The First Queen and the First Prince

While I was a little nervous, I resumed pretending to be Catherine-sama's attendant, stood up, and waited. The two of them entered the room, and Alexis-sama immediately sent all the servants away again.

A woman with beautiful blond hair and pink eyes entered alongside a handsome boy with blond hair and blue eyes. For twins, they didn't look very much alike. Maybe they were fraternal twins?

The prince looked exactly like His Majesty, while Martine-sama looked exactly like the queen.

They sat on the sofa opposite us. It was large enough for all four of us to sit comfortably.

"I am Elisabeth Laslacia, the First Queen."

"I am Stephan Laslacia, the First Prince."

They were the First Queen and First Prince!? So that meant there was a good chance he would become the future king. I had so many incredible people around me that I was starting to become numb to it all... I wasn't even surprised anymore.

"It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Leon."

"It has been a long time, Elisabeth-sama, Your Highness."

Catherine-sama and I greeted them in turn. Then, at their invitation, I returned to the sofa.

"You do not have to be so formal. This is not an official occasion. I wanted to thank you in person, Leon. Thank you so much for saving Martine's life."

"I would like to thank you as well, Leon. Thank you for saving my little sister."

With that, the two of them bowed their heads.

This was so uncomfortable! Having members of the royal family bow to me was far too unsettling.

"Um, please raise your heads. I only did what I could, so please do not worry about it so much."

"I cannot do that. I have prepared many gifts for you today. I would very much like you to accept them."

There was a huge pile of things in front of Elisabeth-sama, which a maid had just placed there.

Could all of these be gifts of gratitude...?

There are too many!!

"Um... Alexis-sama has already given me a gift, though..."

"Oh, Alexis's gift and my gift are separate matters."

Is that how it works...? They're the same to me!

Refusing would probably be even more disrespectful. I might as well accept them.

"I see... Thank you very much for going to the trouble of preparing these gifts. It is a great honor."

I forced myself to smile without letting it turn into a grimace, and Elisabeth-sama's face lit up.

...I had a bad feeling about this.

"I am so happy that you like them. Please let me introduce them one by one. I chose them all with great care."

Was she going to explain every single one of these!? There were so many that I had no idea how many hours it would take... But there was no way I could refuse a request from the queen.

Only Alexis-sama could stop Elisabeth-sama! With that thought, I looked over at Alexis-sama. Our eyes met for an instant, but he casually looked away.

Alexis-sama!? You aren't going to stop her!? Could it be that even though he was the king, he was under his wife's thumb!?

Sigh... It seemed no one could stop Elisabeth-sama. Since it was an honor, I supposed I would let her introduce everything...

"Thank you very much. I am looking forward to seeing what they are."

I said that with a pleasant smile. It was probably a strained one, though...

"Let us start with this! This is a brooch, but it contains a magic stone rather than a gemstone."

"A magic stone...?"

"Yes! Magic stones change into various colors depending on the magic power infused into them, making them excellent ornaments. I am trying to make them fashionable. The magic will not activate unless the stone is set in magic iron, so please do not worry."

Wow, they were turning precious magic stones into ornaments? I would rather make one into a magic tool.

More importantly, wasn't this incredibly expensive? Elisabeth-sama, I didn't think this would catch on... If I were going to buy this, I would buy a magic tool instead.

Maybe it would become fashionable among high-ranking nobles?

"Um... That is incredible. If it can change into so many colors, I can match it to the color of my clothes."

"Exactly. You can even change the color to suit your mood that day, so please be sure to wear it."

"Yes. I will accept it."

"Now for the next gift! This is an outfit. I had my personal tailor make it for you. It was made with the finest thread and finished to be truly magnificent."

It was incredibly ornate... Wasn't this the sort of outfit Stephan-sama would wear? I had no idea what I was supposed to do with it!

I couldn't wear such a splendid outfit at an official occasion, and wearing it as everyday clothing was out of the question... I couldn't think of a single occasion for it!

"Um, I am grateful, but... I do not have anywhere to wear this..."

"Oh, but after Leon graduates from the Royal Academy, you will be granted noble status, won't you? I heard that you asked Alexis for it as thanks for curing Martine."

I had said that I wanted status, but was it already certain that I would be granted noble status!? I didn't think a commoner could receive noble status so easily...

"Can a commoner really be granted noble status so easily?"

"It is not that easy, but Leon has already achieved great things, and I expect him to achieve many more in the future. I believe he should be able to receive noble status, at least. Isn't that right, Alexis?"

"Yes. It should be possible once he graduates from the Royal Academy. I have various things in mind, so look forward to it."

"Yes... Thank you."

I wondered what he meant by "various things." I was happy, but it also made me a little nervous...

I had imagined that I would receive a lower noble title, such as a knight's rank or a barony, but did this outfit mean I would be given a higher title?

This outfit was clearly extravagant enough that only someone from a ducal household could wear it.

Status would be useful, but it seemed to come with a lot of obligations. I would have been happy with something modest. It seemed things were going to get difficult from here on.

Though, to be fair, things were already difficult...

"Then please store this outfit carefully. I had it made a little large, so please have it altered when you wear it."

"Yes. Thank you very much."

"Now for the next gift. This one is..."

Elisabeth-sama continued introducing gifts for more than an hour after that. I received splendid jewelry, clothing, and fabric to be made into clothes later. They were all incredible, and I was grateful, but I was utterly exhausted...

Everyone else seemed quite tired too. Alexis-sama, Stephan-sama, and Martine-sama all wore slightly wry smiles, so perhaps Elisabeth-sama getting carried away was a common occurrence.

Even royalty had it tough...

"That is everything. Do you like them?"

"Yes. Thank you so much for giving me so many wonderfully luxurious gifts. I will treasure and use every one of them."

Elisabeth-sama smiled with great satisfaction. At least that was a relief.

Once I confirmed that Elisabeth-sama was satisfied, Alexis-sama came to my rescue.

"It would be awkward to present all these gifts as gifts to Leon, so could you put them all in boxes and take them to the ducal household as gifts from Elisabeth to Catherine?"

"Certainly. I will have them stored carefully in Leon's room at the ducal household."

Alexis-sama and Catherine-sama discussed how to handle them. I was glad they could be kept at the ducal household. It would have been frightening to take all this back to my own home, but I felt safe leaving it at the ducal household.

"Leon, is that all right with you?"

"Yes. It would be difficult to store them at my house, so that would be a great help."

"Then let us do that."

Once we had decided how to manage the gifts I had received, the meeting began to wind down.

"Well, we've been at this for quite some time today, so let us call it a day. Could you and Catherine come again in a week?"

"Certainly."

"Good. Then, Leon, resume pretending to be Catherine's attendant."

Right, I had come as Catherine-sama's attendant so I would not attract attention. I had almost forgotten because I was so tired.

I stood up and took my place slightly behind and to the side of Catherine-sama.

Alexis-sama then rang a bell and summoned attendants and guards.

"These things will be taken to the ducal household, so could you carry them to the carriage?"

At Catherine-sama's request, several servants from the Royal Palace came in and carried the gifts out.

I picked up one of the outfits and followed Catherine-sama out of the room.

Then we went to the carriage and returned to the ducal household.

At the ducal household, they apparently planned to turn the guest room I had always used into my private room. I was grateful.

After putting the gifts away, I went home.

I was completely exhausted today... The next lesson was a week from now, right? I would take it easy until then.