two grew tense at her unexpected words.
“You’ve both been so diligent. Anyone can tell, seeing how well you’ve maintained this palace without a mistress for so long.”
They could only stare at her, too stunned to speak.
“So continue just as you are. Don’t change.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
They answered in unison, their faces bright with relief.
Cecilia dismissed them, then sank into the plush bedding.
The faint fragrance of jasmine lingered—clearly dried petals had been scattered among the linens.
Cecilia closed her eyes.
Only a single day had passed since she left the Tower.
After such a long time of living without luxury, surrendering herself again to such comfort felt like floating on clouds.
It feels so good…
A gentle smile spread across her lips.
In just a few minutes, she was fast asleep—
A surprisingly peaceful slumber for the woman who, in just one day, had thrown the Mage Kingdom of Mejina and the Rinec Empire into chaos.
What a strange dream.
Cecilia stretched lazily beneath the covers.
The Demon King was a lizard, and Edward was an emperor… how odd.
But her peace shattered the moment she felt another person’s warmth beside her.
A chill ran down her spine and every hair on her body stood on end.
An intruder!
It had been long since she last shared her room with anyone.
No disciple would dare sneak into the Archmage’s bedchamber. An intruder, then, for certain.
How did they get past the wards?
The Tower’s barrier was so tight not even another Archmage could slip through unseen.
It could be dismantled or destroyed, yes—but if that happened, the whole Tower would have been awakened by alarms.
No matter. First, the intruder…!
Cecilia’s body lit with blue light as mana surged through her veins—
“Cecilia!”
A familiar voice rang in her ears. Strong hands caught her shoulders and pulled her down into the bedding.
Through her wide, startled blue eyes, she saw disheveled indigo hair and golden eyes gleaming beneath it.
Cecilia quickly withdrew her magic, her heart sinking.
She had almost attacked Edward again. That was the last thing she wanted.
“Edward, this is—”
“My enemy! The vile fiend! Worthy only of death!”
The voice was sharp enough to split the air.
Cecilia then realized there was a third presence in the room besides herself and her husband.
The Demon King Biern.
Edward’s brow furrowed.
“And why have you brought this vermin here, Cecilia?”
“V-Vermin?!”
Biern flailed his limbs, shrieking in outrage.
Was it her imagination, or did Edward’s gaze grow even darker?
He reached toward the dragon at once, voice flat.
“I won’t hold you responsible. A bug like this can be crushed without fuss.”
Cecilia twisted her body to block him.
He means it.
If she didn’t stop him, Edward would truly kill Biern.
He really has changed.
The Edward she remembered was never like this.
Not the kind of man to kill the weak for simply offending him.
“Calm yourself, Edward. He’s just a child.”
“…?”
Edward blinked at her in disbelief, just as Biern bellowed in protest.
“You insolent brat! I am one hundred and forty-one years old—!”
“In human years, that’s three.”
Cecilia cut him off neatly.
Edward, however, looked no more convinced.
“A three-year-old who can slaughter dozens, even hundreds of humans in a blink.”
Exactly the answer she had expected.
“And yet he hasn’t killed anyone, has he? In this room, you are the one with the most blood on your hands.”
Mejina prided itself on neither invading nor being invaded.
At most, Biern might have presided over the execution of criminals.
Silence fell.
Edward stared at her for a long time.
The weight of his gaze was unsettling, but Cecilia didn’t look away.
At last he spoke.
“Are you condemning me? For the blood on my hands?”
“No.”
She meant it.
For a brief time she had been his wife, and so she knew:
Edward was not a man who killed without cause.
If he had made a pact with demons, there had surely been a reason.
She hadn’t asked, because she didn’t need to.
“I’m only saying there’s no need to kill an innocent three-year-old dragon.”
“…He locked you away and refused to tell me where you were.”
“Edward.”
Cecilia smiled—clear and pure, with no trace of reproach.
“Do you truly believe that?”
“…”
The second silence was longer than the first.
This time, Edward gave no sign of answering, so she was forced to change the subject.
“Why were you lying next to me, anyway? You frightened me.”
Edward’s lips curled into a smile.
Whatever inner conflict had flickered in him earlier, it was gone now, buried deep.
“People will believe it was passionate from the first night.”
His voice was gentle, but his eyes were anything but.
“That I favor you. That you are my beloved.”
