199. In the Shadow of the Flower Garden
199. In the Shadow of the Flower Garden
- 1 -
- ...I beseech you. Please help, my Lady.
Realizing what I meant, the Skeleton Knight immediately knelt on the spot and bowed his head deeply.
"Raise your head."
- Please...!
His loyalty, which showed not a single care for his own pride, was honestly a little unexpected.
Because all I had wanted was a bit more 'honesty'.
But it was also true that I found his reaction all the more pleasing for it.
"You aren't listening."
- This power...
I used 'Darkness' to raise the Skeleton Knight, who wasn't planning on getting up, and spoke toward the door.
"Artemis. Are you outside?"
- Yes, Master.
"Contact Scarlet and have her take this stubborn child to Evangeline."
- Understood.
I was in a situation where I couldn't move from here right now.
But a 'simple' problem like this was something the ladies I left behind in my dungeon could handle on their own.
- Thank you!
Whether he noticed that, or simply because I had decided to help him...
The Skeleton Knight deeply bowed his waist once more.
The reason was unknowable, but at the very least, he was definitely deeply moved.
"Subservience can be an excellent strategy depending on the timing. I will remember the loyalty you showed for your master."
- I shall never forget Lady Libertas's grace!
Having sent the summoned creature out like that, I pondered the unknown necromancer for a moment...
"Master. I've brought your tea."
"Nirvana. Thank you."
Only then was I able to finish that day in comfort.
- 2 -
For the next few days, I stayed at the palace of the Baritra Marquis Household and welcomed the guests who came to see me.
In the mornings, I greeted guests or examined the state of the Marquis household.
In the afternoons, I combined dates with Serica or grasped the current state of Pandemonium with other subordinates.
In the evenings, it was a routine of greeting yet more guests who came calling.
'There was no particular gain.'
Neither regarding talented individuals, nor the politics of the Demon Realm.
It was time spent without anything that could be called a great profit. Though I had imprinted the new master of the Demon Realm onto the minds of the Demon Realm.
"My Master. This is the correspondence we received today."
Amidst such a busy daily life, it was on the evening of the fifth day that I received the news that the Demon Queen wished to meet me.
"Thank you."
"And..."
"Who is it?"
The one who guided her handmaiden in was Kamaya.
However, this was not her acting as a herald, but merely a result of one of the schemes I had carried out, a coincidence of fate.
For the past few days, I had made Nirvana and her actively roam around inside Pandemonium.
If figures with enough status to cross the walls of the Marquis palace were 'those whom one could profit from gaining a good relationship with', then wouldn't 'those who haven't yet bloomed but are worth investing in' be outside the walls of that palace?
The thought was that among such people, the desperate ones would find it hard to miss an opportunity like myself.
Though I didn't have much expectation. Discovering buried talent was originally like finding a pearl in the mud.
"It's an honor to meet you for the first time. Lady Libertas. I am one who serves Her Highness."
"... Come in."
I hadn't expected that the Demon Queen's messenger would be caught on the fishing line cast out like that.
The handmaiden who came this time was not the head maid. But if she was trusted enough to bring a secret letter sent by the Demon Queen, she was at least someone trustworthy.
"This is unexpected. For Her Highness to send someone in secret."
When I tilted my head and spoke, the handmaiden bowed deeply and answered.
"Her Highness expressed her regret that the Lady does not send letters."
I didn't know whether that 'regret' was genuine or false, but it at least meant the Demon Queen was aware that I wasn't making use of my relationship with her.
"Please tell her that I, too, feel regretful."
"Her Highness conveyed her wish to share tea and light refreshments, not just a message."
Only then did I unfold the 'invitation' the handmaiden had offered.
The thick scent of iris flowed out from the envelope.
The letter, stamped with the mana I had felt from the Demon Queen as a seal, contained a message requesting that I come to meet her the next morning.
The fact that even the time was specified meant this was not a meeting without reason, at the very least.
"Understood. You may return."
"Shall I inform her that you will be coming?"
"Please do."
"Understood. May you be at peace, then."
The bowing handmaiden pulled her hood back on and departed under Kamaya's protection.
"Rita..."
I put down my teacup and turned my gaze.
Serica was looking at me with an uneasy expression.
"What are you worrying about, Serica?"
I smiled as if to soothe her anxious eyes. But her expression didn't brighten.
I had already revealed to her that the Demon Queen had sent me a bouquet. And she knew about my face-to-face meeting with her in the garden.
"I don't know much about power or politics... but I don't think it would be good to get caught up in the active movements of Her Highness, who hasn't done anything until now."
Sure enough. Her worries touched upon that area.
"If perhaps..."
"Serica."
I softly cut off her words, gently wrapped my arm around her shoulders, and whispered.
"Don't worry. I'm not foolish enough to just be swept up in a storm."
"Then...?"
"Rather, I intend to become the eye of it. You know that, don't you?"
Watching her expression, which had been looking up at my face with worry, gradually relax, I lifted Serica's hand and kissed the back of it.
Her face flushed bright red.
"Thank you. For worrying about me."
"Wor... worry, nothing. I don't know about worrying about the people who might oppose you."
"You might be right about that."
She, whose face had turned red, rose from her seat and placed down the various letters Kamaya had brought according to their classification.
"Here. I've sorted all the correspondence."
"I'm always grateful."
"What for? I do it because I like it. Well then..."
She gave my cheek a light kiss. A smile formed at her always lovely action.
But as soon as she left, my expression cooled coldly.
The meeting in the garden.
That place was also where I had first met the Demon Queen.
If it had meaning as what is commonly called 'the place of our first meeting', it would be quite a romantic proposal, but...
'There's no way it has such a simple meaning.'
Above all, why did it have to be tomorrow?
That afternoon, the Marquis of Baritra had invited me to his study.
He hadn't said what the business was, but it was obviously to discuss the remaining stories related to Serica's marriage talks.
Yet the Demon Queen scheduled a meeting at exactly the same time.
There was no way I could feel this was a simple coincidence.
'I wonder if she wants to know my choice.'
A faint smile appeared on my lips in the mirror.
Among the visitors who had continued since meeting her, there were definitely some who acted as her eyes and ears.
"Well then..."
I slowly rose from my seat.
The order of meetings had been decided from the moment I heard the message delivered by the Demon Queen's handmaiden.
As long as I was staying in the Marquis's palace anyway, slightly postponing his schedule didn't mean I would owe him a great debt.
"Artemis. Have Louise deliver this to the Marquis."
"Yes, Master."
Handing the letter to be sent to the Marquis to my subordinate, I approached the window and looked up at the sky.
Even in the Demon Realm, the night sky was black.
And the two moons embedded there were looking down at me with half-closed eyes.
The Demon King's gaze I had seen on Ascension Day seemed to overlap upon them.
- 3 -
"Her Highness is waiting."
A handmaiden greeted me at the entrance to the garden.
It was the head maid who had brought the bouquet to me that day. She bowed politely as soon as she saw me.
"Please guide me."
"Please come this way."
The morning garden displayed a different beauty from before.
Under the red sky that felt clear, the irises dyed black showed an even more vivid light.
The petals did not lose their deep light even under the dazzling sunlight.
"You've come."
And at the voice that came through them, I slowly stopped walking and bowed my waist.
As before, showing courtesy but not excessively.
"Your Highness, the Demon Queen."
When I raised my head, her purple eyes made me realize something anew once more.
'She is definitely connected to this body of mine.'
That my reflection in those eyes looked so very much like her.
Sarak.
She, who had been sitting on the artistically arranged crescent-shaped bench, slowly rose.
Her hair, slightly wavy and flowing down similarly to mine, rippled at her back, and her eyes, revealed beneath her neat bangs, wavered slightly.
An elegant figure. But I could feel strength gradually entering her expression, which somewhere held a sense of futility.
"... Raise your head, and come closer here."
A slight tremor was felt in her voice. Whether it was intentional or not was impossible to know.
I moved my steps slowly while meeting her eyes.
The narrow path between the black flowers.
As I approached her over it, I somehow felt as if the surrounding air was subtly solidifying.
It meant the mana in this vicinity was under her influence.
But magically, it wasn't delicate. It was simply being drawn by the immense power she possessed, a state that left plenty of room to be exploited, so to speak.
'She isn't outstanding as a mage.'
As I approached with that impression, the Demon Queen greeted me.
"We meet again. Libertas."
Her eyes scanned my face as if searching for something. As if seeking something.
And soon, she put on a smile filled with goodwill.
"I felt it when I first saw you too... but you are truly beautiful."
"You flatter me. It is Your Highness who is the most beautiful person in this world."
"That is flattery indeed. Though what I said is the truth."
The Demon Queen's gaze, who had spoken firmly, lingered on my lips for a moment before slowly rising to meet my eyes.
Complex emotions were smoldering in those eyes.
"Libertas. You... perhaps."
The moment she hesitated and paused her words. I felt the mana in the garden stir.
Her agitation was riding the flow of mana.
A truth she wanted to speak, but was hesitant about.
"Your father is..."
But those words could not be finished.
The flow of mana that had been flowing majestically through the garden, dominated by Stella, froze for a moment.
As if time had frozen, a stillness where not a single petal trembled.
It was a reaction like that of a herbivore facing a predator.
"Oh my... there was someone here?"
A soft voice sliced through that silence.
A woman stood at the entrance of the garden.
A woman with long blonde hair, looking just like a classic Western beauty.
But her presence was like the sun itself, turning even the splendid clothes and appearances of the nobles lined up behind her into mere shadows.
"I'm sorry. I didn't imagine someone would be in the garden."
Words spoken with a gentle smile. But there was a hidden blade in those words.
"Semira, Sister..."
At the Demon Queen's stiffening words, I could guess her identity. And also why she had come here.
She who called Stella Lilith 'Sister', while simultaneously being the only one who could be here leading nobles.
"Hello, Stella. I suddenly felt like having tea outdoors today."
Her voice carried familiarity, but the chill hidden behind it froze even the mana of the garden.
I could feel the mana Stella had been dominating the surroundings with gradually weakening.
"I was just looking for a spot with everyone here."
The Demon King's first legal wife, a woman who did not leave her authority as mere decoration within the Demon King's castle and never ceased refining it.
"But..."
Her gaze turned toward me.
That look seemed gentle at a glance, but at the same time, coolness and sharpness seeped into one corner of it.
"Who is this?"
A voice and eyes that somehow let me know this was a question she already knew the answer to.
I pondered briefly.
How much she knew about the relationship between Stella and myself, and what attitude would be best to show in this place.
And without turning my gaze toward Stella, I slowly bowed my waist and then opened my mouth toward Ishtar.
"It is a pleasure to meet you. Your Highness, the First Queen. I am Lady Libertas, a Dungeon Lord of the surface."
"Hmm."
A smile spread on the lips of her, Samira Ishtar, who had been staring at me.
It was like the smile of a hunter who had found something they had been searching for for a long time.
But at the same time, I didn't miss the other emotion flickering deep within her eyes.
Was it curiosity, or wariness?
Or was it something similar to what Stella possessed... that something?
'Either way, I can use it.'
I drew in the mana I had spread around.
Like a predator hiding its claws.
So that Queen Semira would regard me as a being of no consequence.
At the same time, I didn't miss the emotion Stella must have felt the moment her mana was disrupted.
The rage of having the moment she was offering her 'goodwill' to me interrupted.
Yet, the despair of one who could still do nothing.
A subtle feeling arose.
'It's ripening on its own and helping me.'
I pulled back the lips that wanted to smile and hid myself behind a blank expression.