Chapter 116
How did such a conversation come about?
Yuna retraced the events leading up to this point, but she couldn’t find any particular moment that stood out. She could only conclude that it had just happened by chance.
Whether that was the case or not, the emperor was in high spirits.
“Isn’t it a story straight out of a fairy tale, the Magic Tower lord and the hero getting together? Surely, the child born between you two will be responsible for the future of the empire.”
“A, a child?!”
Yuna asked back, startled.
It was true that she had thought about getting together with Franz. But a child was a distant prospect, or rather, she had never once thought about it.
'To have a child, we’d have to do this and that in bed…'
Her mind, prompted by the keyword 'child', began to imagine things on its own. But that was only for a moment; her mind, unready to accept it, went utterly blank, turning completely white. At the same time, her face flushed hotly.
'L-let’s start with a date first…!'
Didn’t they say there was an order to everything? Spending time alone together, holding hands, trying a hug, sharing a kiss, and finally heading to bed was the right way. In other words, she and Franz were not at the stage to be thinking about such things.
The emperor, who had been staring blankly at Yuna’s reaction, let out a chuckle, then burst into laughter. He had heard she was a monster who didn’t lose her smile even in front of the Demon Lord’s army, but facing her now, she was nothing more than a country maiden. How could he not laugh?
Soon, the emperor stopped laughing and said,
“I apologize. It seems I got a little ahead of myself.”
“N-no, it’s fine.”
Yuna’s face was burning so much that she couldn’t bear to keep her head up. She knew it was rude, but she couldn’t help it.
“Anyway, I will help you. I was actually worried about whether the Magic Tower lord would ever get married, but if it’s you, I can trust him to your care.”
“Thank you…”
Even as she said that, Yuna felt anxious on the one hand. It was because she wondered if it was okay for love to be won with the help of others.
Furthermore, wasn’t that other person the emperor? She was worried that if the emperor put pressure on Franz, she might end up being hated instead.
But it was too late to back out now, so she had no choice but to push forward.
'Right, let’s think positively.'
Arian, the young lady of a ducal house; Yusti-ah, the saintess of the Goddess Church; Hera, the elf chieftain. All three were in incredible positions. If she hadn’t been the hero, she wouldn’t have even been able to exchange words with them.
It was to compete with them. If she didn’t borrow the emperor’s grace, she wouldn’t even be able to stand on the same starting line.
'Honestly, I wouldn’t mind if we all became his wives, but…'
Polygamy was permitted under imperial law. In reality, most nobles had multiple wives.
So it wasn’t impossible for all of them to become Franz’s wives. It was just that, if they all became his wives, she wanted to be the first among them.
Yuna firmly made up her mind.
* * *
Arriving at the banquet hall with the three others, Franz looked around.
He had thought the party held at Duke Phrygia’s was grand, but the scene unfolding before his eyes right now was enough to overwhelm it. As expected, things hosted by the Imperial Family were on a different level.
Though the main character of the banquet didn’t particularly like such an atmosphere.
A barely audible sigh escaped from Franz’s lips.
'Wouldn’t it have been fine to be a little modest.'
Like the small weddings popular in the modern 21st century, something with the feel of a small banquet. Just inviting very close acquaintances, casually announcing he had become a duke. A round of applause. And ending it there.
Well, if that had been possible, he wouldn’t be going through this kind of trouble in the first place.
It was then. Yusti-ah looked around and said,
“It’s incredibly luxurious. Whoever the main character is, they must be happy.”
“Well, I don’t know who that main character is, but I don’t think they’d like it very much.”
“True, you never really liked flashy things. Still, how about smiling just for today? It was all prepared for you, after all.”
Indeed, she had a point. Today’s banquet was prepared for none other than the bestowal of his ducal title. If the main character wore a gloomy expression, he would lose face before His Majesty the emperor who had arranged such an event.
By the way.
“Yusti-ah, I think this is my first time seeing you wear a dress.”
He had been too distracted at the Magic Tower to notice, but Yusti-ah’s attire was a pure white dress, not a nun’s habit.
He could somewhat expect her to attend the banquet, but he hadn’t expected her to come wearing a dress at all.
Yusti-ah asked with an anxious expression.
“W-what are you trying to say…?”
“There’s no particular religious issue with it, right?”
“As long as it doesn’t harm the dignity of a saintess, it doesn’t really matter. Besides, I’m not attending as a saintess today anyway.”
“Well, if that’s the case…”
He had thought religion was rigid and conventional, but it seemed the Goddess Church had quite lenient standards.
Franz mentally redefined his image of the Goddess Church and said,
“More importantly, it looks good on you, that dress.”
“I-I didn’t exactly wear it to hear you say that, you know?”
Yusti-ah replied in a blunt tone and sharply turned her head.
Is she dissatisfied even when given a compliment?
Franz thought that for a moment, but soon erased it from his mind. It wasn’t just a day or two that she had shown this kind of reaction, so he was used to it by now.
Yusti-ah, who was observing his reaction out of the corner of her eye, muttered softly.
“Thank you…”
Unfortunately, her voice was so quiet that it failed to reach Franz.
“Huh? What did you say?”
“Id…”
“Idiot, stupid,” Yusti-ah was about to say. Unable to overcome her embarrassment, she was trying to hide it with harsh words.
But then she would be no different from usual. She had gone through the trouble of putting on makeup and wearing a dress, trying to be different from her usual self.
She gulped.
Yusti-ah swallowed back the words she was about to spit out.
And she spoke in a slightly louder voice.
“I said thank you.”
Of course, her voice was still quiet this time as well, but it was at least loud enough for Franz to understand.
Flustered by Yusti-ah’s unusual reaction, Franz blinked blankly before awkwardly scratching his head and saying,
“…Right.”
He felt like he should say something, but absolutely nothing came to mind.
It was then. Arian, who had been looking around, naturally struck up a conversation.
“Magic Tower lord, it’s incredibly flashy. As expected, things hosted by the Imperial Family really are on a different level.”
“Yeah. It looks like they put quite a lot of effort into it.”
“True, considering who the main character is, it naturally has to be flashy.”
Arian put on a triumphant expression as if it were her own business.
A soft chuckle burst from the lips of Yusti-ah, who had been keeping quiet, at that moment.
At that sound, Arian’s gaze, which had been directed at Franz, naturally turned to Yusti-ah.
“Saintess, what is so funny?”
“It’s nothing?”
“You just sneered at me, didn’t you?”
“I wasn’t sneering, but if I must explain, it’s because Franz hates flashy things, and it seems you didn’t know that.”
“Hmph? When did I ever say I didn’t know that? Regardless of what he likes, at an occasion for the bestowal of a ducal title…”
Yusti-ah and Arian began to bicker in earnest. Still, perhaps mindful of the gazes around them, they narrowly avoided crossing the line.
Franz decided to just leave the two alone. If he paid attention to every little thing, he felt like he would lose his mind.
Then, Hera, who had been staying quiet, suddenly spoke up.
“Franz, come to think of it, wasn’t Yuna coming too…?”
“Yeah, she was supposed to come.”
“I don’t see her anywhere, so I’m worried she might be lost.”
She wasn’t a child but a fully grown adult, so would she really get lost? He thought that, but it was a somewhat valid point. Especially if the person in question was none other than Yuna.
She was someone who would run for half a day to get to the Magic Tower, so she could definitely get lost. Yes, absolutely.
“I’ll check on her. Wait just a moment.”
Franz said that to Hera, who had a worried expression, and snapped his fingers.
A mana wave spread out, scanning the surroundings, and it wasn’t long before he found his target.
If there was one slightly puzzling thing…
“Why is she with the emperor…?”
Yuna was on her way to the banquet hall side by side with the emperor. Thinking of them as the hero and the emperor made it somewhat understandable, but he couldn’t erase the thought that it was an unexpected combination.
Anyway, it was certain that Yuna hadn’t gotten lost.
Franz said to Hera.
“Yuna will be here in a little bit.”
“Is that so. That’s a relief.”
Hera let out a sigh of relief. It seemed she had been quite worried.
After the little bit of time Franz had mentioned passed, Yuna entered the banquet hall. Dressed in a red dress that matched her hair, she looked around before soon spotting Franz and heading straight toward him.