Ignition
Out of a clear blue sky came a bolt of lightning in the form of news.
The Imperial Knight Captain himself had come all the way here to take Athena into custody. What on earth was going on?
…Was there anything like this in the original story…?
I scrambled through my memories as fast as I could, but the novel had never revealed Athena's past at this point. There was nothing that could give me a clue about the situation we were in.
If this had been after the novel's story began, I might at least have been able to make a guess. But there were still two full years left before the original plot was supposed to start.
"The Imperial Palace wants me?"
Athena looked just as baffled as I felt, her expression one of pure disbelief.
"…"
The knight who had delivered the message clearly had no idea what to say either. He just fidgeted restlessly where he stood.
Athena thought it over for a moment, then finally spoke to him.
"Fine. I suppose I should at least hear them out. Lead the way."
"Yes, ma'am!! Th-this way, my lord…!"
The whole situation must have been crushing him under its weight, because the knight answered without a second's hesitation and hurried to obey.
With a knot of unease twisting in my chest, I followed him. Before I knew it, we had reached the front gate.
There, several horses in gold-trimmed barding stamped and snorted restlessly. A handful of soldiers in armor of the same gleaming color stood nearby, and in front of them was a man who looked every inch a commander. That had to be the Knight Captain.
They stood with an imposing presence that spoke of countless battles survived, radiating a heavy atmosphere that made approaching them feel almost impossible.
"Hah. So it's real."
Athena, however, paid their intimidating air no mind at all. She simply clicked her tongue.
"A-Athena… what's going on…?"
I caught her hand in a trembling grip. She looked down at me and smiled gently.
"It's all right, Hera. I'll be back soon. Will you wait here for me?"
"I-I don't want to… I want to go with you…"
I clung to her like a child throwing a tantrum. I couldn't bear the thought of sending Athena to those people alone.
They had come here to take her into custody. That could not possibly mean anything good.
And knowing Athena's temper, this could easily escalate into a full-blown fight.
When I looked up at her with worry written all over my face, she let out a soft snort of laughter and ruffled my hair.
"All right. If that's what you want, Hera, then come along. The little one stays here, though."
Athena glanced over at Mari as she spoke.
Mari glared at her for a long moment. Then, seeming to realize this was not a place for her, she took a step back and answered.
"If Mom gets hurt, Mari won't forgive you."
"That makes two of us."
Leaving Mari behind, Athena and I walked toward the waiting party together. The middle-aged man who looked like their leader came forward to meet us.
He had unremarkable brown hair, but his massive frame and the bold, commanding presence rolling off him made it clear he was no ordinary man.
"Godric, First Captain of the Imperial Knights. It is an honor to stand before the Hero of the Empire."
He bowed his head in formal respect.
Athena brushed the greeting aside as if it meant nothing.
"What exactly do you think you're doing?"
The man called Godric seemed long accustomed to Athena's cold reception. He lifted his head without the slightest change in expression.
"By Imperial decree, I am to take the Hero into custody and escort her to the Empire."
"Hah."
"Lady Athena."
Before he could say another word, Athena wrapped one arm around me and pulled me snugly against her chest.
"How dare you."
The instant the words left her lips, the ground began to tremble with a deep, rolling roar.
It was as if a typhoon had slammed into the estate. The air around the mansion whipped into a violent storm, and the earth at Athena's feet started to crack and split apart.
"Urgh!!"
"Gah—!"
"Kh…!"
The Imperial soldiers and everyone nearby collapsed to the ground, writhing in agony. Even Knight Captain Godric stood frozen in place, cold sweat pouring down his face, unable to move a muscle.
But unlike the suffering people around us, all I could feel inside Athena's arms was the warmth of her body.
She fixed the Knight Captain with a look and spoke in a low, freezing voice.
"Try saying that again with that loose mouth of yours. Who exactly are you taking into custody?"
"Kh… Lady Athena. If I might have a word—"
Athena regarded him with an icy expression. Sensing that he had something he needed to say, she clicked her tongue and swept a hand through the air.
The crushing pressure blanketing the area began to ease, little by little.
"Speak."
At Athena's permission, Godric stepped closer and whispered something into her ear—so quietly that even I, standing right beside her, could not catch a single word.
A short while later, once Godric had stepped back, Athena let out a long, heavy sigh.
"All that fuss over something so trivial."
"My apologies."
Athena's face was still twisted in irritation, but whatever they had discussed must have settled things. The thick killing intent that had saturated the air moments before had already vanished without a trace.
"Athena… are you okay…?"
When I asked her carefully, she gave me a tender look and pressed a light kiss to my forehead.
"Hera. Are you worried about me?"
A flush of embarrassment seeped into my chest at her words, but I answered her anyway.
"Mm… because we're lovers now…"
"…"
Athena stared at me blankly for a moment, her face tinged pink.
"You really are something else…"
She leaned in and left a brief kiss on my lips.
"Mm…"
"Just wait a little while for me. I'll be right back."
"W-where are you going?"
"Apparently the old man at the palace has something to say to me. I figure I ought to at least hear him out."
I caught the Knight Captain's expression twitch ever so slightly.
The old man at the palace…
Surely she didn't mean the Emperor?
"You're sure it's… okay… right?"
Seeing the worry on my face, Athena huffed a quiet laugh and stroked my hair.
"It's fine, Hera. You just get yourself ready for me."
Hearing her say it was fine settled some of the turmoil in my heart.
It must have all been a misunderstanding.
Of course. There was no way Athena would ever be taken into custody by the Imperial Palace.
I had worked so hard to keep her from going down a dark path. The Athena of the original novel was one thing—but the woman standing here now was someone who had completely broken free of the mastermind's shadow.
The palace had absolutely no reason to treat her as an enemy.
I let out a breath of relief and pushed the anxious thoughts cluttering my mind aside.
But…
Get ready?
"Hm? Ready for what…?"
At my question, Athena's smile turned wicked. She brought her lips to my ear and whispered in a husky, honeyed voice.
"We still have unfinished business from last night."
"Hah…!"
"I'll be looking forward to hearing plenty of those sweet little moans of yours again tonight, darling."
My face exploded scarlet as if a balloon had burst.
Unfinished business from last night… she definitely meant that.
Ever since we became lovers, Athena seemed to have gotten a lot bolder.
"Pfft. You're adorable, Hera."
"…"
It wasn't that I disliked it… but still…
Several hours had already passed since Athena left.
For some reason Mari's complexion looked brighter than usual, and the two of us were reading a book together on the bed.
"Oh, right! Mari will give Mom her medicine."
Mari rolled over and beamed up at me.
"Uh… again…?"
"Mm-hm."
By medicine, she meant the stuff I had taken that morning.
That mysterious remedy she said she had made from her own mana.
Thanks to it, my body felt so good today it was practically perfect.
"It's okay. Mom's already gotten so much healthier thanks to Mari."
Since the medicine was made from her mana, I refused out of concern that it might be harming her somehow.
But the moment the words left my mouth, Mari's expression turned cold as ice.
"No."
"H-huh…?"
"From now on, every single day. Mari and Mom promised."
Saying that, she started walking toward me, step by deliberate step.
I couldn't explain why, but every time she closed the distance, an unnameable pressure settled over me.
"Take it, Mom."
Mari held out her hand, and a blue liquid began to form slowly above her palm.
"Ah…"
I didn't particularly want to drink it. But looking at the earnest longing on Mari's face, I found I didn't really mind.
Besides, this was my daughter's way of looking out for me. As her mother, I couldn't very well turn her down.
And it really had been making me healthier.
I gave her a soft smile.
"Hehe… then I'll gratefully accept. Just a second, Mari. Let me grab a cup or some—"
"Mari will feed you!"
"U-uh?"
"Mari's hands are clean. Say ah~, Mom."
Mari thrust her hand toward me, the blue liquid pooling thickly in her palm.
Looking at those little fingers held out right in front of my face, I felt a flicker of flustered embarrassment.
"Hurry, Mom. Mari's hand hurts."
"U-umm… ah~"
Pushed by her insistence, I had no choice but to open my mouth. Two of her small fingers settled onto my tongue.
And before long, that same sticky liquid from before began to flow into my mouth.
"Drink it all, Mom."
"Mmph… mmph…"
I gulped down the mana Mari was feeding me, and almost instantly my head cleared.
It might have been a slight exaggeration, but I even felt a refreshing sensation, as if I were being reborn.
Before long, I had swallowed every last drop of the liquid she had given me.
"…?"
And yet, for some reason, Mari's fingers were still resting on my tongue.
I wondered if she was trying to give me more mana, but nothing else came down my throat after that.
"Ma… Mari…?"
I looked up at her with a puzzled expression.
Mari was gazing down at me with faintly flushed cheeks and a somewhat dazed look on her face.
Or rather—she was staring at her own fingers inside my mouth.
"…"
"Ma… Mari… if you're done, could you take your fingerth out a little…"
Having her hand in my mouth made my words come out slurred and messy.
"…"
Mari stared blankly at me for a moment longer. Then—
Squish…
—she started moving the fingers resting on my tongue, stroking and exploring it this way and that.
"Mmph…?! …Ma… Mari?"
She tickled the top of my tongue. She tugged at it. She did all sorts of things.
Caught off guard by her bewildering behavior, I was just about to push her away—
—when the face of the girl who had been staring at me in a daze transformed in an instant into that of a predator.
"Ghk—?!"
"That woman… she definitely… did it like this…"
Mari shoved both fingers deep into my throat.
"Ghk?! …Urgh… kh—! Uegh… wegh…"
Squish—squelch—
I could hear the wet sound of Mari's fingers rubbing against the back of my throat.
My body froze for a moment, unable to process what was happening.
By the time I snapped back to my senses, pure shock had already made me shove Mari away.
"Ah."
She let out a short little sound and toppled onto the bed in a heap.
"Uegh…! Koff… cough… hah…"
Fighting down the nausea rising from my gut, I glared at her.
"Hah… Ma… Mari! What do you think you're doing to your mother…!"
"Ah… u-umm…"
After a brief hesitation, Mari quickly apologized.
"Sorry, Mom…"
But even after accepting her apology, I couldn't shake the confusion.
Because Mari's face—
"Ma… Mari…?"
—was lit with a sadistic little smile, as if she had just awakened to something entirely new, and she was breathing hard through parted lips.