Chapter 76 — Everyone Has a Plausible Plan (4)
Chapter 76 — Everyone Has a Plausible Plan (4)
Grünent and Helen visited the tea room to pay their respects to Erenier.
The tea room, enclosed by glass walls, was magically warmed and lush with greenery even in midwinter.
A beautiful place where one could scarcely imagine the desolate plains and the chilly wind outside. Seated there in black attire, Roan and Erenier looked at once foreign and bewitching.
"I greet Lady Erenier for the first time. I am Grünent, who has become His Majesty's concubine."
"I greet you for the first time. I am Helen, entrusted with my lord's protection."
Erenier's gentle gaze was strict. Having received their greetings, Erenier responded in kind.
"I am His Majesty's betrothed, Erenier. Your beauty is indeed as outstanding as I'd heard, Grünent. Helen, you have made an excellent choice. His Majesty is a master worthy of a lifetime of service. I heard that both of you attended him well in my absence. Thank you."
Just as when she faced the Archduke, her manner toward others differed markedly from when she spoke with Roan. As the future queen, she addressed the concubine and the mistress with a resolute attitude.
And the moment her words ended, a message surfaced before Roan's eyes.
[Message: Long-term Quest — Replicate a skill from your betrothed, Erenier!]
Roan's frown was filtered away and did not show. It had been two months since he finished Helen's route. A message he had almost forgotten.
'A long-term quest...? Then does that mean there'll be short-term quests going forward?'
[Message: Time Limit — 364:23:59:59]
[Message: A penalty will be imposed if the quest is not completed within the time limit.]
'Penalty.' A word whose mere existence was unsettling.
The message and clock fixed themselves to the upper-right corner of his vision. In letters sharper and bolder than ever before.
There had been time-limited romanceable targets in the game. Some would move to another region as time passed, others were fated to die in an accident.
So, with a hundred concessions, he could accept the time limit. But a penalty?
That was not an element in the game.
'Does it want me to hurry through the quests? Why...?'
The quest itself was not difficult.
Erenier's affection was +100.
She was already officially my woman, and I didn't even need to complete a route for her.
That quest would likely be over tonight.
Roan sank into thought.
Meanwhile, Erenier was being introduced to Rauka, Grünent's escort, and she was asking the women this and that.
The first question was this.
"How was your first night with His Majesty?"
He nearly spat out his tea.
Is it all right to ask something like that?
Is it all right between a queen and a concubine?
Grünent was accustomed to the royal atmosphere. Even if Erenier were to become queen, wouldn't she show discomfort if a line was crossed?
But Grünent smiled brightly.
Whether it was her social poise, the 'Politics' skill concealing displeasure, or simply that a queen was allowed to ask such things of a concubine, he could not tell from her expression alone.
At length, the emotion Grünent's Attentive Hearing conveyed was
joy and pride.
"Not long after you, Lady Erenier, departed for the battlefield, I had my first experience. I, too, had not received advice from the ladies-in-waiting, so I was utterly clumsy."
Rauka was staring off into the distance, her face dyed crimson. Her friend Helen, too, seemed to be hearing this for the first time, her eyes wide as she focused on Grünent's words.
Grünent's expression turned dreamy, as if she were looking back on a dream she'd had.
"But His Majesty held me tenderly. He taught me slowly, and... came inside me."
And Erenier, with her usual countenance, was focused on Grünent's words. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, but her expression and voice were softer than ever.
"...His Majesty taught you tenderly...."
Roan seemed to be the only one who noticed.
His pupils wavered violently.
The emotion contained in Erenier's low, sigh-filled murmur was.
Hate.
Just whom could that emotion be directed at?
Roan kept his mouth firmly shut.
His clenched teeth pressed hard against each other. It was no coincidence that the former Demon King's warning crossed his mind.
It could be directed at me, for having pushed her away all this time, or it could be at Grünent, who took her place.
Either way, it was a target Erenier could not rashly lay a hand on. Perhaps that was why her fury was all the greater.
But the emotion carried in Erenier's next words was utterly different.
"You'll... do that for me too, won't you...?"
The sorrow and hope that followed.
The three women exchanged longing, envy, jealousy, and anticipation.
Once Erenier entered the imperial palace, they would likely see each other every day anyway. Grünent and Helen exchanged a little light conversation with Erenier and then withdrew.
Left alone with Roan, Erenier smiled.
"You really do have an eye for people, Roan♡"
"Thank you."
"They're lovely young ladies. Well-educated and aware of their place. I like them.
People of that caliber are worth accepting, even if they are lowly humans♡"
There was no lie in her words.
Then, was that earlier glimpse of hatred directed at me? To avoid revealing his wariness, Roan listened to Erenier in silence.
"I'm sorry about earlier, Roan."
Erenier apologized abruptly.
"Hm?"
"About my father."
Erenier set down her teacup and fiddled with the handle.
"My father is an uncomfortable person."
It was difficult to say yes or no, so Roan hesitated.
"My father is a powerful man. That's why he is always coveting your position, Roan."
Erenier brought up a story that was now an open secret, not even a secret anymore.
"He tried to challenge the Former Emperor as well, but the timing wasn't right.... Right now he's stagnant. My father must be impatient. That is why he wishes to suppress your strength by whatever means, not through his own pure power."
"For example, you?"
Erenier's complexion darkened.
"...I, too, yes. I'm part of my father's means."
Roan observed her mood.
No sadness was visible on her mask-like face, which always wore the same expression, but the emotion her 'Attentive Hearing' conveyed was grief.
Was this Erenier's own way of surviving?
"Is that why you are not on good terms with your father?"
"...Huh?"
Erenier's eyes widened slightly in surprise.
Roan spoke frankly.
"Around autumn, you suddenly contacted me. Saying the gift I sent had arrived."
"Ah...."
Erenier let out a small sigh as she realized what Roan was referring to.
"I heard the Archduke calling for you. ...It didn't sound like a father calling for a beloved daughter."
Erenier's face, which had darkened as if shadowed, now grew pale. It felt as if all the blood had drained from her face at once.
"Why? It may be a rude question, but you will soon be my family, and I must keep the great lords in check. I would appreciate an answer."
The words seemed indifferent but were warm.
Erenier's eyes clouded and wavered. Tears were welling up.
When she finally opened her lips, her voice trembled.
"...Because I failed to capture your heart, Roan...."
"Hm...."
That was within the expected range.
She had been placed by the Archduke to somehow steal or cloud the emperor's heart, and he must have thought his daughter was not doing her job.
Indeed, the former Demon King had kept her distant.
But if that alone was the reason, I wanted to keep Erenier close.
This was Evirgio.
The queen could not participate in politics.
She might perform magic in wartime, but as a non-administrator she could not even attend the imperial council.
It would be very difficult for her to make any decision favorable to the Dark Archduke unless she built a faction and manipulated the nobility. The central officials also kept the lords in check. Her faction would struggle to surpass the Small Council’s faction.
The Archduke, too, would find it difficult to exert strong influence over my decisions simply because he was a maternal relative.
This was a place where everyone must bow their heads to the strongest. So long as I was not broken. Unlike a human king who had to mind the lords.
"So your situation might improve if you grow closer to me. Once you enter the imperial palace, the Archduke will not be able to interfere directly. Just wait a little longer. Erenier."
If she simply served as queen, bore my child, and helped manage internal affairs, would there be few problems?
Anyway, the likelihood of my child becoming emperor was extremely low. The next emperor would be whoever overthrew me, and as of now, only the future Hero could accomplish such a thing.
At Roan's words, the laughter vanished from Erenier's face. Her expression was grave beyond anything he had seen before.
"Roan, all this time...."
Erenier shook her head to herself.
"That day, what happened to you?"
He could not answer that question.
Roan remained silent.
But it seemed she hadn't expected an immediate answer. Erenier continued.
"Grünent and Helen both said that you are gentle. The day I departed, you were kinder than ever before. The Roan of now, the Roan who is considerate of me... I'm sorry to say this, but before, I could never even imagine it...."
The former Demon King seemed to have had a ruffian's temperament to begin with, and on top of that he had been deeply wary of the Dark Archduke and Erenier.
There was bound to be a difference between my attitude and that guy's, who had no intention of getting close, when dealing with Erenier, who went to the battlefield in my stead.
I couldn't reveal the reason, but I could offer comfort.
"Mm. I thought... I should change. That I should live properly. I simply happened to have the occasion for it, that's all."
Roan's hand touched Erenier's cheek.
"I understand your unease. It may be hard to believe. You have not seen what kind of person the changed me is. It's all right. We have plenty of time."
Erenier gently closed her eyes. Her jet-black eyelashes trembled faintly.
Beneath them, a clear teardrop, like a tiny bead, fell.
Erenier took Roan's hand.
"Roan. For you... I would do anything. There is nothing I cannot believe of you."
Her elegantly upswept midnight-blue hair gleamed like ebony. The nape of her neck, slightly tilted, was dazzlingly white in contrast. She looked so pitiful; Erenier was like a single bloom of a flower.
She was affectionate and lovely.
Roan caressed Erenier's lips.
Those small lips at the tip of his finger were soft,
warm, and utterly red.
To her lips, which professed absolute trust,
Roan's lips met hers.
"...Ah...♡"
As the brief kiss ended, a sigh of admiration escaped Erenier's lips. Roan, meeting her eyes, smiled.
"Spring would be best for the wedding, as expected."
As if a light were shining from somewhere, Erenier's face brightened.
It was the brightest expression Erenier had worn in all of Roan's memory. Unable to say anything, she simply nodded.
She was so adorable that Roan laughed.
"If you need more time to prepare...."
"N-no, Roan♡ Spring, I like spring!"
Erenier shook her head fervently.
"Right. That's why I, too, wanted to wait until spring if possible, but...."
Roan looked down. Erenier's gaze followed the line of his eyes.
Erenier swallowed her breath.
Inside Roan's trousers, it was growing larger.
Roan smiled wryly.
"It seems hard to save it until then."
"N-no, I, I too, with Roan, quickly...♡"
Erenier's eyes looked ready to pop out.
Erenier stammered. The hand holding the teacup trembled violently. She covered it with her other hand to try to steady it, but both hands were trembling, so it did little good.
Seeing this, Roan's eyes glinted with mischief.
"...Then shall we hold a gift presentation ceremony tonight?"
"A gif...!"
Erenier's red pupils shifted slightly toward the ceiling. With a sudden start, Roan half-rose from his seat.
Because she might faint, like last time during the communication.
But Erenier let out a deep breath and barely regained her composure.
Roan nearly bumped heads with her. Because Erenier, having collected herself, abruptly sprang to her feet.
"...Erenier?"
"Now is not the time to be like this...!"
Erenier's cheeks were redder than ever.
"Quickly, milk, a milk bath... No, the dress first... My hair, what about my hair...?"
Roan stared blankly at the panicked Erenier.
Women sure had a lot to prepare.
Erenier's eyes met Roan's.
"I, I must go, Roan♡ I shall see you later at the New Year Festival banquet♡♡♡"
Erenier fled the tea room as if escaping.