The Emperor's Solemn Resolve
The Emperor's Solemn Resolve
It was the moment Selvia was reborn as a true emperor, but Daniel quietly let out a laugh.
Seeing Daniel like that, Selvia furrowed her brows for no good reason.
"......Why are you laughing?"
Thinking he had crossed a line, Daniel hastily collected his laughter.
"My apologies. Your Imperial Majesty referred to me so clearly as 'my person,' and I could not contain my joy at heart, so it seems a laugh escaped me."
"You're glad right now......."
Selvia, whose expression had brightened without her knowing it, let out a dry cough.
She reminded herself she must not get swept up in Daniel's way of speaking.
"More importantly, Brigadier General Daniel, I brought out the éclairs you like, so why haven't you taken a single bite?"
"Ah. I was so focused on listening to our conversation that I forgot to taste them. Now that you've mentioned it, I shall try one."
Daniel picked up an éclair and brought it to his mouth.
Seeing that, Selvia swallowed dryly and her eyes lit up.
Thanks to that, Daniel could tell who had made these éclairs.
'Seems like Selvia made them herself.......'
Daniel felt uncomfortable under that gaze, but he held it in and took a bite of the éclair.
The texture he felt then was despairing.
Normally, it should have felt crispy yet soft, but this éclair was soggy and cloying.
'Looks like she opened the oven door midway while using it. And there's a slight fishy smell of egg, so the mix with the flour seems to have failed too.......'
Daniel, having swallowed the chewed éclair, picked up a napkin on the table and wiped his mouth.
Watching Daniel like that, Selvia asked cautiously.
"......How is it?"
He should obviously say it was delicious.
Because he couldn't say anything bad in front of the Emperor.
"It's the worst."
But Daniel's ego, which couldn't lie when it came to desserts, wouldn't allow it.
"To give you my honest impression, the éclair I ate is a dessert that seems made by a baking novice full of nothing but pretentious show. Honestly speaking, if someone sold this in a shop, all they would get is complaints."
As a result, Selvia's complexion hardened.
Her face, overcome with despair, looked as if the word 'Shock' had been stamped on it.
"However."
Daniel paid no mind and continued speaking.
"An éclair is a pastry that involves a rather cumbersome baking process. Even so, if someone decided to make an éclair to serve to another person, they deserve to be treated with due respect."
This was sincere.
"The taste was not good, but I am personally satisfied. Because I believe I ate the sincerity of the person who made this éclair. From that perspective, I can confidently say this is more valuable than any of the countless éclairs scattered around the market."
Selvia, who had been listening to Daniel's words, let out a hollow laugh.
His eloquence knew no bounds.
Listening to him, it felt as though no matter how rude an act one committed, he would forgive it.
Shaking her head side to side, Selvia rose from her seat.
"Alright. The dessert tasting seems to be sufficient, so shall we take a walk to help digest it?"
"A walk. That doesn't sound bad."
Daniel, having accepted Selvia's suggestion, also rose from his seat.
So the two of them walked around the Imperial Palace gardens and chatted lightly.
"......There is a child I met in Penbark. Her name is Namelias, and she is quite a bold child. Even when I said I'd send her back to the Allied Nations, she refused. You can't imagine how flustered I was when I heard her whine that she wanted to stay with my adjutant."
During the walk, Daniel did most of the talking.
It was because Selvia had asked him to tell her about what happened in Penbark.
But right now, Selvia couldn't concentrate on Daniel's words.
All she was doing was recalling the advice her mother had given her in her head.
─ Sweetie. If you want to grow closer, you need physical contact. If you start taking the lead and begin skinship naturally, won't Daniel's heart gradually lean toward you? By nature, people's hearts start pounding from physical contact with the opposite sex, after all.
Skinship! In short, it meant skin-to-skin contact.
When she first heard her mother's words, Selvia had wondered what could possibly be so hard about that.
But when she actually tried to initiate skinship, she became far more nervous than she expected.
To the point that she couldn't even hold his hand properly, even though Daniel was right next to her.
"And General Heinrich was the same as ever. Every time I see him, his muscle mass seems to increase slightly, which is frankly a bit scary. Ah! While I was staying in Penbark, he recommended exercise to me and gave a whole speech about how a healthy body houses a healthy mind......."
Selvia pretended to listen to the story while gradually closing the distance.
As a result, Daniel's hand and Selvia's hand were now swaying precariously at a distance of about 1cm.
Now, if she just mustered a little courage, she could hold Daniel's hand!
However, His Imperial Majesty utterly hesitated to muster that little bit of courage.
'I can't do it......! What if I grab his hand and he thinks I'm strange?'
She was keeping in mind the possibility that Daniel would flinch and shake off her hand.
Given that she had even already shared an embrace with Daniel, one could view making a fuss over holding hands as an overreaction, but to Selvia, walking along holding hands felt more difficult than a sudden embrace.
The possibility that Daniel might end up disliking her was what kept causing internal conflict.
The deeper her conflict grew, the more her face burned hot for no reason.
'But if I don't do anything like this, our walk will soon be over.'
Once the walk ended, she'd have to send Daniel back.
Then she wouldn't know when she'd be able to face him and talk again.
It was the moment Selvia, thinking that now was the only time, mustered her courage and turned to look at Daniel.
Teok─
Her foot caught on a stone and her body began to tilt to one side.
'......Ah.'
Thinking she would fall over just like this, a cold sweat ran down her back.
It was the moment Selvia, thinking she was about to show Daniel a shameful sight, squeezed her eyes shut.
"Your Majesty!"
She thought she heard a surprised voice, and then her body stopped, caught in the very pose it had been falling.
A warm and firm arm had caught Selvia and steadied her.
Thanks to that, Selvia realized she hadn't fallen and slowly opened her eyes.
The first thing she saw was Daniel's face looking down at her.
The distance was so close that even the sound of his breathing could be heard.
Daniel, who had been gently looking down at the flustered Selvia as she sharply inhaled a stray breath, let out a sigh of relief.
"I was startled, thinking you had gotten hurt. You must watch your step as you walk."
"Ah. Th, that is......."
Her voice trembled on its own, so she couldn't continue speaking.
Moreover, the sensation of Daniel's hand wrapping around her shoulder felt so vivid, she was even more embarrassed.
Blushing red and not knowing what to do, Selvia had just been rolling her eyes around uselessly until she spoke in a voice that trailed off into a murmur.
"I'm alright. I am......."
Only then did Daniel lift Selvia's body upright and withdraw his hand.
Standing awkwardly in place, Selvia couldn't look at Daniel and just cast her gaze down for no reason.
Her breathing was ragged.
Her heart pounded as if it would burst, and her mind was going white.
'......Mother was right.'
She fully understood the saying that people's hearts inevitably pound from physical contact with the opposite sex.
Having placed her hand over her chest and regulated her breathing for some time, Selvia glanced at Daniel furtively.
"......It seems to have become more certain for me today. So, Brigadier General Daniel? Please convey this to your adjutant."
Even though her breathing had settled, her face was still flushed all the same, giving her a slightly suggestive appearance.
Perhaps because a single strand of hair was stuck to her lips, she even gave off a defenseless air.
She was far from her usual composure.
It seemed Selvia was unknowingly slightly aroused, but Daniel didn't point it out and simply asked back.
"......What do you mean, Your Majesty?"
After hesitating briefly, Selvia mustered her courage and parted her lips.
"I remember what you said at the Grand Conference Hall. Back then I was doubtful, but......."
The hand Selvia placed over her chest trembled slightly.
"Now I feel like I can do it, too."
Lifting her head, Selvia looked up at Daniel.
Though her eyes glistened with tears as if she was ashamed, Selvia did not back down.
"Daniel. That is, if you wish for it."
Of course, Daniel hadn't the slightest idea what this was all about.
*
"Adjutant. What on earth did you talk about with His Imperial Majesty at the Grand Conference Hall back then?"
Once they were outside the Imperial Palace, Daniel asked, and Lucy tilted her head.
"What conversation do you mean, sir?"
"His Majesty told me to convey a message to you. That she remembers what you said at the Grand Conference Hall. And that now, she feels like she can do it too......."
Lucy, who had been walking along the path with Daniel, came to an unconscious halt.
─ I am prepared to take Kelly's place for Colonel Daniel. Your Majesty, are you prepared to do the same?
Those were clearly words born from countless misunderstandings.
The problem was that she had never met Selvia since then, so there was no way to explain herself.
Lucy's eyes, falling into confusion in real time, trembled in a way rarely seen.
"There was a misunderstanding. It is clearly my fault. Someday......."
Squeezing her eyes shut, Lucy continued in a quivering voice.
"I will explain things to His Imperial Majesty and beg for forgiveness."
Daniel couldn't make heads or tails of it, but he nodded somewhat reluctantly.
'It's probably a story that has little to do with me anyway.'
Daniel simply hoped that the relationship between the two of them would be amicably resolved.