Waiting, Part 2
"I… heard something. The Demon Queen, your legal wife, got pregnant, and the pregnancy seal was unlocked, right?"
"Th-that's right."
"And the second one to get pregnant was… Queen Katarina of Ventorino?"
"……."
Her voice was as soft and gentle as ever, but for some reason Valdes felt a cold sweat gathering along his back. If this had been his old self, he would have only scratched his ear and brushed it off, or answered with some lazy, dismissive remark about what she wanted him to do about it. Now, though, he couldn't get away with that.
"It's fine. I'm a broad-minded woman, after all."
His gaze followed the hand that slid lightly over her breast and came to rest there, and then drifted downward to the swell beneath it.
She really is broad-minded. Not just in spirit, either.
"And."
Beatrice hugged him. It felt a little different from the embrace she'd given him a moment ago. Her blue eyes, touched with a faint, wistful light, rose to his face, and then she leaned closer and closer until their lips finally met.
Smack.
"You forgave me. Me, who committed a sin that can never be washed away. So… just being able to become your woman, and to bear your child, is enough to make me happy."
"……."
Beatrice lowered herself a little and leaned against his chest.
Valdes felt strangely out of sorts. Truth be told, there were still times he could hardly believe it himself. That he and this woman had become something like lovers. More precisely, that he had forgiven Beatrice and even begun to imagine a future in which they became husband and wife. No, in a practical sense, they were already as good as married.
Either way, he had never intended to forgive the betrayers who had turned on him. And yet, when Beatrice had burst into tears and displayed that stubborn, aching devotion of hers, his resolve had softened, and he had ended up forgiving her. It still didn't feel entirely real, but neither did he regret it.
He had been moved by how single-minded she was, and Beatrice was beautiful. Men, especially men like him who had always had a weakness for women, couldn't help but falter in front of a beautiful woman.
"You're pretty."
"Hehe, that's a compliment I haven't heard in a while. It really… makes me happy."
"I'll give you more of them from now on."
"Compliments are nice, but I'd rather have you whisper your love to me."
"Because you hear it often?"
"That too, but it's a little different. It can't be the same coming from someone who means nothing to you and from the man you love."
The queen's eyes curved seductively.
It was an expression where the gentleness of a generous, mature woman existed side by side with the sensual decadence of a woman who delighted in tempting men. And her hands? Beatrice was already stroking his body with easy familiarity, the light brush of her fingertips sending a ticklish shiver through his skin.
Valdes couldn't help wondering how she had managed to remain unmarried all this time. With that much carnal allure, she must have been pursued by countless men. Besides, if she married him, wouldn't he at least gain the title of royal consort, if not become king himself?
Beatrice had turned away every one of them and waited only for him, the man everyone believed had died long ago. Before he knew it, a grin was trying to climb his lips, and he had to force it back.
"Then?"
"You've told me I'm beautiful plenty of times before, haven't you?"
"Well… yes."
Among nobles, one of the usual courtesies was to compliment a woman's appearance—especially a woman of rank. Valdes had done the same, as he had been taught, offering such praise to her and to countless other women back when she was still a princess.
"But you never finished this one. The words I wanted to hear most of all."
"Bess."
"Yes?"
"…I love you."
"…Yes. I love you too."
He could no longer hold back the twitch at the corner of his mouth. And since he couldn't afford to show a foolish expression, Valdes simply kissed the lovely woman who had lifted her head to him while saying she loved him.
Mm, ah, mmmph, chuup, smack. …smooch, kiss, kiss… lick.
If Mercede and Mari had seen them, they would have been appalled by the depth of the kiss the two shared before reluctantly parting and staring at one another with eyes thick with desire. In both of them, deep inside, there was still the urge to tear off their clothes and roll around in bed at once, but for now they forced themselves to wait.
They had time. They still had plenty to do. A little more waiting wouldn't hurt anything.
"Haah… for now, let's just finish what we were talking about."
"What we were talking about? Love, then? Hehe."
"Don't tease me."
"Yes, yes."
Beatrice slipped away from him with a light movement and sat back down on her chair. Valdes also took a seat in another chair nearby. It seemed the bedroom had only held one chair before, but now there were two, which meant she'd probably had a second one brought in in anticipation of his visit.
"For now, the next target is what I said earlier: the two Heroes."
"You're planning to join the Hero's party and either kill them or corrupt them, right? And in the process, you can travel from kingdom to kingdom and get close to the high-ranking people there."
As expected of a queen, she grasped at once what he'd already explained to the princesses.
"Exactly. I originally meant to get the title of promising knight of Ulsro for that, but this seems easier."
"It probably is. Hmm… then what about the saintess?"
"Claudi? Hm. If possible, it would be nice to corrupt her and leave, but…."
"Because of time?"
"Yeah."
The event to recruit the Hero's party would most likely be held in the Holy Kingdom, and even within that nation, probably near the Papal See. After all, it was an event that would be broadcast across the entire continent, and an opportunity to raise the Goddess Church's authority.
Those corrupt priests in the Papal See wouldn't pass up an opportunity like this.
Human beings sometimes seemed least interested in worldly affairs precisely when their desires were the most steadfast. Of course, not everyone was like that, but faith, the power of holiness, and desire were all separate things. One could be devout and yet born with almost no holy power, while another could have outstanding talent for sacred magic without being all that religious. Still, the two were not entirely unrelated. There were quite a few cases where faith caused holy power to grow stronger.
"The event itself won't be short, but chances to meet Claudi probably won't be all that many."
"Saintesses are busy people."
"Which makes it even more of a pain."
In the Ventorino Kingdom, several favorable conditions had come together, allowing him to meet Katarina—and Clara—frequently. For one thing, by sheer luck, there had been a day when the kingdom's two top fighters, both stationed permanently at the royal castle, were away at the same time, and he had also been able to control some of their movements through the Yin Crest.
But that wouldn't be possible in the Papal See. Compared with Ventorino, whose magical forces were somewhat lacking, the many priests stationed in the Holy Kingdom would surely keep a close watch on his covert movements. As someone who carried demonic blood in part, holy magic was an especially troublesome and incompatible element for him.
"Even the Yin Crest magic probably won't work there…?"
"It probably won't. The same goes for charm magic. I built it on succubus principles, after all."
"Hmm… but there have been cases where priests fell under demonic abilities, haven't there?"
"True, but it's still difficult. First I'd have to weaken her tremendously. It's not impossible to improve the technique, but my opponent is that saintess."
One woman rose in both of their minds.
Saintess Claudi.
Back when they had traveled with her, she had been only a tiny little girl. But even then, she had been a terrifying existence. It wasn't that she was especially strong or especially clever. Young Claudi had only ever possessed two things.
Immense holy power.
And a horrifyingly intense fixation.
If he had to put that fixation into numbers, Valdes was certain it would surpass even Beatrice and Yueli, who had both gone far beyond all reason in their love for him. Of course, the object of that fixation had been the goddess.
That fixation had manifested as faith, and from early childhood the saintess had been known, even if only faintly, as a fanatic. Because of that, the more someone knew her, the more they tended to avoid Claudi. In short, the saintess had quietly lived as something of an outcast within the Hero's party. The strange thing was that she herself seemed completely unaware of it.
"Don't you know any weaknesses or anything? You were close to the saintess, after all, weren't you?"
At Beatrice's question, a faint smile appeared on Valdes's face.
Seeing that expression, the queen realized he already had a plan. It was only natural. One of Valdes's own mottos was that battles had to be won before they even began. There was no way a man like him, especially when dealing with the saintess—a potential threat greater than anyone else—wouldn't have prepared something.
"I'd say I was more just humoring her than close to her, but I still know more about her than most."
"What is it?"
Beatrice looked at him with eyes full of curiosity, but Valdes only smiled without answering.
She wasn't especially close to the saintess either, so she had no idea what he was plotting. Valdes, on the other hand, had spent his time as the Hero moving through the whole party with an almost half-acted friendliness, getting along with everyone.
The irony was that all of that ended in betrayal. Still, it was undeniable that before the assassination plot began, it had been Hero Pedro who stood at the center and led them all. That much could not be denied.
"I'll tell you later. I've got several ideas set aside, but I don't know whether they'll work. If the first one does, that'd be great, but you never know, right? I'd rather not go around getting too excited and then fail, so I don't want to tell you just yet."
"All right. I'm disappointed, but if that's what you want, husband, then I can't do anything about it."
"Good. For now, let's set the revenge plan aside for a bit and talk about a few things I need you to do."
"Need me to do?"
"Yeah."
Valdes told Beatrice what he wanted.
The first was about Jurina, who had returned with the envoy. She had come on a formal basis as someone hired by Mari, but she still had no real position assigned to her yet. Still, she was one of the few who met the conditions to serve in Ventorino's guard: she had the rank of knight.
"Put that woman into the Pedro Knights."
"The Pedro Knights? Yes, I'll do that."
Beatrice agreed at once.
The royal guard was one of the most powerful forces in Ventorino, easily among the kingdom's ten strongest martial organizations. Jurina had served there as a sub-commander. Her skill would certainly be more than enough, and there might be some murmurs about favoritism, but that was her own problem to solve.
"What's the second thing?"
"The witch will probably come within the next week or two."
The second request he brought up was about the witches.
Originally, the Great Witch was supposed to come much later. She had said that the next gathering would be two months away, and not even that much time had passed yet. Moreover, once a witch assembly began, it didn't end until every matter on the agenda had been settled.
Valdes had judged that the meeting itself would take as long as a week, and adding travel time to her own arrival would require at least another month. And yet, to his surprise, a few days before he reached the capital, he had received a message through the Great Witch's familiar.
The result of the alliance had been acceptance.
And the Great Witch had said that she would come see him, both to give him the details and to collect the price for the effort she'd made on his behalf. Valdes had told her not to come to his current location, but to the capital of Ulsro, more precisely the royal castle.
Back then, she had said it would take about two weeks. She couldn't leave her disciple behind alone, so she would have to bring her along, and that meant there would be all sorts of preparations. Even so, someone of the Great Witch's standing likely had access to special means of travel, which was why he had said one or two weeks instead.
"A witch… that's incredible."
Beatrice looked at him with genuine astonishment.
To think that he had managed to draw in not merely a handful of witches, but the entire witch clan. For someone who understood how reluctant witches were to appear openly, it was more than enough to be surprised. Not only did he know where the Great Witch, their leader, lived, but he had also understood exactly what they wanted. That alone was remarkable.
"I told you, I've done a lot of preparation. There's still plenty to do, because a lot of it only amounts to preparation for preparation, but still."
"Even so, you're amazing. If everything you've prepared succeeds… you might be able to swallow the continent with far less damage than anyone would expect."
"I prefer taking everything safely."
His confidence was almost excessive, but after everything he had shown so far, Beatrice thought it suited him perfectly. Even from the standpoint of a queen rather than a woman in love, she felt that attaching herself to Valdes had been a very wise choice.
"Hehe. So, do you have any other requests?"
"Ah, and…."
Valdes spoke of a few more things he wanted, and Beatrice listened to every word.
Most of them weren't particularly difficult. And even if they had been, she wasn't so cold that she'd refuse the request of the man she loved. She was confident she could even cut down a few nobles if he asked her to.
"Yes, understood. I'll take care of everything properly."
"Yeah. I'll be counting on you."
As lovers no longer, but as the Demon Prince of the demon realm and the Queen of Ulsro, they brought their conversation to a close. When Valdes glanced at the clock, evening was already drawing near.
"Well, sorry, but today I—"
"You're having dinner with Serenia, right? It's fine. I was the one who said it."
"Right. Thanks."
He turned at once and left the queen's bedroom, heading for Serenia's mansion.
After him, Beatrice's small murmur drifted through the room.
"What should the third child's name be…?"