How Many Nights Would It Take?
There was no need for any more words.
What she had accomplished so far as the head of the Ferman Empire’s mage corps was enough to justify it.
Conrad understood that as well, and the killing intent that had been directed at Regina finally ebbed away.
As the suffocating pressure vanished, Regina let out a long breath. Even the air itself seemed lighter.
Conrad’s eyes, their rage now fully hidden, curved slightly.
“So you mean to become my lover?”
“If I’m to stay naturally at Your Majesty’s side, then it doesn’t matter whether I’m your lover or your mistress.”
She noticed his brows lift faintly, but Regina did not take her words back.
“If there’s a better way than that?”
“Then I’ll do that too.”
There was no path left to turn back. Her only remaining hope was to release the seal on her mana while standing at Conrad’s side, then return to the Ferman Empire.
Regina looked at Conrad with tense eyes. He remained silent for a moment, as though weighing something in his mind.
Then he said, casually, “How about marrying me?”
Regina almost wondered if she had heard him wrong.
“…Pardon?”
But Conrad ignored her reaction and said it again.
“I’m asking whether you’d care to become the Empress of Fredericks. Of course, only until we each achieve our respective goals.”
He crossed one leg over the other and looked down at Regina with a face that was still as beautiful and arrogant as ever. For a sudden proposal to the princess of an enemy nation, he seemed far too calm.
As if the offer had been his purpose from the very beginning.
Regina, whose mind had gone momentarily blank with confusion, suspicion, and speculation, soon recalled the information she already knew.
The current situation in the Fredericks Empire was complicated, to say the least.
Conrad Fredericks possessed the strength of a Swordmaster, yet he was often absent from the capital because of the monsters pressing in from the borders.
Because of that, the Grand Empress Dowager had been governing in the emperor’s stead.
And yet—
‘He said his relationship with the Grand Empress Dowager, Chloe Fredericks, isn’t good.’
The Grand Empress Dowager was not Conrad’s biological mother.
The former empress had died from complications shortly after giving birth to him, and the woman who had been a concubine at the time had taken her place on the throne as empress dowager.
She had a child born around the same time as Conrad, and she had been openly doing everything she could to place him on the throne.
‘Hmm.’
According to what her informants had told her, Conrad had had two former fiancées. Both of them had died by the schemes of the Grand Empress Dowager, Chloe Fredericks.
Even after that, there had been women who coveted power and wanted to marry Conrad, but they would either disappear or change their minds within days.
By Fredericks imperial law, no one who was not of noble birth could marry into the imperial family. Chloe had deftly exploited that rule and recruited every noblewoman near Conrad’s age.
‘Even without the Grand Empress Dowager breathing down your neck, it wouldn’t be easy to decide to marry an emperor who’s always out hunting monsters and might die any day.’
And with the Grand Empress Dowager herself so close at hand, constantly keeping watch over the emperor, it would have been all too easy to end up murdered while defending the palace alone in his stead. In fact, there had once been an assassination attempt on one of Conrad’s fiancées during one of his absences—and it had succeeded.
All the capable knights were being sent out to deal with the monsters, so the palace guard could not help but grow lax.
At this rate, if no empress was chosen and there was no heir, Conrad’s throne would naturally pass to the child born of the Grand Empress Dowager Chloe.
Regina was certain of one thing: Conrad would never want that.
From everything she had seen with her own eyes, Conrad was a born ruler. A man like him would never willingly loosen his grip on what he held.
‘I’ll need to learn more about what sort of relationship he really has with the Grand Empress Dowager.’
One thing was certain: it was not a cordial one.
Back when Chloe had risen to the position of empress, rumors had even circulated that she had been involved in the death of the former empress.
Meanwhile, as Regina sank into thought, Conrad was also revisiting his own judgment.
‘I need an empress.’
At the very least, when he was absent, he needed someone who could win the support of the nobles in this imperial palace and help build up his faction.
Someone who could step into the palace social circles dominated by the Grand Empress Dowager Chloe, drain that power away, and seize the nobles’ attention.
Conrad’s gaze moved slowly.
Red hair and blue eyes. The first princess of the Ferman Empire, a mage who always wore a robe and whose face was hardly known at all.
Conrad had long heard rumors of Regina’s mastery of court etiquette and her ability to withstand noble pressure without flinching, and he thought—
Perhaps this was the person he had been searching for.
Since he needed a Swordmaster’s aura to release the seal on his mana, she could not easily betray him, at the very least.
There could be no more perfect partner than this.
‘I should hope all that pretending to be angry and pressing her was worth it.’
At last, Regina’s eyes shifted, and in the meeting of their gazes, a determined light settled over both of them.
“I have… responsibilities heavier than my own life. I have a duty to save the subordinates who fell into ruin while following me, and to repay the sins of my enemies.”
So long as the people she cherished remained in the clutches of Ferman, she had to go back.
And now, in addition, she had been given a chance to deal with the magic barrier that had sat like a stone in her heart for so long.
“I accept your proposal.”
“A wise choice.”
Regina was the first to extend her hand, and Conrad took it.
“You’ll work to strengthen imperial authority and dismantle the magic barrier, and I’ll restore my mana and return to the Ferman Empire.”
As she felt the teasing current of aura sliding through their joined hands, Regina’s mouth went dry.
Still, she let go of his hand with perfect composure and made her request.
“For the sake of mutual trust, I’d like the specific terms written out in a contract.”
“A good idea.”
Conrad tugged on the bell cord as though he had been waiting for exactly that. The aide waiting outside, Limutan, entered with a tray bearing a single sheet of paper.
“You called for me, Your Majesty.”
“Leave it there and go.”
After Limutan set the tray on the table and withdrew, Conrad moved at once.
Regina followed him to the table, only to stop in surprise when she felt the power contained within the document.
“Why is this here…!”
“Is there some reason something from the Ferman Empire shouldn’t be here?”
Conrad gave a faint laugh and shook the page.
This was a special contract document used in the Ferman Empire.
It held mana, so it could be summoned from its vault whenever the contractors wished. And if even more mana was poured into it, it could even call the other party to the contract.
Four magic circles were carved into the document for the function that allowed the contracting party to be summoned twice.
It had been personally developed and created by Regina, and there were only five such sheets in all of the Ferman Empire.
‘To think one of them was here, in the enemy nation of Fredericks.’
Realizing that there was a spy around her as well, Regina’s nerves sharpened.
But Conrad paid it no mind and focused on writing the terms with a pen in hand.
The words flowing elegantly across the page were graceful, yet razor-sharp.
<Contract>
‘Conrad Fredericks’ and ‘Regina Ferman,’ as temporary spouses, shall fulfill the following obligations.
1. ‘Conrad Fredericks’ shall do everything in his power to restore ‘Regina Ferman’s’ mana.
2. ‘Regina Ferman’ shall likewise cooperate with ‘Conrad Fredericks’ in all attempts at Mana Exchange.
3. Once her mana has been fully restored, ‘Regina Ferman’ shall immediately fulfill her obligation to dismantle the magic barrier. ‘Conrad Fredericks’ shall have no difficulty handling the disguised identity and divorce of the other party.
4. In order to maintain the sincerity of the contract, both parties shall faithfully engage in married life.
When he finished writing, Conrad signed without hesitation. After carefully reading every line, Regina took the pen he handed her.
With a firm press of her fingertips, Regina completed her signature. The brightly shining document vanished without a trace, but its light lingered around Regina and Conrad’s hands.
As a little more time passed, the white light faded completely. It was the sign that the contract had been sealed.
Regina opened and closed her hand, searching with her eyes for the last traces of that white glow.
My mana core has been sealed, so why is the contract’s mana still being accepted?
It was strange.
But before she could follow the thought any further, Conrad’s voice pierced through her.
“Then how many nights will it take before your mana is fully restored?”
For a brief moment, Regina froze. Then she steadied the restless beat of her heart and answered.
“...Perhaps we’ll need to spend many nights together.”
---