/
“Your Majesty!”
“My lady!”
Leonard and Agoth’s shrill voices hit my ears.
My body thrown into the air fell straight to the floor, and the wind brushing my cheek was painful.
Caesar shifted his body down as if trying to minimize the impact I would receive.
“It’ll be fine-!” Caesar murmured.
I didn’t know if he was trying to reassure me or hypnotise himself.
Then, a cry came from below. It sounded like a foreign language but also like the noise of scratching a blackboard.
“Ur (ᚢ), Awaz (ᛖ), Nid (ᛀ), Ys (ᛁ), and Daeg (ᛞ)!”
‘… Wind?’
Before hitting the floor, a strong wind blew towards us from below. It gently hugged us as if it were alive, slowing our fall.
In addition to that, the knights waiting below accepted us, so the impact of falling from a height of about two stories was limited.
I thought my whole body would be shattered into pieces.
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty, are you all right!?”
“Your Ladyship, are you all right!?”
Right after we fell to the ground, knights flocking from all sides began to ask how we were doing.
However, Caesar and I, who had been prepared to die, were at a loss for words at this absurd situation.
What the hell happened?
“Are you both alright?”
Just then, a skinny, goofy-looking man squeezed through the knights and appeared before me.
“… Mr. Roman?”
“Ha… How fortunate. I had memorized the spell but never used it before, so I was nervous about what to do if it went wrong…” Roman scratched the back of his head with his signature stupid smile.
“I…I’m alive…” Only then did Caesar understand the situation, and he murmured with a sigh.
That’s right. We’re alive. I don’t know exactly what happened, but I lived for now.
“Your Ladyship, can you stand?”
“No… Please hold me.”
I got up with Dalton’s help and slowly looked around.
Ruined plaza floor, broken square pillars. The corpses of monsters scattered all over, and…Marianne Valer, abandoned in a mess not far away.
“… It’s over.”
This is the end of my tough relationship with her. Thinking so, I averted my eyes from Marianne’s corpse.
***
With Marianne’s death, the case was closed.
Marianne’s body was dumped outside the city. It is unknown whether the Valers recovered her body. They could not bury the traitor’s body in the family’s grave even if they did.
And Marianne wasn’t the only funeral Valer had to give.
“The list of casualties, Your Majesty.”
Two days after the incident, after the surroundings were barely cleared, we received a report on the horrific record of the day.
Caesar sat on the couch and accepted the documents Hamilton handed him. Hamilton continued to explain while Caesar went through the papers, “The compensation issue you mentioned will be carried out without a hitch according to the scale previously reported.”
“I understand.”
“The renovation of the square will take at least half a year. The council will reset the budget and report it.”
“I see.”
Caesar, who had been replying briefly, suddenly furrowed his brow. Right now, he was struggling to turn the pages of the document with only his left hand.
Eventually, Caesar, who dropped the papers, sighed deeply and said, “Wife, don’t just watch. I’d like you to help me.”
“Ah, I’m sorry. His Majesty, who’s grumbling to himself, is a little cute.”
“Grumbling?! … Sigh, of course. As long as Helena’s happy.” Caesar let out a deep sigh. I smiled and sat next to him, handing over the papers.
Caesar now had a cast on his right arm. It was said that his bone was cracked by the dragon’s struggle when he thrust his sword into the dragon’s head.
‘But I’m glad nothing else broke.’
I also had abrasions here and there. I went around without wearing armor, so I deserved this.
“Wait a minute, Helena.”
Turning the pages at a constant speed, I paused at Caesar’s words and checked the name where it stayed.
‘Fran Gray.’
One of the dead in this incident.
Fran, who attended as a guest of honor, was found bitten by a beast in the corner of the castle wall.
‘The guests must have taken refuge inside. I’m not sure why he came out.’
Maybe he wanted to return to his mother’s arms even if she had nothing but madness and vengeance left.
Marianne said she would destroy Caesar and me. Had she expected that her golden son would be caught up and killed?
“It would be better to hold Fran’s funeral quietly in a small chapel,” Caesar said calmly as if talking to himself. Hamilton was surprised and retorted.
“What? You’re planning to hold a funeral?”
“Yes. After all, it’s the blood of the imperial family.”
“B-but it is also the lineage of traitors. There is no reason to show him mercy, Your Majesty.”
“Is that so?” Caesar stroked Fran’s name gently with his finger.
Although he was expressionless, I read deep remorse and sadness in his red eyes.
“What would you like to do, Your Majesty?” I asked Caesar quietly as if to console him.
Caesar looked at me for a moment, and then he smiled bitterly.
“We weren’t very close brothers.”
“Yes, I know.”
“That didn’t mean that we were on bad terms. Just, we didn’t know each other very well.”
He fought Marianne, but he had no emotional conflict with his half-brother.
Fran was too young for that.
“He must have been just an immature and ignorant bastard who knew that all he had to do was walk along the path Marianne paved.”
“But Your Majesty. Sometimes ignorance is a sin.”
“Do you think so?”
“What kind of absurdity was his balanced life built on… It’s not that he didn’t know. He just pretended not to know.”
“Sometimes Helena is frighteningly determined.”
Caesar frowned and smiled. Caesar had already lost his mother when he was thirteen, and he survived by fighting the threats around him.
Now Fran was older than Caesar then.
There’s no way he didn’t know what his mother had done to his half-brother to put the crown on himself.
“But…”
“…?”
“If you are comfortable with mercy, so be it, Your Majesty.” I put my hands on Caesar’s leg and said confidently, “No matter what choice you choose is right.”
Caesar’s eyes softened as if he was finally relieved by those words.
“Hamilton.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Fran’s funeral will be held simply. Tell the royal courtiers to treat him with respect as Gray bloodline.”
“I understand, Your Majesty.”
“However, Fran will not be buried in the imperial family graveyard. If Valer wishes, I will allow him to be buried in the Valer family grave.”
“I will inform them.”
Hamilton bowed deeply and left the room.
Perhaps a bit nervous, Caesar sighed while wiping his face when we were alone.
“Your Majesty.”
“I told Fran…I didn’t mean to get revenge,” Caesar murmured wearily.
“Yes, I know.”
“I don’t feel good.”
“It’s normal. You lost your family.”
“Is that the only reason?”
“What else could there be?”
Caesar turned to me.
His eyes glowed in the sun. His eyes were like an anxious boy with nowhere to rely on, so I pulled him still and hugged him.
He buried his head in my arms like a child.
“It’s not your fault, so there’s no reason to feel guilty.”
I gently stroked Caesar’s hair, and he buried his head further into my shoulder.
“If anyone appears to hold you responsible for Fran’s death, I will cut off his tongue.”
“… I’ll have to make everyone watch their mouth.”
Caesar managed to stifle a chuckle. I was a little relieved when he laughed.
“I’m glad you’re by my side at times like this.”
“Feel free to be clingy. Since we’re married, you should maximise this opportunity.”
“I am clingy. Won’t you call me by my name, Helena?”
“Your Majesty’s wishes are truly consistent.”
“Because I like your voice calling my name.”
“With what voice do I call your name?”
“That kind of sad, sweet, and ephemeral voice.”
What kind of voice is that?
Caesar raised his head and looked at me. His hand gently caressed my cheek.
As if checking my voice, I looked him in the eyes and called his name.
“Caesar.”
The voice quickly dissipated into the air.
It’s a pity that sound couldn’t be caught, so I called his name again.
“My Caesar.”
He smiled at my remark. The neat mouth and long eyelashes were very alluring.
How can a man’s expression be so seductive?
“Yes. I am Helena’s Caesar.”
Caesar held my cheek and kissed me. Pushed by his momentum, I lay on the couch.
I stretched out my arms and hugged his neck. My fingertips found his nape, and my eyes closed at the soft touch.
Sad, sweet, and ephemeral.
‘I think I know what it is.’
Even in his arms, my longing for him pierced me, and I learned for the first time that it was ephemeral.
***
The next morning, I called Roman to the empress’ palace.
Even after that terrifying incident, Roman still looked like he was missing a screw.
“You called me because… of the incident three days ago, right?”
“That’s right.”
On that day, Roman was invited to the national wedding as a guest of the duke’s residence. Coincidentally, he, a member of the mage’s guild, was there, so Caesar and I could survive.
But the question remained.
“Roman, did you know how to use magic?”
“Yes. Of course, magic as big as that day is impossible.”
It’s not that there aren’t any mages at all in this era. The problem is that only ‘trick’ level magic is possible, such as slightly moving a coin or raising a feather in the air.
“I also know how to use trivial magic. That’s why I’m in the guild.”
“But how…?”
“Knowing how to use magic means having a talent for magic. That’s why I knew.”
“You knew…what?”
“That day in the square, there was a very strong mana floating around.”
Roman told such a great story so casually.
“The plaza had enough magical power to summon monsters and control a fake dragon. That’s why I was able to use great magic too.”
“Is it impossible now?”
“You mean that spell? Yes. I can’t use it at all. Oh, I can move sugar cubes here.”
Sugar cubes. But that day, Roman’s magic was enough to catch Caesar and me from falling.
“Marianne said that she borrowed the help of ‘Noe Lable’ to prepare the magic.”
“In other words, Marianne must’ve been the one who activated the magic, but that guy must be the one who prepared it.”
Roman nodded slowly and said, “Then I understand. Marianne had no magical talent by nature, so she must have needed a sacrifice to activate her magic.”
“That’s why…she hurt people.”
The first time the magic was activated, Marianne killed a person. It wasn’t just to attract attention.
‘I expected it, but.’
Do people’s lives not matter for one’s revenge?
“What do you think the reason is? Where did the magical power to use such strong magic come from?”
“Even without asking me, don’t you already know the answer?” Roman asked my question somewhat mischievously.
Well, I know the answer. I just wanted to confirm it.
“If Noe Lable is involved, the cause is obvious, isn’t it?”
“… Mm, the dragon.”
“However, it is still incomplete. Seeing that that strong magic power didn’t last long.
“If it becomes ‘perfect’, what will happen?”
“As before, magic will overflow in the air, so mages will be able to use powerful magic. Just like the era before Emperor Dante subdued Krusech.”
Is that what Noe wants? Even if the tragedy in the plaza that day were to happen across the continent, just because he wants to regain his prestige as a mage?
Roman added, rubbing his nose with his finger, “Anyway, this encourages the theory that ‘dragons are the source of magic’. It’s interesting,” he spoke in a rather gruesome, harmless voice with no empathy or sympathy.