Deja Vu in the Emperor's Warm Embrace
Deja vu—have you ever felt it? Ashtoret's heart was in utter turmoil right now. The sudden destruction of the Debutante Ball banquet hall, the repair budget that came with it. And the hardliners who had been rapidly gaining power lately. The aftermath had caused the volume of documents piling up on her desk to noticeably increase.
Normally, they would be filtered once by the imperial household, then undergo a second review through the chief administrator before only the truly essential ones reached her. But lately, there were far too many matters that required her personal approval. Thanks to that, her nights of working late had become the norm.
...That wasn't a big problem, though. Back during the war between monsters and humans, her body had broken down from physical exhaustion before she even had time to feel mental fatigue. More than anything, she'd been the chief administrator ever since her own mother was alive, so this workload was familiar territory.
But right now...
—Rub rub...
"So waaarm... Feels so gooood... Smells niiice... Hehe... Hug meee..."
"Uh, th-th-th-this, n-no, I mean, uh, w-well, ah, um, uh..."
Her words kept tangling up. Her head spun in a daze.
Wh-what is this situation...?
Wasn't it 1 a.m. right now? Aurelia had definitely informed her that she'd put him to bed, so why was he awake? No, more importantly, why was he clinging to her?
"Uuuungh... So squiiiishy..."
"Eek...! Th-that tickles... W-wait, just a mo—ah..."
Kael, who had wrapped his arms fiercely around her waist, wriggled even deeper into her embrace. The sensation of his snow-white hair brushing between her breasts made her shoulders twitch. Holding someone like this in her arms... it was a first for her.
"I-I'm n-not your mo—"
Ashtoret, fumbling to gather her scattered thoughts, finally moved her body. Her hand, which had dropped the fountain pen, trembled as she carefully grasped the snowy-white bundle in her arms and tried to gently push him away.
She had no experience raising children. Crois and her other children had mostly been looked after by their fathers and maids. This world followed a one-wife-multiple-husbands system, after all. Ashtoret had merely watched from afar.
Actually holding a spoiled, clingy child like this... this was her first time. And besides, wasn't this supposed to be a man's role, not a woman's? That was always why she'd looked at Aurelia so strangely. Why did that woman accept her child's affection with the kind of touch usually reserved for men?
But...
"Uuuungh... Emperor mooommmyyy..."
"Wh-what...? What do you—"
Emperor Your Majesty... Hug meee... Your body is sooo warmmm... Warmer than Mommyyy...
"Th-that, uh... Wha...?"
How on earth was she supposed to handle this? He was still just a little boy, no matter what. If she pried him off too roughly like one might a girl, he could get hurt. But indulging this kind of clinginess... she'd never done anything like it before.
Floundering helplessly, her hands wandering aimlessly in the air, Ashtoret finally placed her hands on Kael's body with utmost caution. One hand on his small shoulder. The other on his snow-white, soft hair.
...So incredibly soft.
She tried not to think about it, but it was softer than she'd imagined. No, that wasn't what she should be focusing on right now. The moment she tried to pull her hand away in a panic—
"Unh...? Pet me moooore..."
Kael grabbed her hastily retreating hand with his tiny ones and placed it back on his head. At that sight, her breath caught for a moment. Her mind went blank, and her heart began pounding wildly. Ashtoret's cheeks flushed bright red as she bit her lip and moved her hand—very, very carefully and awkwardly.
—Pet... Peeeet... Pet pet...
"I-is this... how it's done...?"
"Yeees... That's how you do iiiit..."
"I... see..."
As she carefully stroked his hair, Kael shivered all over and let out a goofy laugh. He buried his face firmly against her open collarbone, sniffing deeply, and wrapped both arms tightly around her waist again—as if he'd never let go.
"Mooom... I-is it okay for a womaaan like me to pet you thiiis way...?"
"Huh...? Feels amaaazing to meee...?"
"Ah... I see...?"
"Yeees... Your hands feel so gooood, Emperor... Kinda awkward, but I looove it... Do it moooore... I was so loooneeely... Do you know where Mommy went...?"
"Aurelia is currently deep in the Imperial Capital Center, handling the hardliners who've been making recent waves, so she's not here righ—"
Ashtoret's mouth twitched mid-sentence.
—Please, don't tell him why I left the bed.
Aurelia's final plea as she'd bowed her head after informing her that Kael was asleep. Recalling that, Ashtoret quickly shut her mouth, cleared her throat softly, and forced the corners of her lips upward.
"Aurelia's currently at the capital center where some troops are needed. She mentioned a shortage of manpower."
"Aaaah... I seeee... Mommy didn't tell me, so I didn't knooow..."
"Y-yeah... Just, don't cling so tiiightly for now..."
"Nooo wayyy... Your body is so hoooot... When I squiiiish up like thiiiis, it's all toasty and waaarm and feels so gooood..."
"Uh-uh-uh..."
Kael giggled dopily and wriggled even deeper into her embrace. As his delicate skin pressed closer and closer, Ashtoret blankly opened her mouth.
Unlike Aurelia, her body itself was much hotter and warmer. It wasn't a fever or illness— it was just how the Solaium bloodline was, with fire and light attributes perfectly intertwined. That energy teasingly tickled Kael's darkness attribute, making him shiver happily as he burrowed into her arms with an even more blissful expression.
...What do I do with this.
Ashtoret swallowed a deep internal sigh. Prying him off by force now was practically impossible. If even the tiniest scratch happened, how would Aurelia look at her tomorrow? That woman had straight-up said she could lop off her head in one stroke. Hadn't she drawn her Iltoyangdan without a moment's hesitation the instant she saw Crois and Kael close together?
"Uh, umm... Young Master Kael...?"
"Yees...? Emperor...? Whaaat...?"
"I-I'm almost done with these documents soon, so I won't be able to hold you like thiiiis then..."
"Ohhh... I seeee..."
Kael nodded blankly. Then he wriggled upward even more. Finally...
"Nngh... Col... Cold..."
"Huh...?"
"Hehe..."
He settled right on her lap. Giggling, he draped his arms around her neck.
"Then... hurry up and finiiiish... Sleep with meeee..."
"Wha—?! Wh-what are you saying! Sharing the emperor's bedchamber...!?"
"Unh... Can't I...?"
In that instant, a whimpering voice seeped into her ear.
With his face buried in her collarbone, eyes brimming with tears and on the verge of crying, Ashtoret's shoulders twitched at the sight.
"N-no, I mean... Even so, the emperor's bedchamber..."
"Uuuungh... Emperor... Aren't you clooose with Mommy...?"
"W-well, close isn't quite... We had a good ruler-and-vassal relationship. We didn't exactly share drinks or anything like thaaat..."
"Hiiiing... Then... just hold meeee... I wanna sleep togetherrr... The super cooool emperor, sleep with meeee... I'm loooneeely..."
"If you're lonely, then why not go to Croi—"
...s? Ashtoret clamped her lips shut before the words could escape.
Didn't I just see that? My own daughter eyeing him like prey with those smoldering eyes? Leave Kael alone with her?
Way too dangerous. Even if it was her daughter—even her eldest, the crown princess to whom she'd passed succession—Aurelia and that lich were absent right now. Sending Kael to Crois would be...
...no different from tossing a juicy hunk of meat unprotected before a beast starved to the brink of madness.
"...Emperooor...?"
"...The bed might be uncomfortable, but... are you really okay with that?"
"Yes! No problem at aaaall... Hold meeee. I wanna sleep together... You don't wanna sleep with me, do you...?"
"No, that's not it, but..."
Ashtoret pressed her temple.
"...Sigh. Fine. I'll finish the documents soon, so just wait a little."
"Yeees... I'll keep waitingggg..."
"......"
...Why did this feel like she was the man here?
The dark predawn passed, giving way to an early morning tinged with a dry, bluish hue.
Aurelia, having subdued the hardliners in the deep alleys of the Imperial Capital Center, headed straight to the room. She wanted to see Kael's face as soon as possible. Was he perhaps sniffling because she wasn't there? Or trembling in anxiety without being held in her arms?
Come to think of it, whenever Kael wasn't in her arms, he always shivered and started to whimper. When she'd urgently wake him asking what was wrong, he'd shake his head saying nothing was, just a bad dream, then burrow back into her embrace. Sometimes he'd fall soundly asleep the moment she held him without waking him, looking so relieved.
So she carefully opened the door...
"...K-Kael...? Kael...!"
But the bed was empty. Even flipping the covers revealed no snow-white hair. Her breath caught. Anxiety gripped her heart in an instant.
—Shhh...
Bluish mana quietly flowed from her body. Holding her breath, she heightened her senses. She searched for Kael's presence. Praying desperately that he hadn't been kidnapped or something.
The moment that thought crossed her mind, chilling killing intent began to pervade the hallway.
Aurelia followed the faint residual trace of her mana left on Kael. A familiar, dim trail that a child couldn't fully control yet. Tracing that presence led her steps...
—Creeeak...
...to a certain door, which she opened...
"...Yaaawn... M-Mommyyy~ Mooommmy~"
"Mmm... Kael... What are you doing right now... Huh...? Aurelia...? W-wait, don't misunderstand—"
Two figures on the bed. And...
Ashtoret, clad in a light negligee.
Aurelia's eyes blazed and froze over.
"......"
The longsword at her waist slowly slid free.