「Dione, Gradict-dono, please come here.」
「Thank you for your invitation.」
「It’s been a while, queen-sama.」
Magdalena stood up and invited them in. While that was happening, Eseria and Killing sat up. The queen was greeting them with a smile but Eseria is already getting impatient inside.
(Why did Gradict come here? He hasn’t made his social debut scene yet and we’ve never had any contact with him at the royal palace before!)
Then, Magdalena turned to Eseria and Killing and formally introduced them.
「Eseria, Archbishop Killing, this is Concubine Dione and the First Prince Gradict-dono.」
Unable to ignore the queen’s proper introduction, Eseria politely greeted them for the first time.
「It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Eseria van Sjogren.」
「I am the archbishop of the state church, Killing. I am pleased to be your acquaintance.」
She was surprised to meet Killing but when she saw Eseria, Dione wasn’t able to hide her joy and smiled at them.
「It’s an honor to finally meet Eseria-sama who’s famous for her wisdom. I’ve always wanted to meet the archbishop for a long time. Hey, Gradict! Say hello to them.」
「Please take care of me from now on.」
After Gradict bowed, Magdalena urged them to sit.
「Then, you two, sit there.」
「Excuse us.」
When she saw Dione and Gradict sitting on the sofa, Eseria felt a little uncomfortable.
(Oh, I thought Gradict should be a little more affable. Is he in a bad mood?)
Eseria is already thinking of the worst and when she heard what Magdalena suddenly said, her doubts cleared up.
「The reason I decided to introduce you to each other was because Gradict will be the crown prince.」
「….is that so?」
「Really!? Congratulations.」
「Thank you very much.」
Eseria murmured instinctively and even rolled her eyes while Killing congratulated Dione and Gradict with a smile. Seeing the contrasting reaction of the two, Magdalena can’t help but ask curiously.
「Eseria, are you not surprised?」
Eseria answered the question with dismay.
「ah….n-no, I was surprised. There’s no way I won’t be surprised…」
(Ugh….if I say “I knew that would eventually happen as everything’s unfolding according to the scenario.” they’ll probably think that I’m crazy. What should I do now….)
She’s obviously not happy about it but Dione, hearing her reason, praised Eseria with a full smile.
「Ah, could it be that Eseria-sama has already predicted that Gradict will be the crown prince!? As expected of you! As expected with someone from the queen’s lineage!」
「Ahahaha…I’m not that good….」
(Why is this girl super positive? I think no matter what I’ll say, she’ll praise it.)
Eseria managed to force a mile but Dione said something that hit her emotion like a hammer.
「I’m really happy that my son Gradict has a fiancée like Eseria-sama!」
(So that’s why….)
Eseria, who had completely predicted it, looked at a distance instinctively. However, when she heard what Killing said, she looked back at them again.
「Really! Is what Dione-sama said the truth?」
「Yes. It’s still a secret but it will be officially announced next month.」
「This is the reason why I took this opportunity to bring them together. Duke Sjogren agreed and he’s a very courteous man so it seems like he didn’t tell her yet. Eseria seems to be really surprised that she’s speechless.」
Following Dione, Magdalene backs up her claim. In response, Eseria replied to her.
「Yes…I was not informed…」
「I, as the representative of the state church, congratulate Gradict-dono and Eseria-sama.」
Dione’s already good mood became better with Killing’s congratulations.
「Thank you, Archbishop Killing. When Gradict becomes the king, I would like to ask you to help us build a more effective relationship with the church more than ever.」
「That’s exactly what we want. If Eseria-sama is Gradict-dono’s queen, the church will worry less. Just the other day, Eseria-sama made a useful and innovative proposal about the church’s work. Everyone was impressed with her extraordinariness.」
「So that’s the reason why you and Eseria-sama meet with the queen? She’s only ten years old and she’s already this amazing! Don’t you think so, Gradict?」
「….I guess so.」
Gradict nonchalantly replied when her mother asked his consent with a smile. When Eseria saw that, she was inwardly angry.
(What’s with this mother and son? Their tension is so different. If you don’t like me, turn it down right away!)
While she was thinking about this, Dione spoke with Eseria.
「The first time I heard your name was when we all enjoyed vagrant life with the queen’s invitation but since then, I’ve heard many rumors about you. Lately, in addition to toys and books, you have been inventing and introducing innovative tools to the world.」
「No, it’s not that big of a deal…」
「Eseria-sama is really a humble person! You’re the epitome of a lady!」
「…..thank you very much.」
「…….」
Eseria really wanted to sigh when she saw Gradict without expression beside her mother who’s praising her with joy.
(What’s with her? Can’t she stop already? I wonder if she doesn’t notice that her son is not interested at all? I’m sure he’s sulking because you are only praising me. He’s a little kid….he’s ten years old like me so he’s a genuine little boy.)
-0-
After a few moments of dealing with the affectionate Dione, Eseria left Magdalena’s private quarters with Killing.
(I’m tired….seriously.)
As they start walking along the hall of the royal palace, Eseria feels mentally tired. Killing calls her while they are walking together.
「Eseria-sama, thank you very much for introducing me to the queen today and for your kind words.」
Eseria replied with a wry smile.
「It’s not a big deal and even if I don’t say anything extra, I’m sure the queen will fully agree. I was relieved that the matter will be settled soon.」
「Yes, that’s right but it was really a good thing that you were not publicly charged in that case. If we had done something like that to the fiancée of the crown prince, the relationship between the royal family and the church would have deteriorated rapidly.」
「…….」
He spoke with a relieved tone when he told that to Eseria. Eseria can’t help but stay silent.
「However, since you are the crown princess, it means the next generation of royals wouldn’t have any trouble and it is something that the church would celebrate. Eseria-sama, I look forward to working with you in the future.」
「….I look forward to working with you as well.」
-0-
Then, Eseria went to speak with Killing about some details as they made their way to the hallway. Misty, who had already been contacted, came to the servant’s waiting area.
「Eseria-sama, what’s wrong? You don’t look well.」
Eseria smiled and appeased her personal maid who looked genuinely worried.
「I’ve been talking about important things which made me nervous. Then, archbishop, please excuse us.」
「Yes, I will contact you again when we need to hear your opinion. Please take care.」
After leaving each other’s company, the two of them went to their own carriages and parted from the royal palace. Eseria was secretly regretting everything in the carriage.
(If I knew this would still happen…I should have used my real name when I published my BL book and advertised it more thoroughly….If anyone talks about it now, they will be accused of slandering the royal family and the people involved will be severely punished so everyone would probably keep their mouth shut to protect themselves.)
-0-
While thinking of those things in agony, they soon arrived at Duke Sjogren’s residence. Eseria arrived at the entrance and asked the butler that opened the door for her to bring her to her mother only to find an unexpected person there.
「I’m back….」
「Welcome back, Eseria.」
「Hello Eseria, have you heard about it from the queen?」
On that day, Eseria was seriously angry at her father, who had already come home and even asked her that with a smile. He’s definitely asking about his engagement with Gradict that will give her a big chance of going to the “Bad End”.
「F-father’s an idiotttt!!!」
「Eh? Ah, wh-what, Eseria?」
Yelled at by her daughter, who he had expected to be pleased, Digress was stunned as he looked at her leaving daughter. Miredia was taken aback too and asked Misty.
「Misty, what happened to Eseria?」
「No, what does that have to do with me? Let me follow ojousama!」
「Yes, please.」
And after Misty disappeared to follow her lady, the duke and duchess looked at each other with confused expressions.
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