Homecoming
Crown Prince Chris and Lydia had been talking at the entrance of the imperial palace, but with too many eyes watching, they moved to a detached palace to finish their conversation.
"Lydia, can you keep a low profile and stay out of sight for the time being? You have to give birth soon anyway... You can do that, right?"
"It's not hard, but... why?"
Lydia, curious about Chris's plan, answered quickly and waited for him to continue.
Chris hesitated for a long moment before speaking with extreme caution.
"I'm going to pin all the blame on Emilia. For you, for me... and for the kingdom and the empire to survive, it's the only way."
"Emilia? What are you going to do by holding her responsible?"
"I'm going to divorce her. And banish her from the empire."
Hearing this, Lydia felt a surge of excitement. If they went that far, she might actually get a chance to speak to the hero again. But the problem was that it wouldn't be so simple.
Emilia was not only the Crown Princess, but she also held the position of Saintess, the supreme authority of the Great Temple. It was by no means an easy task.
Divorcing the Crown Princess sounded simple enough, but if things went wrong, it could easily escalate into an all-out war between the imperial palace and the Great Temple.
However, Lydia, who knew the current state of the empire to some extent, realized a flaw in Chris's plan.
"But can we really succeed? The Great Temple has more believers now than ever before... Doesn't that mean the public sentiment is entirely on their side?"
"What do you think is causing the sudden surge in believers?"
"Well... because of the Demon King's army..."
"Exactly. But what if the reason the hero isn't coming to help is blamed on Saintess Emilia? Do you think the number of believers would still grow then?"
"..."
It was a plausible strategy.
If they could undermine the Great Temple's standing in the eyes of the public, and if it was announced that the Saintess Emilia was the cause of their woes, the temple would never be able to maintain its current level of support.
"Of course, at first, they'll try to defend her because she's the Saintess. But as time goes on, and their homes burn and their families die... will they still feel the same?"
"..."
As Chris finished speaking with a smile, Lydia, who had been anxious throughout the conversation, finally smiled as well.
The heavy, complicated feelings she had carried when fleeing to the empire seemed to clear, replaced by a ray of hope.
*Knock, knock.*
While the siblings exchanged smiles, a knock sounded at the drawing room door.
Sensing that it was Emilia—since someone was daring to knock despite his strict orders not to let anyone in—Chris quickly gave Lydia a warning look.
"Lydia!"
"E-Emilia..."
"You must have had a hard time getting here. Are you hurt anywhere?"
"No, I made it back safely thanks to your concern."
The moment Emilia entered, she ignored Chris completely and walked straight to Lydia.
An inexplicable, subtle tension immediately filled the air between them, but Lydia smiled at Emilia as if nothing were wrong.
"You only have a few months left until the birth, right?"
"Yes. About two months?"
"Anyway, I'm glad you're back. The detached palace you'll be staying in isn't ready yet, is it?"
"Yeah. Maybe because I brought so much luggage from the kingdom... it's taking a while."
"Then let's go to my palace."
"I... I'm fine..."
"Don't be silly. Come to my palace, lie down for a bit, and let's eat some sweets while catching up on old times."
Lydia wanted to talk more with her brother, Chris, but for some reason, Emilia was acting unusually friendly and practically dragged her away. Left with no choice, Lydia had to leave the drawing room.
While the hero recruited their new party member, Irene, and set off to subjugate the Demon King's army that was bypassing the desert to attack the Fiore Empire, the Arzen Kingdom was also incredibly busy.
Flooded with countless requests for aid from kingdoms in the western continent, and facing reports that the Demon King's army might attack through the Horon Kingdom, Arzen reorganized its military and supplies.
They also maintained constant contact with the hero to prepare for any emergency.
In the past, they could easily obtain information on the Demon King's army through the Eryther Empire's intelligence department.
Now, however, they had to rely on exchanging information with individual nations or sending out their own agents. This made the flow of information slow and unreliable, significantly increasing their workload.
On top of that, strange news arrived from the border.
The hero was reportedly approaching the royal capital with thousands of people.
After the last report that he had left the Fiore Empire and entered the Erupe Kingdom, contact had been cut off for several days.
Then, out of nowhere, came the news that he had crossed the border, along with other unexpected details.
"Your Majesty, we have identified the people traveling with the hero."
King Edwin, who was buried under a mountain of paperwork in his office just like any other day, listened to the report of the administrator who had gone to investigate the identity of the crowd.
"The people the hero is bringing are refugees from the western continent. It seems he took them with him while they were staying in the Erupe Kingdom."
"Haaaaah..."
A deep sigh escaped Edwin's lips.
The Arzen Kingdom was already struggling with a massive influx of refugees. The news that the hero was bringing even more refugees from another nation only added to his headache.
"Since Carlos is the one bringing them, we can't just heartlessly turn them away... For now, set up a temporary refugee camp outside the capital."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Even now, the refugee camps set up throughout the kingdom were packed.
Food was constantly being consumed by people who had no connection to the kingdom, which was becoming a growing concern.
Yet, if they didn't distribute food, the refugees might turn into bandits or threaten the citizens of the Arzen Kingdom. To prevent that, they had to guarantee at least a basic level of survival.
"So, where is Carlos now?"
"He should be approaching the gates of the capital by now."
"Whew... Well, I should go out and greet him. What about Clara? She'd love to come along if I ask her."
"About that... She is already out there."
Edwin had been scolded by Clara last time for going to greet the hero alone.
Fearing her nagging, he had intended to ask her to join him, but she was already waiting for the hero at the gates.
"Sigh... Let's go then..."
Letting out another sigh at the thought of his sister, Edwin headed toward the gates.
A large crowd had already gathered inside the capital, excited by the news of the hero's return.
While they were eager to see the hero, it was perhaps more accurate to say they had gathered out of sheer curiosity about the new member of the hero's party.
"Brother, you're finally here?"
"..."
Clara was already standing in front of the gates, holding a parasol to block the sun as she waited.
Edwin gave her an incredulous look before turning his gaze in the direction the hero would arrive.
"Brother, I heard the new member of the hero's party is also a woman. And that she's quite strong and beautiful?"
"How did you know that?"
"What do you mean, how? I have my own informant in the Fiore Empire."
"When did you even do that...?"
Edwin was slightly taken aback to hear that Clara, whom he thought had absolutely no interest in politics, had somehow established an informant in the Fiore Empire.
"I have one question."
"What is it?"
"Why does the hero's party only recruit women?"
"..."
Clara's face looked brighter than ever, but the way she spoke through gritted teeth suggested she was hiding her true feelings.
"I mean, are there no strong men? Both in the past and now, why on earth does he only recruit women?"
"Well... I wonder."
Clara was full of complaints about the members of the hero's party, whom she viewed as her rivals.
Edwin had actually thought about this before as well.
But when he thought about it, the answer was surprisingly simple.
Men usually had to lead their families or houses. From birth, their paths were set to obtain noble offices and advance their careers, so they rarely applied to join the hero's party.
On the other hand, noblewomen could not lead their houses before marriage. For them, the only ways to achieve success and status were either marriage or finding another path, which made them much more likely to apply for the hero's party.
The members of the previous hero's party were prime examples.
One wanted to solidify her position as Saintess and use the hero's fame to seduce the Crown Prince. Another wanted to hide her birth status as the child of the Emperor and a commoner mother behind a veil of glory. Another wanted to build renown to ascend to the throne of the Elf Queen...
The applications for the hero's party had always been flooded with noblewomen seeking marriage or career advancement.
"Should I apply for the hero's party too? There's still one spot left, right?"
"What are you going to do if you encounter a monster?"
"Well, I'll just cling to the hero..."
"Then you're not a party member, you're just baggage..."
"How dare you say that!"
Snapping at Edwin's words, Clara raised her hand, pretending to strike him.
The knights and maids watching from behind turned their heads to hide their laughter.
"Oh! There they come!"
Clara pointed and shouted toward a carriage approaching from the end of the road, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The flag of the Arzen Kingdom fluttering on the roof of the carriage made it clear who was inside.
Seeing King Edwin waiting, the coachman stopped the carriage well before the gates and spoke to the passengers inside.
A moment later, the hero stepped out of the carriage.
And then...
"Hero! I missed you so much!"
"Clara!"
Before Edwin could even try to stop her, Clara sprinted toward the hero and threw herself into his arms.
"Hero! Do you have any idea how much I missed you?"
"Ah... yes... Have you been well, Princess?"
"Oh, honestly! I told you to just call me Clara!"
Clara clung to the hero's neck, rubbing her face against his chest in an unabashed display of affection.
Lucia and Irene, who had just stepped out of the carriage behind him, could only watch the scene with dumbfounded expressions.
"You must have suffered so much and barely eaten in the empire! Your face has grown so thin!"
"Well..."
Caressing the hero's face with a look of deep pity, Clara even went so far as to wipe her eyes, putting on a dramatic show of sorrow.
"As the princess of a kingdom, shouldn't you maintain some dignity?"
A low, murderous voice echoed from an entirely unexpected direction.