After changing all of my clothes, I went back to the drawing room, where a very awkward atmosphere lingered.
Both of them seemed to be leisurely drinking tea, but I couldn’t tell what kind of conversation had taken place between them.
Could it be that they really didn’t say anything to each other in the meantime?
“Ayla, miss.”
“Welcome, Luna. It took a little longer, but you arrived.”
“……I’m sorry.”
“The Empress wishes to speak with you. Would you be alright with a private audience?”
“Of course, Ayla.”
“Would you threaten the Empress in any way?”
“…….
In terms of force, the Empress is a knight who fights a little better than most. Even if she fought me now, I am confident I would win.
But the Empress’ strength doesn’t come from her fighting skills in the first place.
However, I can’t threaten her here. If anything were to happen to the Empress, the four knights who came with her would turn this place into a mess.
With the witch and my sister around, Ayla might be fine, but I don’t want to see this place destroyed in such a manner.
“Of course, Ayla.”
When I repeated the same words, Ayla nodded and got up from her seat.
“I’ll ask the servants of this mansion if there’s anything suitable to offer the Empress. They are probably preparing it already without me giving further instructions.”
“That’s very thoughtful. I will pay the cost.”
Ayla gave a slight bow toward the Empress and turned to leave the room.
Once the door closed, the room was once again enveloped in silence.
“……So.”
The first to speak was the Empress.
“How long do you intend to just stand there? If you really need permission, I could tell you to sit facing me.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
I politely bowed and then sat down to face the Empress.
“I wondered if I should dress as a man.”
The Empress began speaking.
“Even after thinking about it again, it still feels awkward. Could I have looked that naturally tall even if I had dressed as a man? Could I have faced the dragon with such an unnatural outfit? I wasn’t the only one who saw that man. Everyone at the scene did.”
“What you’re saying is, well, judging by my common sense, that you might not be the ‘companion’ I think you are. If you’re just imitating that ‘companion’, I would be rather uncomfortable.”
“I apologize, Your Majesty. If so, let me first clear up that misunderstanding.”
I gently lowered my head and spoke.
“I first struck the dragon’s left rear leg. That’s where the reverse scale was. A long time ago, a knight who had a grudge against that dragon created a small gap by stabbing it once.”
Such detailed parts hadn’t been shared with the people.
The publicly known part was that “the Empress’ forces captured the dragon.” And within those forces, there was someone strong enough to face the dragon.
The identity of that person had never been revealed, but the enemies instinctively bowed their heads.
After all, there were many who witnessed me. When I fought, my face was covered, so not many would have recognized me, but the number of people who could testify that a man fought and defeated the dragon was nearly in the hundreds.
“I almost died seven times. If it hadn’t been for the potion made by the witch herself, I wouldn’t have even left bones behind.”
“I see. That should be enough.”
The Empress nodded.
Then, she let out a deep sigh.
“You weren’t the type of man to tell such detailed stories.”
Nobles would usually seriously consider aspects they hadn’t grasped. But the opponent was the Empress, someone with an unusually sharp intuition.
She was someone who could follow a trail and find me here, someone who could instinctively deduce things even without solid evidence.
“Well then, it would be nice if you could tell me what happened. From what I can see, the two standing next to you seem to already know.”
“……I understand.”
I exhaled quietly and spoke.
By the time I had told the story, I thought the Empress would burst into laughter. After all, she was someone who enjoyed stories like that.
Surprisingly, the Empress quite liked when I spoke of Ayla. Sometimes, when drunk at banquets, she would beg me to tell her that story.
She said it was a fresh story she could never experience herself.
“……So, what you’re saying is that you were that sincere. To the point where you could negate everything you had built up until that moment.”
Could that be true?
That treasure was not for me but for Ayla.
Ironically, I couldn’t bring myself to completely deny everything about me.
On the contrary, I only thought about changing Ayla’s fate.
Looking back now, it was a foolish idea.
Changing Ayla’s fate was not much different from denying everything I had built.
I one-sidedly assumed that Ayla was not satisfied with her life.
That she wanted to escape.
But that she simply couldn’t.
How could I have known that when I couldn’t even properly talk to Ayla?
The truth is, I never considered that Ayla was doing her best in her own way, building something of her own.
All I ever thought was that if I asked Ayla and she said, “I don’t want to,” then I wouldn’t do it.
Perhaps there was a chance.
If I had properly spoken to Ayla when we went to the ball.
If I had asked her to run away with me.
Who’s to say how Ayla would have responded?
I was the one who let all those opportunities slip away.
I was probably scared.
More than fighting a dragon.
Because if I, who had already been rejected once, was rejected again, that would truly be the end.
Running away, running away, running away—maybe that’s how I ended up there.
“Are you disappointed?”
“No, I’m impressed. I’m not being sarcastic or anything. I genuinely mean it.”
The Empress said, looking at me.
“Honestly, if a man loved me that much, I’d be happy. Unfortunately, everyone around me only thinks politically.”
“Is that so?”
“So don’t worry. Even if I take you with me now, I have no use for you. Haah, if only fate had changed but my gender had remained the same.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. No matter how strong a spouse I want, I have no interest in being held by a woman. Nor do I have any desire to hold a woman myself.”
“Well, then, coming all this way was pointless.”
The Empress spoke with an indifferent expression, as if it didn’t really matter.
“But it seems you have something else to say, Your Majesty.”
“Yes, I do. First of all, I’m not someone who ignores debts.”
“……”
I remained silent at the Empress’s words.
Was she referring to the fact that I destroyed the Imperial Palace walls?
But that was her fault first.
Bringing in a man who already loved someone else and talking about choosing a marriage partner—of course, something like that would happen.
“The dragon you captured. The one that became the biggest reason I won within the empire. It turns out it was even more valuable than I thought.”
“……Even more valuable than that?”
“Yes. It seems that it won’t just end with being a national hero. In other words, a second founding contributor.”
“……What do you mean by that?”
Without realizing it, I slipped into my old speech pattern.
The Empress let out a chuckle at my reaction before slumping onto the sofa.
“There are those who argue that we should honor that founding contributor. They don’t want you as my husband, but some nobles are thinking about marrying their daughters to you instead. It seems they think my marriage with that hero has ‘fallen through.'”
It did fall through, though.
“Do you really think it fell through?”
“No, Your Majesty.”
The Empress glared at me, so I shook my head.
To put it in simpler terms—‘I got dumped.’
For someone as proud as the Empress, it was understandable to be irritated by such words.
“Anyway, that’s how things are. Everyone is curious about your true identity.”
“……”
“So, first, I have to officially recognize someone and reward them. Of course, I plan to ensure that the credit rightfully goes to you…But the problem is finding someone to put forward.”
I thought for a moment.
In truth, there was someone who could take my place.
Just one person.
Someone about my height—not exactly identical to me, but with a similar atmosphere.
It was inevitable.
After all, we shared the same blood.
Though I doubted that person would be entirely pleased with this situation.