Chapter 124
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 124
Chapter Title: Scene 124Homecoming Road
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Mm! This Leon is nothing but impressed by Your Majestys decision!
The one raising his voice in the imperial audience chamber was a burly man clad in heavy armor.
With this level of military funding, our imperial army could become a hegemon capable of eyeing the continents beyond the sea!
Indeed. I always enjoy seeing your confident demeanor. Leon, I entrust you with expanding the imperial army and strengthening its forces.
Yes! Leave it to me! Mm! But I do wonder if its truly alright to provide this much in military funds.
Imperial Army General Leon Fairigris voiced his concern.
The budget the Emperor had mentioned felt like a massive sum even to the warrior Leon.
...It matters not. Its merely handling matters long postponed. Ive already spoken to Odell as well, so make haste and transform the army into this nations strongest force.
Of course! If Your Majesty commands it, I shall follow without question!
Yes, yes...
Luna nodded with an utterly weary expression.
Her double life shuttling between the academy and the palace always left her exhausted, but today was especially grueling.
She hadnt slept a wink since that man visited yesterday.
Determined to shake off her drowsiness, she took a sip of water when Leon posed a question.
Your Majesty! Is it perhaps because Count Ruelverta came for an audience yesterday?
...?!
At those words, Luna nearly spat out the water in her mouth.
She barely swallowed it down and asked with a stern face.
Why... why does the count come up here?
Mm! I thought there must be some trigger for Your Majesty to push things through so swiftly! And it seems things changed after Tristan the count visited yesterday, so I asked!
...Id rather not talk about him.
Recalling yesterdays events, Luna clicked her tongue and brushed her hands.
Lest her palms sweat again.
Do not utter that mans name in my presence. It displeases me.
Mm! My apologies!
....
!.
.
Leon. One thing I must ask.
Yes! Ask away!
Can you not emulate your son Marco and be a bit more taciturn? Your voice is too loud.
Mm! Thats impossible! Im a man always ready to fight with all my heart! No exceptions, even against a babe in arms! Thus, I naturally put my all into speaking as well!!!
Ahh... I see. So thats how it is. Its my folly to expect a normal response from you.
Uhahaha! I never knew even the ever-perfect Your Majesty could err at times!
......Now go. Ill be fine.
Yes! Rest well!
Even as he exited the audience chamber, Leons booming voice seemed to echo on.
Beside Luna, who was pinching the bridge of her nose, a mans voice spoke.
My apologies, Your Majesty.
Spare your apologies. Marco. Leon has always been thus.
Even so, I apologize.
Thats enough. I was merely a bit fatigued.
Shed been ceaselessly busy verifying budgets for military expansion up to today.
The empires finances were far from abundant.
Luna had scraped together funds from imperial institutions, leaving them only the bare minimum, and poured it all into the military.
She anticipated fierce backlash in the short term.
Theyd cry out about preparing for war in this peaceful era.
Yet, as Tristan had said, once crisis descended upon this world, it would be too late.
Believing his words utterly, Luna had boldly seized the budget.
Fuu...
Luna leaned back in her jade throne and let out a sigh.
It felt like shed cleared a major hurdle.
Even if nobles opposed, the Seven Star houses would support her, so there was little to worry about.
But her worries did not fade.
As she caught her breath, Marco addressed her.
Your Majesty. I heard todays grades were posted.
Grades...? Ah...
Third place is splendid.
What? Heh heh... Marco, you truly cant flatter to save your life. I appreciate the praise, but that was Lucys doing, not mine. Third place? She mustve taken the exam half-heartedly to avoid standing out.
At Marcos words, Luna burst into laughter.
It started as genuine mirth but soon twisted into a self-mocking smile.
You know it too, dont you? Unlike Lucy, Im hopeless at studies. Everything Lucy excels at is precisely what I cannot do.
One could say Your Majesty possesses the potential to achieve anything if you set your mind to it.
Hmm...?
Marcos response was unexpected.
He, who usually gave mechanical, curt replies, had revealed his own thoughts.
Indeed. I take back what I said earlier. Youre quite adept at flattery after all.
You honor me.
But hearing such talk only deepens my dilemma. What game shall I play with that bastard next week...
Tristan had proposed a game, wagering his own neck.
To Luna, who yearned for vengeance against House Ruelverta, it was manna from heaven.
Yet that very fact left her uneasy.
The head of House Ruelverta, which even past emperors hadnt dared touch lightly.
Hed staked his life on a single victory.
What an arrogant man.
What confidence drove him to declare hed never lose to the Emperorto her?
Tristans fate now lay entirely in her hands. However...
...It irks me.
Seated on the throne, Luna furrowed her brow.
Shed never feared such a lowly man from the start.
It was merely his suspicious confidence that gnawed at her.
Perhaps it was mere pride.
Men had a tendency to stake their lives on worthless things.
Especially an insolent one like Tristan.
Hmph... That fearless fool.
As Marco said, combining Lucy and Lunas talents could conquer anything.
Shed never lose to a man who viewed even the Emperor as beneath him.
Moonlight filtering through the throne illuminated Lunas slender limbs.
Beneath that light, she vowed.
Next they met, she would grant Tristan Ruelverta death.
Helga. Any word from the Security Bureau?
Yes. Theyve rounded up every last impostor posing as Aslan. And most were tied to the navy, as expected.
Just as I thought.
Count. Wont the navy pressure the Security Bureau?
No. They wont. If pressed, theyll play innocent.
Then...
With the Security Bureau taking the initiative, the impostors will vanish soon enough. The more navy-linked fakes pop up, the more cornered theyll be.
Inside a carriage bound somewhere.
Wendy sat quietly, listening to the pairs conversation.
Shed tossed and turned all night again and was exhausted, but the moment she saw Tristans face, her cheeks burned.
Uuu...
Memories of last night flooded back, leaving Wendy unable to meet his gaze squarely.
In contrast, Tristan was his usual self.
No trace of agitation anywhere on his face, as if nothing had happened yesterday.
Count...
Helga sat pressed close beside Tristan.
A former Aslan soldier, she was imposing, strong, and a beauty to boot.
Wendy hadnt noticed at first, but without the eyepatch, her beauty shone even more.
To an outsider, they might look like lovers.
Tristan possessed features that captivated women.
Helga had mature allure on top of her beauty.
Things Wendy utterly lacked.
Truth be told, shed vaguely known it all along.
Wendy gazed at her reflection in the window.
There sat a girl with a youthful, childish face.
The count said Id be beautiful in ten years, but...
Even charitably, her current face was far from mature.
Anyone could see she was just a child.
Realizing that made last nights events click into place.
His kiss on her forehead last night.
On reflection, it was the sort of affection between parent and child, not lovers.
From the start, Tristan hadnt seen Wendy as a woman.
Wendy bowed her head deeply.
If only Id been born a little sooner...
Could she have confessed her feelings then?
Muster a bit more courage?
Tears threatened again, but she held them back.
Myohail mightve scolded her if he saw.
Fortunately, Myohail wasnt with them today.
Hed stormed off early morning to hound President Mondri about her grades.
...Sniff.
At least that was a relief.
No one had caught her pining heart.
Wendy.
The sudden voice startled her.
Y-Yes?!
...Are you alright?
Looking up, Tristan gazed down at her.
Are you unwell?
N-No, its nothing! I was just lost in thought...!
If its nothing, then good. Get ready.
Huh?
Weve arrived.
Tristan pointed out the window.
There spread the serene landscape of a rural village.
Wendy stared blankly, then her eyes widened.
Eh...?!
Dilapidated houses, roads without a single streetlamp, vast rice paddies.
A commonplace village anywhere in the countryside.
But not to Wendy.
The scenery was all too familiar.
W-Why here...?
Their destination was Wendys hometown, Rihaht.
To the dumbfounded Wendy, Tristan stated the purpose of the visit curtly.
Wendy. Ive come to meet your parents.