Chapter 89: The Proposal
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 89: The Proposal
Frederica Harzen Ervest.
She was the empress of the Harzen Empire, but only her closest royal guards and a few vassals knew she was a woman.
This was because there were still people who found it distasteful for a woman to rule a country, and as a result, she was publicly known as a man.
“So, what is the reason you've kidnapped me?”
Frederica said, looking at the two witches who had abducted her. While pretending to speak, she was mulling over the magic the two witches had shown her earlier.
Magic that allowed them to move freely through space. She had met a few witches before, but none possessed such absurd magic.
If I could harness that magic, I could bring the entire world under the Empire's control... As she calculated how she might win them over, Evangeline watched her and let out a chuckle.
“Hey there, Mr. Emperor? We brought you here because we have something to ask.”
“...No one kidnaps a person just because they have something to ask.”
“We just went to have a conversation, but you were the one who ran away first, weren't you? It was obvious you'd keep running if we left you alone, so—we just brought you here.”
Hearing the witch's answer, which defied all imagination, the empress stared at her in disbelief. But Evangeline simply shrugged, as if to ask what the problem was, and met her gaze.
The empress sighed and obediently nodded. Then again, she shouldn't expect a witch's thoughts and ideals to be the same as a human's.
“—What question did you bring me all the way here to ask?”
“First off... what were you thinking, hiring a witch?”
“...What was I thinking, you ask? Will there be any disadvantage if I answer?”
“Huh? No. I'm just asking because I'm curious.”
Wary of what consequences a witch's question might bring, the empress hesitated, unable to shake her suspicion despite Evangeline's answer.
She said she was just curious, but after hearing the answer, couldn't she try to kill her, saying something like, 'How dare a mere human employ a witch?'
As she kept her lips tightly sealed, something tapped her leg. Glancing over, she saw the man sitting across from her grin and speak.
“We're not going to kill you. We have no intention of harming you, either. My teacher is just genuinely curious about what you were thinking... In fact, if you keep quiet like that, she might get annoyed and do something, you know?”
“...A witch's abilities are not just excellent, they're superior. I see no reason not to employ them.”
“Do the neighboring countries not know that, persecuting witches as they do?”
“It's troublesome to be compared to old fools with hardened brains. Faith should be for the sake of humanity; insisting on actions that harm people just to protect one's faith is a foolish endeavor.”
Hearing the empress's answer, Evangeline nodded as if she understood. Then, she lost interest in the empress and turned her gaze to the man.
Just as she was feeling dumbfounded that they had kidnapped her just to hear that, the man raised his hand and called for a waiter.
“Would you like something to eat or drink?”
“No, I am busy. I would like you to let me go now.”
“Someone will come to get you if you stay here. It'll be a nuisance if you don't order anything. It's one order per person here.”
“...Then, the menu first.”
In the end, giving in to the man, the empress chose from the menu. A short while later, she was munching on the coffee and dessert that arrived, taking a moment of rest for the first time in a very long while.
Come to think of it, she hadn't known what it was to rest for several years. Because if she stopped for even a minute, the suffering of the common people would last another day.
‘Was it always this sweet?’
Rest.
Subtly—Frederica turned her gaze to the man sitting before her.
“You. What's your name?”
“Huh? Me?”
“Yes, you.”
“It's Yohan.”
“Yohan—yes, a fine name.”
While Yohan tilted his head, puzzled by her sudden question... Frederica was contemplating how she could seduce the man before her.
From what she had gathered, all five of these witches were subservient to this one man. There was no actual physical restraint, but for that very reason, it was a bond heavier than any physical chain.
In other words, if she could just win over this man, she could get all five witches by his side. Having finished her calculation, the empress began to earnestly exude her charisma—.
“Hey.”
“...?”
Turning her head at the voice calling her, the empress met Evangeline's ice-cold eyes and froze stiff. Like a frog before a snake, she couldn't even blink.
Into the stiffly frozen empress's ear, Evangeline whispered in a very low voice.
“If you try to seduce my Yohan... I'll kill you.”
A primal threat. A threat that the ruler of the most civilized nation should have felt no fear from, yet the empress felt a dreadful terror.
As she trembled and bowed her head sharply, Evangeline grinned as if pleased and moved away from her.
“...Teacher, what did you do?”
“Hmm? Nothing at all~?”
Watching his teacher tilt her head and play innocent so nonchalantly, Yohan let out a hollow laugh.
“Ah, right.”
As they were enjoying their tea and cake, laughing and chatting, Evangeline looked at the empress as if she'd just remembered something and spoke.
“Come to think of it, there are no witches in this city—where did they all go?”
“...Witches, you mean?”
“Yeah. If you employed Makina, there must be other witches too, right? I didn't see any.”
“...There are three witches in the Empire. One is Makina, whom you know well. Another is currently defending the northern border of the Empire, and the third is likely enjoying a vacation at an imperial resort.”
“Why is one of them just playing around?”
“She is not playing around. The two of them take turns guarding the defense line. They are scheduled to switch places after some time.”
While the witches present were impressed that the Empire was employing witches more properly than they'd thought, the empress seized the opportunity to invite Evangeline to join the Empire.
“And the gates of the Empire are always open. If any of you ever feel so inclined, come and find me. However, next time, please make a formal request to visit at the entrance...”
“Hmm? We did. Your soldiers just arbitrarily pointed that strange contraption at us and pressed it.”
“...Anyone moving inside the castle without a soldier's escort is to be considered an intruder. If you had come through the entrance, a gatekeeper would have guided you, and the royal guard would not have acted that way.”
“Really? How inconvenient.”
Frederica wore a dumbfounded expression as she looked at Evangeline, who had dismissed the system designed to protect the empress as merely 'inconvenient'. Then again, to the very person who had so easily bypassed that complex system and kidnapped the empress, it must have all seemed like a pointless exercise.
Just as she was wondering when on earth the royal guard would find her, the area outside the café began to grow noisy.
Glancing over, the empress realized the royal guard had finally found her.
“Excuse us, Your Majesty Frederica. We have come to escort you.”
“...You're too late.”
“My apologies. Locating Your Majesty's whereabouts was not a simple matter...”
As the guard stiffened and bowed his head, the empress told him she was joking, easing his worries. A teleporting witch appearing and kidnapping the empress. It's impossible to predict and prepare for something like that. Wasn't it akin to a natural disaster?
As she rose from her seat, ready to leave, the empress looked back at the group with a rather regretful expression and spoke once more.
“The gates of the Empire are always open, so please come visit. You don't necessarily have to belong to our Empire; there are more than enough tasks that require your abilities.”
Leaving those final words, the empress disappeared with her guards. Seeing the café in a commotion because of the royal guard's visit, the group realized it was about time for them to head back.
After paying in an instant, the group returned to the cabin, feeling a sense of nostalgia as if they had just finished a long journey. Even though it had been half a day at most...
“Teacher.”
“Hmm? What is it?”
“Are you thinking of joining the Empire?”
“Why? Does my Yohan want to live there?”
Seeing Evangeline prioritize her disciple's opinion over her own, Yohan laughed and shook his head.
If he were to say he wanted it, Evangeline would go straight to the Empire and pledge her loyalty to the empress. Whether that loyalty would actually be upheld was another matter entirely.
Yohan didn't want Evangeline's future to be decided like that. It was nice that she cared for him, but he wanted her to make her own decisions.
'It's not like I can stay by my teacher's side forever...'
He would die. Within a hundred years, without fail.
But his teacher and the other witches would not.
They were witches, and there was no record of a witch ever dying of old age.
'So...'
So that she would be okay even after he was gone.
He wanted his teacher to become that kind of woman.