Chapter 104
“Muriel, use this.”
Lycian swiftly held out a handkerchief.
I dabbed at the tea I’d spilled on my dress and asked hesitantly, “I—I didn’t receive any notice at all?”
“The Parakai Church is still negotiating with Winterberg. It seems they’ll only offer their assistance if the dungeon’s ownership is transferred to Lady Muriel.”
Dante finished with a crooked grin. He looked like a mischievous boy who had just decided to stir up trouble.
“I took the liberty of peeking into Winterberg’s situation… and they won’t have much choice but to accept the Church’s terms. Whatever the case, it’s better than letting the dungeon run wild, isn’t it? They have to protect their territory.”
He wasn’t wrong.
But Raul… that proud man, entrusting the defense of his land to the Church?
No matter how I thought about it, something felt off. Tilting my head, I asked, “Did something happen to Raul?”
“Do you have any guesses, Lady Muriel?”
“Well, I….”
In that instant, the last words I’d said as I pushed Raul away surfaced in my mind.
‘Don’t apologize or try to compensate me just to ease your own conscience.’
‘Muriel, I….’
‘I want you to disappear from my world completely.’
I had wanted Raul to live forever shackled by guilt.
To suffer for the rest of his life with no way to atone.
‘…Did it really turn out the way I wished?’
Dante’s voice continued.
“From what I’ve gathered, the Duke of Winterberg has been living like a wreck for the past few weeks. He’s in no state to lead a dungeon raid. Apparently he’s holed up in the castle, not even stepping outside.”
“…….”
I hadn’t expected Raul to fall apart to that extent. The thought left me unsettled.
No matter how tormented he might be, I’d believed he wouldn’t abandon his duties as lord.
After a brief pause, I spoke.
“I don’t have any desire to own the dungeon. But I do hope Winterberg accepts the Parakai Church’s terms. The innocent people of the territory shouldn’t suffer because of a dungeon’s rampage.”
At that, Dante slapped his knee—smack!—and praised me in an exaggerated tone.
“Perfectly said. As expected of our precio—ah, I mean, His Highness’s companion. If not Lady Muriel, who else could possibly hold His Highness’s leash? Hahaha!”
He was totally about to call me “precious,” wasn’t he?
And now even Dante addressed me as “Lady Muriel.” The other guild members did the same.
Considering my position, it couldn’t be helped… but I’d liked the easy, almost familial atmosphere. It was a little disappointing.
“Did you come to the capital to pay your respects to the imperial elders?” Dante asked.
I nodded. “Yes. Lycian and I are engaged, so… we need to greet them properly.”
“Ah.”
My face burned bright red, and Dante grinned.
Don’t smile like that….
“There’s also something I’d like to ask His Majesty.”
“Oh? And what might that be…?”
There was no reason to hide it from Dante, so I told him plainly.
“I was hoping he could help us obtain the Dragon’s Tear.”
The final ingredient for the Elixir.
To acquire it, there was only one way.
We had to meet the Dragon of Time.
Meanwhile, at the Grastea Imperial Palace.
For the first time in a long while, Emperor Diego ascended the tower and gazed out over the capital, lost in thought.
‘To think Lysianthus has found a companion….’
Well, the boy was certainly of age.
Still, knowing his son’s temperament, Diego had felt dazed ever since hearing the news.
‘I was worried that if he never found that so-called benefactor, he’d live his entire life alone—arrogant and untethered.’
Though, come to think of it, Lysianthus had only ever said he wanted to find that person. He’d never said he would imprint on them.
‘So even if someone else appeared as his imprint partner, there’s nothing strange about that.’
Muriel Tierney….
The eldest daughter of the Duke of Tierney. The former Duchess of Winterberg.
‘She divorced the Duke of Winterberg not long ago, and according to Dante….’
She wasn’t even the true daughter of the Tierney family.
‘From what I’ve learned, she was adopted as a sacrifice to bear that family’s misfortune in their stead. Oddly enough, she doesn’t seem particularly unlucky for someone in that position. Usually, a curse like that would drown a person in calamity. Perhaps it’s because Lady Muriel is a saintess blessed by the Three Goddesses? In any case, His Highness is completely mad about her…. Ah—slip of the tongue. Forgive my coarse phrasing, Your Majesty.’
Dante, whom he had watched grow up since childhood, hadn’t changed a bit. Which was likely why he and Lysianthus were such close friends.
Diego thought of Dante as a nephew; a small slip of the tongue hardly bothered him.
It was no secret that Lysianthus had always been a little unhinged….
‘Lysian… he’s never quite been sound of mind, even as a child….’
Diego’s gaze turned distant as he recalled the past.
If not for Duke Luminous, the State Preceptor, guiding him, no other teacher would have been able to handle Lysianthus.
‘And now the companion of that Lysian is the Purifier who appeared for the first time in a thousand years.’
Life was long indeed.
“Muriel….”
What kind of person was she?
Dante seemed to hold her in high regard, but he would only know for certain after meeting her himself.
The companion whose soul was bound to a descendant of the Dragon.
Was she truly worthy of such a weighty position—or not?
“Are you ready?”
“Mmm.”
“You don’t look ready.”
“I am. I’m not nervous!”
“You look extremely nervous. This won’t do. I should help you relax before we get off.”
“W-what….”
I flinched and leaned back, but Lycian swiftly closed the distance.
My back hit the carriage wall. Trapped. I tensed, wondering what this fox was about to do now.
“…!”
Suddenly, his “forepaw” darted into my side.
No way!
I realized at once what he was planning and tried to dodge, but there was no beating Lycian.
“Ah—hey, you—! S-stop—! Ahaha!”
His merciless tickling left me breathless with laughter. My ribs felt like they were about to give out.
Some time later.
With tears in my eyes and my breath coming in ragged gasps, I found myself scooped up and seated on Lycian’s lap, held snugly in his arms.
He pressed a light, pecking kiss to my lips.
“Jerk….”
“You feel less nervous now, don’t you?”
All the strength had drained from my body. The tension went with it.
Watching me melt bonelessly against him, Lycian smiled in a way that was downright suggestive.
“You’re perfectly ripe to be devoured.”
“…!”
He tilted my chin with one hand and brushed his lips against mine.
Then he stole every last bit of my shallow breath—
and slid deeper inside.
It was quite some time before we were finally able to step out of the carriage.
I was utterly spent. How was I supposed to face His Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress like this?
At least my hair and clothes weren’t too disheveled. Thank goodness for that….
“Muriel, shall I carry you?”
“As if.”
Lycian wore the smug expression of a well-fed beast. It was infuriating.
I shot him a prim look and started forward—steadily… no, gracefully.
No matter how exhausted I was, I couldn’t just shuffle along. This was the imperial palace.
That’s right.
We were at the imperial palace.
“Oh? Well, if it isn’t the Second Prince.”
We had just crossed the wide garden and were nearing the emperor’s residence when someone trimming the shrubs with pruning shears called out to us.
‘Who is that? A gardener?’
But for a gardener, his tone toward Lycian was oddly informal.
“So the prodigal son has finally returned! And with a companion, no less! You always claimed you’d never be bound by anyone. What did I tell you about making such bold promises? Hahaha!”
What gardener would dare speak to a prince like that?
I stared at him, eyes wide.
A man with ash-brown hair and pale eyes like a winter sky.
His hair fell to his shoulders, and he wore a simple shirt and trousers.
At first glance, he looked to be in his early thirties, yet his age was impossible to pin down.
He set down his shears and strode toward us, a broad smile on his face.
Then Lycian bowed his head respectfully and said,
“Master.”
“…!”
Master?
I barely had time to process the unexpected address before the man reached us—
“…?!”
—and suddenly swung a fist at Lycian!