ã€ŠAloof King and Cool (Acting) Queenã€‹


 Chapter 1

    <strong>01. That Day</strong>

    <i>My favorite flower is wisteria.</i>

    <i>However, I have never seen it in this world even once.</i>

    <i>The country branded as the Flower Capital doesn¡¯t have it either.</i>

    <i>Is it possible that I may not see it ever again?</i>

    ***************

    I, Nishiguchi Haruto, has been in an agricultural university for just about two years.

    At the university, I studied about cross-fertilization of flowers, intending to inherit my family¡¯s flower shop in the future.

    I fondly spend each day being around my favorite flowers and kicking up a fuss with my friends ¨C I can¡¯t help hoping that this kind of life will go on forever.

    That is why I never expected such a sudden change. Not in the least.

    That day, I inadvertently fell asleep in the library and it has be pitch dark when I woke up.

    I put away the illustrated encyclopedia and textbooks then hastily left for home.

    When I went out of the library in a rush, my left foot sunk without warning, it¡¯s as if the floor isn¡¯t there at all.

    Just as I was astonished, my whole body sunk in the blink of an eye.

    I felt the sensation of falling but it was impossible for me to even let out my voice.

    I don¡¯t know whether itsted for just ten seconds or an hour, but my body hit the ground eventually.

    ¡°Ah, I may be dying.¡± is what I thought when I felt the excessive impact.

    Thest thing I sensed were the faint, sweet smell of flowers and the warm rays of the sun.

 Chapter 2

    <strong>02. First Encounter With A Person From Another World</strong>

    I was lying on a bed when I woke up.

    ¡°It¡¯s a ceiling I¡¯m not familiar with.¡±

    As one would expect, I proceeded to mutter those words.

    Maybe because I just experienced something excessively shocking, I¡¯m strangely calm right now.

    I looked around after getting up from the bed and some in wooden furniture like a table and chair were set up, however I can¡¯t see the owner of the house anywhere.

    And then, a surprising scene is spread outside the window.

    There are several flowers I¡¯ve never seen until now.

    It is beautifully arranged and calling it a garden will indeed be suitable.

    Even if I¡¯m in this situation, I can¡¯t help but get out of the house, not forgetting to pick up my favorite illustrated encyclopedia and notebook that are both ced on the bedside.

    ¡°This flower resembles this one but this is the first time I¡¯ve seen this color...could this be possibly...¡±

    I muttered incoherently. I was absorbed in leafing through the illustrated encyclopedia when a I heard a voice from behind all of a sudden.

    ¡± *********? ********* ¡±

    I looked back in surprise, and standing there is a muscled <i>Ojii-san</i>.

    The thickness of his upper arms is amazing. His short sleeves are so stretched tightly.

    <i>Ojii-san</i>¡®s refreshing smile made me rx, but I can¡¯t understand what he¡¯s saying.

    ¡°Ah, uhm... I¡¯m sorry. S<i>orry</i>.¡±

    I somehow used English even though it¡¯s obvious that the words <i>Ojii-san</i> spoke are not English.

    I feel like crying.

    I slightly hang my head, but <i>Ojii-san</i> only bent down and patted my head.

    He patted my head in a calming manner.

    Flowers that I never saw before. Words that I never heard before. Somehow or the other, I began to understand that this ce is different from what I¡¯ve known so far and so, my tears didn¡¯t stop.

 Chapter 3

    <strong>03. me From Hands</strong>

    <i>Ojii-san</i> patted my head until I stopped crying.

    <i>¡°...I¡¯m sorry...thank you very much.¡±</i>

    I¡¯ve calm down a little but my breath is still somewhat hitched.

    I promptly ced my trust on this <i>Ojii-san</i> who perhaps said some kind words to me while I¡¯m crying.

    We returned to the house where I slept some time ago and <i>Ojii-san</i>served some kind of pink tea.

    I finally calm down after slowly drinking the tea which smelled lke roses.

    <i>Ojii-san</i> sat down across me and pointed at himself and then...

    ¡°***Alexei***. Alex, A-l-e-x.¡±

    ...he began to talk.

    ¡ºAlex¡» was the only thing I caught but I guess that it is probably<i>Ojii-san</i>¡®s name. This time, I pointed to <i>Ojii-san</i>...

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    ...then I asked so, and <i>Ojii-san</i> gave a big nod.

    Apparently, it¡¯s seems like the correct answer.

    And then I pointed at myself and said, ¡°Haruto¡±.

    Several days after that, I continually learned words from Alex every day through pointing.

    My notebook, which was originally filled with notes about flowers, is now full of this ce¡¯s words.

    The information about this world that I¡¯ve learned through such clumsymunication are the following: this country is called the ¡ºFlower Capital¡», Alex manages this garden and it appears like he has a fairly high standing.

    And when I finally memorized the words necessary for every day life, I saw something unbelievable.

    mes came out of Alex¡¯s hands.

 Chapter 4

    <strong>04. The Boy Who Looks Like A Girl</strong>

    <strong>[Alexei¡¯s POV]</strong>

    That day, I finished my morning work as always and just came back home.

    And then I found her in front of my house.

    It¡¯s a girl with ck hair, something unusual in this country.

    She was wearing some kind of an essory made of two sses around her eyes. I¡¯ve never seen this before, either.

    And she had a considerably delicate physique to the extent that I became worried.

    Sleeping in this grasnd is unsafe so I tried waking her up, but she didn¡¯t wake up at all even if I shook her shoulder or called out to her.

    I noticed that she¡¯s apparently not sleeping but is actually unconscious, so I carried her in my arms and hurriedly took her along to my house.

    That is when I realized that it¡¯s not a girl, but a boy.

    ... I never thought I would be this disappointed.

    The boy did not wake up easily, but since he did not have any particr injuries either, I decided to visit the actual scene once again.

    When I returned to the house after a short while, the boy was crouching down at the front door and was muttering something incoherently.

    ¡°Oi, are you already fine?¡±

    When I called out to him, the boy looked back at my direction as if he was surprised.

    His eye, which were opened wide that they seem like they¡¯ll fall out, and his hair are simrly pitch ck.

    And he still looks like a girl either way.

    Furthermore, what surprised me the most were the words he spoke that I can¡¯t understand.

    I did not think that there was someone who could not speak the officialnguage of this world.

    I wonder what kind of mountain recesses did hee from?

    Then when he burst into tears, he somehow stirred up my desire to protect, we began living together while I taught him thenguage.

    That is when I noticed Haruto had an abnormally small appetite and he likes flowers very much.

    Moreover, he was quite intelligent.

    Haruto has a beloved beautiful book where many imaginary flowers are drawn, it seems to be very valuable.

    He is perhaps a Young Master if he has a book like that.

    Those peaceful days continued, however, Haruto was strangely surprised when he saw my magic once.

    I am even more surprise, y¡¯know?

    Really, just where did youe from...?

 Chapter 5

    <strong>05. It Appears To Be Magic</strong>

    The thing Alex used is magic.

    It is not unusual and it appears to be widespread even if not everyone can use it.

    Conversely, it is more surprising if there is a person who doesn¡¯t know about it.

    ording to Alex, magic can light up fire which is used in mundane activities and for illumination. If a high level technique is used, the eye and hair color will apparently change.

    ¡°Haruto¡¯s ck coloring is very beautiful, however this country doesn¡¯t perceive the meaning of ck to be good. If possible, it¡¯s better to change that color using magic. I¡¯ll do it for you if you happen to have a favorite color.¡±

    I¡¯m thankful for Alex¡¯s suggestion. I don¡¯t want my appearance to be conspicious since my existence is already out of ce.

    I took out the illustrated encyclopedia and pointed at a certain flower.

    ¡°Purple is good.¡±

    That is the color of my favorite flower, wisteria.

    However, I changed it to dark purple hurriedly since it obviously won¡¯t look good if I have such bright color.

    ¡°Got it. Then let¡¯s make that your eye color. For your hair... is light gray fine? Then, close your eyes.¡±

    There are many parts of thenguage I can¡¯t understand yet if the words are spoken too fast.

    I closed my eyes so I can blend myself in this world even a little.

    In the end, my coloring didn¡¯t change.

    Alex said that it¡¯s a difficult magic so there¡¯s no helping it, but he looked so depressed that I felt guilty.

    <i>¡°Alex, don¡¯t worry about it.¡±</i>

    I want to somehow cheer him up using the words I just learned but they didn¡¯t quite surface easily.

    ¡°Alex, I, here, can work? Here, ck, okay?¡±

    I proposed that since it¡¯s impossible for me to live on free food forever.

    Even if it seems like ck symbolizes ill-omen in this world, I also wanted to convey that it¡¯s not really necessary to change it.

    When Alex heard that, he patted my head while saying, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    While I¡¯m feeling the warmth from his hand...

    <i>¡°Even though you¡¯re patting my head, how old do you think I am!?¡±</i>

    ...a new doubt sprang up.

    I heard that he never saw a young Asian before.

    Nevertheless, I¡¯m already twenty years old, y¡¯know...

 Chapter 6

    <strong>6. Age Incident</strong>

    I digested the surprising event when I told Alex my age.

    It seems like Alex thought that I am about 15 years old.

    Even though it¡¯s unreasonable no matter how you look at it, I am not surprised anymore since Alex told me that he mistook me for a woman at first.

    After two months passed since I arrived here, I am finally allowed to help Alex with his work.

    The types of flowers are different, but it¡¯s still fun since I can utilize the knowledge I have on how to raise them.

    It was awkward with my co-workers at first, but they weed me warmly without being cruel just because I have ck hair.

    In the course of these peaceful days, I am recently absorbed in domestic chores.

    ¡°Haruto, did you know that the ¡ºbento¡» you made me is really famous in the work site?¡± Alex said so on one asion.

    The lunchbox I felt like making for Alex on that day became considerably popr. Ipletely became the ¡®lunch boy¡¯.

    Bento, Japanese boxed lunch.

    ?

    I originally lived alone so doing housework is my specialty.

    However, when I came to this world where I had no one, the feeling of being needed even for something trivial makes me happy above everything else.

    Today, I also cheerfully made Alex¡¯s favorite sweet <i>tamagoyaki</i>.

 Chapter 7

    <strong>7. Alexei-san Likes Bento.</strong>

    <strong>[Alexei¡¯s POV]</strong>

    I am Alexei. I usually manage the garden of the royal pce but the truth is, I am the King¡¯s younger brother. I am 35 years old.

    ... It doesn¡¯t mean that I¡¯m managing the garden because I have a bad rtionship with my older brother.

    From the start, I am not interested in the throne at all and I am contented with the kind of life I am living right now.

    Incidentally, my younger brother is the Knight Commander.

    Today, I am going to boast to my little brother about the ¡ºbento Haruto made for me.

    I was surprised when I first saw the bento.

    Various side dishes are beautifully arranged in such a small box.

    Haruto shows prodigal skill in his work but it seems like his skills are not just limited to that.

    ¡°Vice Commander! Did you see my little brother?¡±

    I happened to see the Vice Commander, who hurriedly saluted before me.

    Though I really don¡¯t care about things like that.

    ¡°Your Highness, it is rare to see you in a ce like this. If you are looking for the Commander, I think he happens to be in his office.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± I answered and headed to the office.

    My younger brother Alfred is in his office inside the royal pce.

    ¡°Al, I brought some lunch!¡±

    I approached my younger brother who looks worn out.

    ¡°Elder Brother, this is rare. I was just going to take a break, too.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± I said, then asked the male assistant to prepare tea.

    ¡°I had it especially made enough for two people¡¯s share today. It¡¯s bento.¡±

    ¡°Bento?¡± Al seemed curious when I announced it with pride.

    Al¡¯s eyes went wide when he lifted his lids.

    ¡°This is beautiful. It¡¯s a meal that can be eaten without expressly going to the dining hall! Furthermore, it¡¯s delicious!¡±

    He started eating the bento ahead of me!

    If I don¡¯t hurry up, even my share will be gone at the rate he¡¯s going.

    ¡°By the way Elder Brother, who made this? Have you finally found a lover?¡±

    ¡°No, I picked up a young man recently. His appearance is like that of a woman but he is considerably strong willed and very intelligent.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s working in the garden right now,¡± I replied, then proceeded to introduce Haruto.

    Al ate the bento with surprising swiftness.

    ¡°Please express my gratitude to Haruto<i>-san</i>, too. It was delicious.¡±

    I left the office while saying, ¡°Got it.¡±

    Thereafter, I brought bento for Al everyday and it became popr inside the royal pce.

 Chapter 8

    <strong>8. I Made A Friend</strong>

    Several months after I began helping Alex with his work, I finally made a friend around my age.

    His name is Urie and he is twenty-one years old, a year older than me.

    He is a blond-haired, blue-eyeddy-killer who just became a Knight. I think that just a few years more and he¡¯ll surely be a center of attraction in high society.

    Although it could be said that it¡¯s already happening...

    He came across me during his patrol inside the royal pce and began talking to me.

    It was then that I learned for the first time that this garden is owned by the royal family.

    During that encounter, mynguage proficiency had already improved by leaps and bounds.

    ¡°Haruto, did you know that the ¡ºbento¡» recently became popr in the royal pce?¡±

    One day, Urie said something like that.

    ¡°Yeah. I knew. I also asionally make them.¡±

    I never expected it to be popr at all.

    Where could Alex be possibly eating the bento?

    ¡°Really? I would also like to eat Haruto¡¯s bento by all means.¡±

    The destructive power of a hottie¡¯s request is different, isn¡¯t it?

    While trembling a little, I also decided that this is a good chance for my request.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll make you a bento tomorrow. In exchange, will you cut my hair? It grew so it¡¯s quite a bother. Urie looks like someone with a good taste regarding matters like that.¡±

    I want to entrust it to someone with a reliably good taste, instead of Alex who sometimes let his stubble grow for a very long time.

    Besides, if I imprudently went to their equivalent of a hair salon in this world, I think there is the possibility that my ck hair may cause problems. And so, I cannot readily go with that idea.

    However, Urie became upset.

    ¡°No, no! You cannot do that, Haruto. Long hair suits you. That¡¯s right, why don¡¯t I give you something to tie up your hair in a bundle instead? As a gift for making me bento, that is.¡±

    Urie dered arbitrarily, then promptly returned to his afternoon work.

    It was not until the evening of that day that I forgot to ask Urie¡¯s preference for the omelette.

 Chapter 9

    <strong>9. Parallel World Love Circumstance</strong>

    ¡°It¡¯s delicious!¡± Urie said as he ate a sweet rolled omelette.

    As promised, he gave me a string to tie my hair.

    It¡¯s different from my original world¡¯s rubber band, but it definitely can gather my hair together.

    I can see Urie¡¯s good sense as I expected from the blue gem attached to the hair-tie.

    I was sufficiently pleased and used it everyday, but everyone in the garden teased me about it.

    ¡°Oh, Haruto! Don¡¯t use something so cute! Are you really a man!?¡±

    ¡°I already said I¡¯m a man!!¡±

    It had been the usual flow of things for me to answer like that and for everyone tough together afterwards.

    I think I am now considerably familiar with this world.

    It would be a lie if I said that I do not love my previous way of living. However, my acquaintances gradually increased and my everyday smiles have not ceased.

    Now that I personally experienced living in this world, I think that it¡¯s not really that bad.

    Then something happened around that time.

    I havee across two men kissing in the garden corner.

    I waspletely shaken, and Alex called out my strange behavior.

    There¡¯s no use worrying about it alone so I decided to obediently tell him.

    ¡°Uhm, is homosexualitymon in this country?¡±

    Even though I summoned my courage and inquired that, Alex only looked at me nkly.

    ¡°What are you talking about? Same-sex marriage ismon, y¡¯know? Well, I still like girls though,¡± he casually dered.

    This time, I was the one left dumbfounded.

 Chapter 10

    <strong>10. I noticed two yearster.</strong>

    While I may have acknowledged the shocking love circumstance in this parallel world, nothing changed within me.

    Just that, the jokes that everyone in the garden are saying may just be jokes to me, but I now realized that they were somewhat serious about it.

    Thus, two years passed in the blink of an eye since I came to this world. It was then I noticed.

    Until now, I have never gone anywhere except the royal pce.

    I never minded it so far since I was busy learning thenguage and letters of this world, but now I cannot control my curiousity once I came to this realization.

    The night of that day, I decided to talk to Alex immediately once he came home.

    ¡°Alex, I want to go to the town.¡±

    ¡°Oh, finally? Then you better use this.¡±

    He said that and handed me a pouch containing this country¡¯s currency.

    ¡°That¡¯s your sry, Haruto. You never said anything so far so I decided to keep it for the time being. Since you have that, wouldn¡¯t it be a good idea to attend the town¡¯s festival this time?¡± Alex suggested.

    I¡¯m relieved to receive a proper sry and also very happy to have Alex¡¯s kindness.

    But there is still a problem.

    ¡°But is it okay for me to go out with these hair and eyes?¡±

    When I expressed my anxiety, Alex answered, ¡°I prepared this in case something like this might happen.¡±

    He took out a small bottle with ck powder with a self-satisfied look.

    ¡°Ocassionally, magic isn¡¯t effective in humans. But I observed that Haruto has a constitution that makes it extremely difficult for you to be affected by magic. Therefore, the previous magic did not fail, just that there was too little change to be noticed.¡±

    ¡°I did not fail!¡± Alex emphasized whileughing.

    ¡°That¡¯s why I took it into consideration. It may be hard to make the magic hold if applied externally. So manufactured this magic potion. This was made so that magic will be applied from the inside. You should drink this during the festival,¡± he exined, handing over the small bottle to me.

    I can do nothing but express my gratitude, truly d from the bottom of my heart that this person was the one who picked me up.

    ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll be sure to buy you a souvenir.¡±

    When I dered that, Alex only replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± as he left the room.

    How about I invite Urie to the festival tomorrow?

    I went to bed while thinking of that, but it seems like sleep wille difficult tonight due to my excitement.

 Chapter 11

    <strong>11. I Want To Go To The Town No Matter What</strong>

    The next day, I told Urie about the festival when he came at lunch break like usual.

    ¡°It¡¯s my first time going somewhere besides the Royal Pce! That¡¯s why I thought, if possible I want Urie to go with me. But... did you already promise to be with someone earlier?¡±

    Urie had be a person of interest in high society faster than I expected.

    His promotion to the Knight Order is going well, too. I can confidently say that he is admired by every female in this world.

    ¡°No, it will be my pleasure to go with you. But Haruto, will you be alright with that hair?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Alex made me a special magic potion. It will change my hair and eye color during the festival.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m relieved if that¡¯s the case,¡± Urie answered, then decided that we will meet at the pce gates during the appointed day.

    The night before the day of the festival, I took the magic potion in question while Alex watch over me.

    It¡¯s quite bitter. After I managed to swallow it down while fighting the strong urge to vomit, the inside of my body became warm then rapidly settled.

    ¡°Woah!¡±

    With Alex¡¯s cheer, I knew that it was a sess.

    On the other side of the mirror, what was projected were hair of diluted ink and eyes of deep purple color.

    ¡®So this is me?¡¯ I thought in surprise, but then I realized that my sight is not blurry even when I don¡¯t have my sses on.

    ¡°Your eyes were cured, too.¡±

    Alex had a self-satisfied look again.

    This person is really an absurdly amazing magician.

    Anyhow, this will make it possible for me to attend the festival tomorrow.

    However, Alex dropped yet another bomb.

    ¡°Tomorrow¡¯s festival is actually something couples attend. Didn¡¯t you invite Urie? Good luck!¡±

    I didn¡¯t hear anything like that!!

    Towards Alex who knew that but kept it a secret, my gratitude had now been cut down by half.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind either way, but Urie might be troubled. He looked like he came from a good family. It may be a problem if rumors spread that he¡¯s with a man.¡±

    ¡°But I can¡¯t cancel at thiste hour,¡± I said in fluster.

    Alex presented a paper bag, saying he has a good idea.

    I have a bad feeling about this.

    ¡°Then if Haruto pretends to be a girl, wouldn¡¯t it be fine?¡±

    It¡¯s the first time I wanted to hit Alex.

    Still, I don¡¯t have any other n after all. Without having the willpower to give up my first town visit, I ended up cross dressing.

 Chapter 12

    <strong>12. Cheerfully at the Festival</strong>

    My first town visit should have been spent cheerfully, but I only feel like sinking into the ground now that I¡¯m cross dressing.

    Alex¡¯s present was a pink dress.

    The sky is clear, contrasting my feelings. It¡¯s a weather ideal for a festival day.

    Urie is already waiting at the pce gates.

    He¡¯s not in his Knight uniform but in a nobleman¡¯s clothing.

    ¡°Urie, sorry for the wait!¡±

    It¡¯s embarassing so I hang my head while greeting Urie.

    ¡°Eh, could you be Haruto?¡±

    That¡¯s right. You¡¯re definitely right.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me,¡± When I looked up, Urie stared at me for several seconds then burst intoughter.

    ¡°What¡¯s with that transformation? Is this a side benefit~?¡±

    He grasped my arm and linked our hands together.

    ¡°Then shall we go, My Lady?¡±

    I crushed Urie¡¯s hand in a maximum tight grip when he continued making fun of me.

    My first town visit is full of fun things.

    People who pass by turn back for a second nce to Urie.

    Feeling haughty somehow, I inadvertently stuck close to him as we walk.

    When Urie¡¯s arm disyed a considerable power in the shooting booth, the shopkeeper made a troubled expression.

    However, the gentleman Urie only chose a yellow stuffed bear among the prizes. Both I and the shopkeeper turned red at the same time.

    We fully enjoyed the festival without reservations, then visited a bento box shop to buy a souvenir for Alex.

    The bento boom in the castle spread as far as the town, stores specializing in bento boxes are now open.

    Alex, who can do almost everything with magic, still takes my bento everyday until now.

    As a thank-you for all his troubles, I want to give him something that can be useful.

    I also purchased a bracelet with a blue magic stone to express my gratitude to Urie for apanying me.

    Although I say it is a magic stone, it¡¯s just around the level of a so-called power stone.

    On the way back, I decided to hand over the bracelet to Urie.

    ¡°Urie, thanks for today. Because of you, it was a fun day.¡±

    Here¡¯s a gift, I pushed it to him in order to hide my embarrassment.

    ¡°Thanks. This is also from me. I unconsciously bought it since Haruto likes purple flowers very much.¡±

    He presented me an earring of a blooming purple flower. It¡¯s way too different with wisteria flowers but I¡¯m d of Urie¡¯s sympathy, causing my smile to overflow.

    Later, Alex cheerfully reported about the uproar in high society about Urie having a girlfriend.

    Please excuse me for reflexively throwing the souvenir bento box at him.

 Chapter 13

    <strong>13. Mysterious Friend</strong>

    <strong>[Urie¡¯s POV]</strong>

    Two years have passed since I was acquainted with Haruto.

    I, who was little uneasy that I might have been epted to the Knight Order due to my status as a person from a Duke¡¯s House, calm down very much when I am with Haruto who treated me informally.

    Since then, I spent my lunch break with Haruto.

    From what I heard, it seems like Haruto is living with His Highness Alex.

    His Highness is the entric younger brother of the King, holding an iparable talent as a magician but manages the garden for some reason instead.

    I deemed Haruto suspicious during our fist conversation but we made progress fast and now, there¡¯s not even a sense of difort left.

    Then on one asion, I received an invitation from Haruto to go to the festival together.

    I¡¯m sure Haruto doesn¡¯t know the meaning of what he just did.

    But I, who thought it was amusing, epted the invitation.

    I heard that Haruto will take care of his hair color using His Highness¡¯ handmade magic potion.

    For His Highness to go to that extent, it appears like Haruto is really loved.

    On the day of the festival, a pretty girl talked to me as I was waiting at the pce gates.

    When I took a closer look, it was actually Haruto.

    His straight long hair was pale ash in color and his eyes were deep purple.

    And above all, he was wearing a pink dress that prominently enhances his figure.

    I took Haruto¡¯s hand while secretly thinking that he will be a good ¡®insect repent¡¯.

    ...Haruto unexpectedly had a strong grip.

    When we reached the town, Haruto¡¯s attractiveness made heads turn as we passed by people.

    As if he was pleased, Haruto yfully held onto my arm.

    Does having a little sister feel like this?

    It¡¯s not a bad feeling.

    At any rate, I can¡¯t believe Haruto is just a year younger than me.

    When we stopped by the shooting booth, I unconsciously made some serious effort.

    A lot of prizes dropped but I decided to only get the yellow stuffed bear Haruto has been shooting nces at.

    We were going around the stalls for a while when...

    ¡°Do you know <i>ringoame</i>*?¡± Haruto asked.

    <i>Ringoame (candied apples) are verymon in Japanese festivals.</i>

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I answered, and Haruto looked a little disappointed, speaking about how he bought them as a child when he went to festivals with his parents.

    It was the first time Haruto talked about his family.

    For some reason, he looked mature with that expression as if he¡¯s staring at something that is very, very far away. I didn¡¯t know what I should answer.

    While Haruto was choosing a present for His Highness Alexei, I also did my own search.

    I thought of giving him a present as apology for not knowing where to find ¡°ringoame¡±.

    Right then, I found a purple flower earring which Haruto mentioned he likes the best.

    It has the same color as Haruto¡¯s current eyes.

    A smiling face suits Haruto more than that kind of matured expression.

    I hope he could smile even just a little when he looks at this flower, I can¡¯t help thinking that.

    After the festival, rumors about me having a lover spread.

    That is only natural after we walked around that much.

    It increasingly held credibility when I did not deny the rumors and started wearing a bracelet the day after the festival.

    When I was not called out by women for a while, I felt the corners of the mouth went up as the situation developed ording to my expectations.

 Chapter 14

    <strong>14. His Majesty¡¯s Expectations</strong>

    <strong><i>Author¡¯s Note:</i></strong><i> The main love interest hase, this is from Leonhart¡¯s point of view.</i>

    I, Leonhart Caspar, seeded the Emperor¡¯s throne from my father for four years now. I am twenty years old right now.

    Our country Caspar is a military regime at its first founding, expanding its territories through wars and currently an influential country with thergest territory and military strength in the world.

    Ever since I was a child, I had been harboring doubts about this country that only excelled in wars. However, it was not until I have been Emperor for two years that I devoted my efforts into putting an end to the war.

    The citizens¡¯ burdens will increase the longer war drags on.

    In order to prevent it, I naturally knew that I had to do considerably heartless actions.

    However, I continued pushing forward with the belief that ¡°a wealthy country can be achieved without wars.¡±

    There weren¡¯t ack of people who promote wars and believe that the country¡¯s economy could only be upheld because of wars.

    In the middle of that, when I attended the military academy in my teens while concealing my social status, Kristoff sympathized with this belief. Now, he engages in national politics as my aide.

    After putting an end to war and purging officials who were involved in embezzlement and fraud, we were pressed with the development of domestic goods cirction and various work.

    The simultaneous attack done for the sake of ending the war followed by the internal purge resulted to me being called [Aloof King] both inside and outside the country. But I think it was quite a fine medal for me.

    There are still heaps of domestic problems but the number of people who agree with my idea gradually increased. While it was hectic, steady progress can be felt everyday.

    However, there was an issue that I had to settle myself.

    It was the ¡ºissue of an Empress Consort¡».

    So far, I¡¯ve married three princesses as concubines from countries that allied with us, but the position of the Empress Consort is still empty.

    Recently, Kristoff wouldn¡¯t shut up about the image of the country being affected because the Emperor has no consort, and the times that I face other countries as an Emperor is not negligible either.

    As usual, Kristoff entered the study after an intense series of knocks. And just as expected, he was carrying a portrait of possible marriage partner.

    ¡°Good morning, Your Majesty. I hope that today will be the day I can receive your agreement.¡±

    He said so and presented the portrait. A princess who had the impression of a youngdy brought up sheltered indeed was drawn there.

    Though the extent of its authenticity was unknown, she surely was a beautiful woman.

    However, what I want from my Empress Consort is for her to bring something profitable for this country. I refuse to take a princess who cannot do anything.

    ¡°So? What is the main industry of this princess¡¯ country?

    When I asked that in order to persistently find fault with her...

    ¡°Then could you tell me who in the world will you ept? Does Your Majesty understand enough that you need a Empress Consort, too?¡±

    Kristoff inquired while showing some slight anger.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see, a princess from the ¡ºFlower Capital¡» Orania is eptable. That country was originally ravaged by wars but their economy is now enriched from being a tourist spot. The know-how of tourist industry is something I want by all means for our country in the future.¡±

    Kristoff sighed at my dead serious answer.

    ¡°Why are you going to such lengths to say it¡¯s for the sake of the country? She¡¯s the person who will be your wife, isn¡¯t she? Won¡¯t you at least demand someone whose appearance or personality matches your preference?¡±

    ¡°In case of such viewpoint, I do not want a wife who can only watch me. I want a wife who has the backbone to change the country with me.¡±

    ¡°I get it already. But still, Orania has no princess close to Your Majesty¡¯s age. That country only has princes.¡±

    Towards Kristoph who said, ¡°How unfortunate, isn¡¯t it?¡± I only answered back, ¡°What¡¯s unfortunate with that?¡±

    ¡°Our country recognizes same-sex marriage, Orania should be the same, too. I do not understand the problem with that.¡±

    Same sex marriage is not unusual in the royal families either.

    I was convinced that I should just have a child from the concubines, but Kristoff doesn¡¯t seem to agree.

    ¡°It is true that there are some from the royal families who got married to the same sex. However, having a man as a Empress Consort is unheard of. Please reconsider it.¡±

    Though he appealed desperately, a slight resignation was visible because he knew from our long acquaintance that opinions I proposed will not change easily.

    ¡°No, wasn¡¯t it discussed in the previous assembly, too? Tourism is indispensable for the country¡¯s economic development. It is for that reason I want the know-how of Orania.¡±

    Kristoff¡¯s sigh was deeper than a while ago.

    ¡°Please think about it a little. I also have to talk with Orania and above all, I do not know whether the Council will approve.¡±

    The wrinkle of Kristoff¡¯s forehead became deeper. I was worried it will remain that way.

    ¡°Then I only need to marry a princess, don¡¯t I? Orania has kept being a neutral country since thest great war, but there are a lot of countries aiming for them. We only need to move our hands from behind with the condition of binding a military alliance.¡±

    It¡¯s a good n, when I said that, Kristoff put his hand on his forehead and looked down.

    ¡°I think you are a good King who thinks of the country and its people. However, I am surprised when you asionally say such astounding things. You are being called ¡ºAloof King¡» but you are actually a considerate person. If you only smile to others a bit more, that sort of title would disappear. Haaah, anyway, I will discuss this with Orania after talking to the Prime Minister.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you quite worn out?¡± I asked using the tone from our days as students.

    ¡°I¡¯lle again,¡± Kristoff turned around and while I wanted to say ¡°next time, take your time resting¡± I only called out with, ¡°sorry¡±.

    At that time, I never expected that my absurd talk will bring about a destined encounterter.

 Chapter 15

    <strong>15. Brothers¡¯ Conference</strong>

    <strong>[Alfred¡¯s POV]</strong>

    Today Ariel-<i>aniue</i>, the King, summoned me together with Alex-<i>aniue</i>because there was something we need to discuss secretly among us brothers.

    The two of them have already sat down in their seats earlier when I entered the King¡¯s study.

    ¡°Sorry I¡¯mte.¡±

    ¡°No, you¡¯re just on time.¡±

    Alex-<i>aniue</i> answered while pulling up a chair.

    When I sat down, Ariel-<i>aniue</i> made the waitperson preparing ck tea withdraw. He also repeatedly instructed the guards to not let anyone inside no matter what.

    I could not help but wonder what in the world the discussion will be if he was this high-strung.

    Ariel-<i>aniue</i> returned to his seat, and after breathing out a sigh, he began to speak with a grave expression.

    ¡°Both of you, thank you foring even though you are busy. This is sudden but I had youe today because I want you to tell me your opinion on the contents of this letter.¡±

    He said so and took out a letter.

    And both I and Alex-<i>aniue</i> were at loss for words when we saw the wax seal crest stamped at its back.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this the country of Caspar¡¯s seal? Surely, this isn¡¯t be a deration of war, right?¡±

    I asked in a haste.

    Since the Emperor took over, they have not started a new war so it was an unexpected situation.

    If there would be an outbreak of war, the one in charged of the military division would be me.

    As a magician, Alex-<i>aniue</i> will also have to participate in the war.

    Just as the impending necessary matters popped into my head, the answer that came from Ariel-<i>aniue</i> was unexpected.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s different. Rather, it is the opposite. They want to form an alliance with our Orania.¡±

    ¡°¡±Huh?¡±¡±

    I synchronized with Alex-<i>aniue</i> at being excessively mistaken.

    ¡°The current Emperor of Caspar seems to be a pacifist. It appears like they want to introduce tourism industry in their country with our country as a reference. Therefore they want to tie an alliance. As apensation, they offered to support our country regarding military affairs.¡±

    For that ¡ºAloof King¡» to be a pacifist, what a ridiculous statement.

    Although I only met him once when I participated in a ceremony of Caspar, that silver hair, green eyes and unsmiling appearance indeed ¡ºaloof¡» itself.

    I should absolutely avoid situations that will result to meeting a man like that in the battlefield, that was the strong impression he left.

    That was the kind of man who doesn¡¯t choose the means for the sake of his own goals.

    ¡°Our country remained neutral since the previous great war. Therefore it is also difficult to say that our military force will win against other countries. However, in the recent years, I also received reports that there are movements aiming to start a war with our country. To be frank, I think I¡¯m thankful. If Caspar supports our military force as an allied country, the ones aiming to start a war with our country will disappear.¡±

    What Ariel-aniue said was the in situation of our country at present.

    ¡°However, that sort of too good to be true story, there is no way it would be free right?¡±

    The doubt of Alex-aniue was also justifiable.

    The condition they attached must be the reason we gathered today.

    ¡°The condition is ¡ºto let a woman, or a man with the appearance of a woman, from the royal family marry the Emperor as the Empress Consort¡».¡±

    What kind of condition is that!? I instinctively let out a retort.

    Ariel-<i>aniue</i> continued.

    ¡°In case of a male, they want to somehow gloss over the gender in the official papers and have him marry as a woman. As is expect, having a male as the Emperor¡¯s Consort seems unfavorable. But to go to that extent, it seems like they really want to learn our economic know-how¡ª¡ª how our country which was a devastatednd just fifty years ago turned into arge sightseeing country. It appears like the current Emperor will seriously change the empire.¡±

    ¡°The youngsters nowadays are also strong-willed,¡± Ariel-<i>aniue</i> said in admiration.

    However, Alex-<i>aniue</i> stated with a calm tone, ¡°But there are no women in the royal family, there are no effeminate men either.¡±

    That¡¯s right. In our lineage, the probability of males being born is strangely high and many excelled in military arts.

    All in all, it is onlyposed of people unrted to being feminine.

    ¡°Right. This alliance has a lot of advantages for our country. I want to ept by all means, but there is no way we can fulfill the condition.¡±

    Aren¡¯t there any good ideas?

    Ariel-<i>aniue</i> sipped ck tea to cool down the despondent situation.

    ¡°How about we adopt a noble daughter then send her off to marry?¡±

    Alex-<i>aniue</i> proposed.

    ¡°Well, can that really satisfy the condition of being royalty? We must avoid making them angry and starting a war. We must proceed carefully.¡±

    That is certainly right.

    A woman or a man with the appearance of a woman, possessing intelligence fit for a royalty, with the approximate age of early 20¡¯s and must have the courage to marry the Aloof King.

    Can we really find such perfectly capable person?

    ................

    ¡°Ah.¡±

    My brothers turned to me.

    ¡°Alex-<i>aniue</i>, how should I say this, uhm, when you brought me <i>bentou</i>4 or 5 years ago, didn¡¯t you talk about someone like that? He had the appearance of a woman but he is strong-willed and intelligent.¡±

    <i>Ah!</i> Alex-<i>aniue</i> raised his voice.

    ¡°It¡¯s Haruto! That¡¯s right, he perfectly fits the condition. But Haruto doesn¡¯t have any rtives. The first time he came to me, he cannot talk using themonnguage. I feel that it¡¯s too pitiful to send that kind of kid to marry into the empire.¡±

    To make Alex-<i>aniue</i> who had no attachment to anything think like that, I wonder what kind of person Haruto is?

    ¡°No, it¡¯s convenient the he does not have any rtive. Is the person named Haruto living with Alex now?¡±

    At Ariel-<i>aniue</i>¡®s question, Alex-<i>aniue</i> answered ¡°yes¡± with difficulty.

    ¡°Then how about we dere him as Alex¡¯s illegitimate child? Since he is living with Alex, the credibility increases, too.¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s hopeless. these past few years, do you know the youngdy rumored together with the Duke¡¯s eldest son? That is Haruto. If we make it public that Haruto just have the appearance of a woman, it would not be consistent.¡±

    The exchange of my older brothers continued.

    ¡°That only makes it more convenient. It would not be strange for him to be acquainted with a high-ranking noble if he is a royalty. Rather, it is natural for a royalty.¡±

    This is the victory of Ariel-<i>aniue</i>.

    As I decided that, Alex-<i>aniue</i> bit his lips.

    ¡°Alex, tell this Haruto toe here. I want to talk to him personally.¡±

    If I were to say, Haruto might be unfortunate.

    However, I am a royalty so I have the obligation to protect the numerous citizens.

    For me now, I can only pray for Haruto to not be hurt as much as possible.

    It was exactly when the waitperson finished brewing ck tea and exited, that Haruto was brought to the study.

 Chapter 16

    <strong>16. With A Sudden Request</strong>

    Five years have passed since I came to to this country.

    Since the first time I went out to the town, I participated in the festival with Urie every year. While dressing up like a woman.

    Because of that, exaggerated rumors about Urie having a lover spread.

    ordingly, it was a youngdy with a weak constitution and can only go out once a year. Some says it was a princess of a prosperous country that had be extinct.

    I want Urie to please stop denying halfheartedly, too.

    However, Urie also has someone he loves and he bought souvenir for her this year, too.

    When I told him he can invite that person instead of me, he said, <i>¡°a jealous expression is also cute, I can¡¯t stop¡±</i> with a lewd look on his face.

    I wonder what kind of woman is she, to make Urie say that?

    That day, I was off duty so I spent time in a rxed mood while drinking ck tea.

    Then, Alex who was off somece since this morning, returned.

    ¡°Haruto, there¡¯s someone who wants to meet you for a while, will youe with me?¡± Alex said somewhat evasively.

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s fine, but aren¡¯t you quite tired, Alex?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m alright. I was just in a slightly serious discussion.¡±

    Alex led the way and entered the royal pce just like that.

    Inside the royal pce, everyone whom we passed made way for Alex and bowed to him.

    Besides, Alex also did not have a bewildered expression. Who on earth is he?

    I was reminded at thiste hour that I am not very well-informed about Alex¡¯s identity.

    And then we arrived in front of a massive door.

    Alex knocked and the door was opened from the inside.

    Two men who are about the same age as Alex were sitting inside the room.

    ¡°Are you Haruto-<i>kun</i>?¡± The personage sitting inside inquired.

    ¡°Yes. I am Haruto Nishiguchi.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± he began to speak while nothing.

    ¡°Nice to meet you, Haruto-<i>kun</i>. I am Ariel Orania, the King of this country. I am the older brother of Alexis.¡±

    No way. The King, he said. Or rather, Alex is the King¡¯s little brother...

    I wonder what¡¯s beginning to move at the ces I do not know about?

    Then the person sitting next to the King stood up.

    ¡°Nice to meet you. I am Alfred Orania. The position of Knight Commander is entrusted to me. I am the third son. I ate Haruto¡¯s bentou before. Thank you for the delicious meal at that time.¡±

    Did Alex eat bentou in such ce?

    Or perhaps I should say, what kind of lineup is this? What kind of situation is this?

    I turned back towards Alex.

    ¡°What kind of situation is this?¡±

    When I asked in a whisper, the King answered.

    ¡°Haruto-<i>kun</i>, I want you to be the bride of the Emperor of Caspar.¡±

    No, that¡¯s not an exnation.

    What the heck is ¡°to be the bride¡±?

    In my knowledge, it means that the woman goes to the male¡¯s side to be his wife.

    ¡°I am sorry but I do not understand what you mean.¡±

    ¡°Ariel-<i>aniue</i>, even insufficient exnations have their limits. Haruto-<i>kun</i>, how about you sit down here first? ¡±

    When I was troubled, Alfred-<i>sama</i> came to my rescue.

    However, even when I heard the exnation of Alred-<i>sama</i>, I wasn¡¯t able toprehend it.

    I cannot understand the significance of marrying a man as Alex¡¯s daughter.

    ¡°I am straight so I do not think I will be of use regarding the matter of marrying into Caspar.¡±

    I decided to settle the problem little by little.

    ¡°Haruto-<i>kun</i>, there is no need for you to love the Emperor of Caspar. Moreover, you said you won¡¯t be of use, but about the matter where they want to learn the economy of our country, I think they will want to talk to a specialist of that field. I think that I want Haruto-<i>kun</i> for that mediator-like role. The Emperor of Caspar already have three concubines so I think there is no problem of sessor.¡±

    Alfred-<i>sama</i> answered calmly.

    ¡°What will happen if I said I don¡¯t want to marry no matter what?¡±

    The King answered this time with a grave expression.

    ¡°Even though we refuse this negotiation, that does not mean that Caspar will suddenly invade. However, in the recent years, our country is in a situation where we are not certain when other countries will dere war. If we cannot form an alliance with Caspar, it might me a matter of time for war to happen.¡±

    <i>¡®Therefore, can you please ept?¡¯</i>

    The eyes of the King stared straight at me, I couldn¡¯t look away.

    ¡°But even if I agree to get married as a woman, I will turn 25 years old this year. I think it¡¯s impossible for me to pretend as a woman after all.¡±

    When I informed them that, the two of them except Alex stared at me with staggered expressions.

    This is... a deja vu.

    After that, another ¡°age incident¡± happened again.

 Chapter 17

    <strong>17. The Reason I Came To This World</strong>

    I do not have an emotional attachment to this world in particr.

    As far as I am concerned, this world is nothing more than Alex, Urie and my fellow workers in the garden.

    However, since we came to this room, Alex hasn¡¯t uttered a single word.

    ¡°Alex, do you want me to get married?¡±

    When I asked frankly as usual, Alex looked at my direction as if taken aback.

    Then after surveying his brothers, he stared at me intently and began to speak.

    ¡°I...do not want Haruto to get married. Since who knows when, Haruto became someone who¡¯s like a true child to me. I do not want such Haruto to marry the Aloof King. Haruto should just stay in that garden with me. If war happens, I will drive everything away with magic.¡±

    The Alex who said that didn¡¯t have his usual frivolous impression at all.

    I realized that he seriously believed that.

    I am sure Alex has no interest in politics.

    That is probably the reason why we can work together in the garden.

    Nevertheless, he said that he may participate in a war for my sake.

    When I heard these words, I made up my mind.

    I firmly made eye contact with Alex and answered.

    ¡°I understand. I¡¯m going to Caspar.¡±

    Alex¡¯s eyes widened.

    ¡°What did you underst¡ª¨C!?¡±

    I interrupted Alex¡¯s remark as he became angry, and continued.

    ¡°For me, this world is nothing more than Alex, Urie and everyone in the garden. Above all, there are favors I received from Alex which I cannotpletely return. Besides, Alex also said that it¡¯s fine for you to go out to a war for my sake. Doesn¡¯t that mean Alex gives priority to me more than to yourself? If that¡¯s the case, then I will give priority to Alex over myself. Also, this choice is not just for the citizens of Orania. This is also for the citizens of the country that might dere war against us. If war happens, I¡¯m sure Alex will knock them down, right?¡±

    When I said that much without pausing, Alex embraced me tightly.

    ¡°Perhaps, this is the reason why I came to this country. When I think of the possiblity that Alex was the one to pick me up, it¡¯s somehow cool.¡±

    My voice is a little tearful, I burried my face in Alex¡¯s chest.

    ¡°It¡¯s not for such reason. Haruto must havee to this country to find happiness.¡±

    Alex pats my head.

    My heart is always rescued by this palm.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure I can be happy.¡±

    I muttered as if to convince myself.

 Chapter 18

    <h4>Chapter 18: Anxiety</h4>

    My decision was conveyed to the king.

    Both of two people were very thankful, but Alexander only remained with an expression that was disappointed.

    But I know no how to behave oneself as royalty and evenmon sense of this world is rather doubtful.

    Just as it is I conveyed my uneasiness, that they may incur displeasure of Caspar king.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get someone from the department of education, Haruto can also enrol at the imperial school as royalty where you can learn table manners and dancing. They have the best teachers in the nation so you can be relieved¡±

    Alfred rmended.

    ¡°And it may also be better to change a name called Haruto. Because, in this country, it is the sound of a man¡¯s name. Above all, because the name of Caspar king is Leonhard Highness, your name and his sounds alike.¡±

    I was shocked by what I was told, never in my 25-year life did I think that I would be renamed.

    But it certainly is an awkward thing if I had the same name as my husband.

    ¤½¤·¤Æ¡¢¥«¥¹¥Ñ¥ë¤ËÐÐ¤Ã¤Æ¤«¤é¤Î×Ô·Ö¤Ï½ñ¤Î×Ô·Ö¤È¤Ïß`¤¦¤Î¤À¤È¤¤¤¦½ä¤á¤È¤·¤Æ¤âÁ¼¤¤¤Î¤«¤â¤·¤ì¤Ê¤¤¤ÈË¼¤Ã¤¿¡£

    [And, I thought myself from going to Caspar might also good as amandment that he different from the now of their own.]

    ¡°I want Alexander to think of my new name before I leave this country, Please. Because I think of Alexander as my parent¡±

    I conveyed my honest thoughts. Alexander lowered his eyes, asked to leave the room saying to give some time.

    I talked with the King who stayed in the room with Alfred about what to do from now on.

    ¡°I¡¯ll negotiate with Caspar country in order to earn the period until you leave the country as much as possible. I¡¯ll discuss with the Prime Minister right away.

    Haruto-kun, respectful of thergest of thanks to your determination.

    Thank you very much¡±

    The King lowered his head to me and I realised I had undertaken a serious thing.

    I have to do something for a country and grand expectation isn¡¯t leaking, the chance to return what Alex and others gave to aftering in to this world.

    It became enough motives for me even if for dozen of people whom I knew.

    ¡°I will do the best I can, Thank you¡±

    I lowered my head, too.

    ¡°It is not necessary to be so formal from now on because Haruto is our nephew -no, niece from now on¡±

    The kind words from the king made me a little light-hearted.

 Chapter 19-21

    19. Poor At Dancing

    It has been decided that I will leave this country in three months.

    It takes about three days on horse to travel from Orania to Caspar.

    ording to this world¡¯s sense, it¡¯s a distance that is neither near nor far.

    Approximately one month passed since I began to receive royal training, but I had only spoken the necessary minimum with Alex.

    I¡¯m recently in a situation where I mostly need to stay in the pce and it seems like Alex does not return to the house either.

    I originally did not dislike studying.

    Therefore, studying the history or economy of this world is fun.

    But there was one problem.

    ¡°Move your feet more smoothly. Be careful as far as the tip of your toe.¡±

    The teacher¡¯s encouragements are also springing in the dance lessons today.

    I cannot move devastatingly.

    In the first ce, I think it¡¯s unreasonable to insist on making me do motions that draw out feminine charm.

    The teacher¡¯s irritation is also increasing every day at my poor progress, and I apologized to the apprentice who¡¯s apanying me in practice.

    One day, the teacher made a certain proposal.

    ¡°I asked a certain someone to be your partner today. He is near Haruto-sama¡¯s age and is ustomed to high society, so he will be able to lead withposure.¡±

    Surprisingly, the person intoduced as such and came into the room was Urie.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Haruto. I¡¯ve been thinking I haven¡¯te across you in the garden recently, it seems like a serious thing has happened. If it¡¯s something I can do, allow me to cooperate.¡±

    Urie says so while smiling but I¡¯m absolutely sure he finds this amusing.

    The way the corners of his mouth rise is unnatural.

    ¡°Well then, your hand please. With this, being a ¡®youngdy¡¯ is no longer a joke, right?¡±

    I delivered a knee kick to Urie who wasn¡¯t able to endure it and finallyughed.

    ***

    I started practicing with Urie and my dance came to shape atst.

    ¡°I have something to discuss with you today, Haruto.¡±

    Urie spoke at the end of the practice.

    ¡°Actually, I will be delivering the magic potion that changes Haruto¡¯s coloring. Did you hear that the potion originally cannot be preserved for a long time? It¡¯s because it¡¯s a technology still in the middle of research. After a while, the effect of the magic will wore off. Therefore it¡¯s necessary to deliver the magic potion once a month. Well, we can have it sent but when thinking about the risk of having the contents seen, it¡¯s better for a person who knows the situation to personally deliver it. Then, considering someone with the social position who can have a personal audience with a foreign country¡¯s Queen and taking into ount all kinds of things, I was chosen.¡±

    ¡°Really? Thank you. But will it be alright with your job, Urie?¡±

    He recently became the Knight Order¡¯s squad leader recently, I heard he was a young man ced with expectations.

    It didn¡¯t seem good for a person of such status to leave the country regrly.

    ¡°That being the case, Prince Alexis made a transfer magic. It can jump until the vicinity of Orania¡¯s border so half a day is sufficient. Therefore it¡¯s alright.¡±

    I thought Alex has been busy these days but I never expected that he was doing such thing.

    Alex is also supporting me so I must also exert myself more, I thought as I renewed my determination.

    ==

    20. Being ¡°Cold¡± Is...

    Only ten days are left until I leave this country.

    That day, I was looking at the night sky from the window of my room in the royal castle.

    I feel like the sky is constant in both the former world and in this world. I look up at the sky whenever I have free time.

    It¡¯s probably fortunate that I wasn¡¯t originally knowledgeable on constetions.

    Alex visited my room on a night like that.

    ¡°Haruto, you seemed busytely. Are you free right now?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°I made a promise before, didn¡¯t I? It¡¯s about your name. The day after tomorrow will be your introduction after all.¡±

    I heard from Urie that Alex overworked himself in various ways for my sake, so I¡¯m happy that he still thought of it earnestly in the middle of all that.

    Besides that, even though only my existence was conveyed to the citizens, it was also revealed that the female with Urie in the rumors was me.

    Among the citizens, it became a sad story where I have to part with the person I love and marry into Caspar for the sake of the country.

    ¡°Can I ask what it is?¡±

    I¡¯m quite nervous.

    ¡°Yeah. How about ¡ºShane¡»? In the ancientnguage of Orannia, it means ¡°to be sunny¡±. I was thinking that I want Haruto to remain cheerful even if you¡¯ll go to Caspar.¡±

    I did not tell Alex what my name meant.

    Still, for it to have the same meaning, I was filled with feelings of gratitude.

    ¡°Thank you. My name Haruto also holds the meaning ¡°to clear up¡±. That¡¯s why, you can say it¡¯s easy to get familiar with. Anyway, I¡¯m really happy. I¡¯m truly thankful.¡±

    When I expressed my gratitude just like that, Alex looked somewhat embarrassed. However, he suddenly made a serious expression and inquired.

    ¡°Haruto, you¡¯re straight, right? So you¡¯re not thinking that you want to get close to the Caspar King, are you?¡±

    I nodded at his obviously natural question.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I think you must aim for a rtionship with the Caspar King where you¡¯re neither hated nor liked. Therefore I read this and studied.¡±

    On Alex¡¯s hand was a book where the words ¡ºThe Characteristics of A Woman Who Only See You As A Friend¡» were written.

    ¡°This book states things like ¡ºShe¡¯s independent.¡» and ¡ºShe¡¯s frank.¡». In addition, Haruto¡¯s smile is intensely adorable so you shouldn¡¯t show it too much. However much the Caspar KIng likes women, seeing that smile everyday will have an adverse effect. In other words, Haruto should aim to be ¡ºcool (calm and collected)¡». That¡¯s my interpretation.¡±

    How¡¯s that? Alex asked.

    I had some doubts but it will certainly be a problem if I became too intimate with the Caspar King, so it might also be a good idea.

    ¡°I see. It¡¯s probably a good idea.¡±

    Laughter spilled unconsciously.

    When I think about the few remaining moments I canugh light-heartedly with Alex like this, loneliness wells up.

    I ended up clinging to Alex.

    It¡¯s to conceal the sudden tears that almost spilled. I did it while making up an excuse.

    And the day I leave Orannia came atst.

    ==

    21. Parting

    On the day I leave Orannia, the King dered it a special holiday and all the people in the country had a day off.

    Even everyone engaging in financial-rted businesses and the service industry stopped working for the day. That much people made a pathway of flowers in the country¡¯s main road for my sake.

    In the royal pce, the only ones left behind were the country¡¯s administration, the Knights from Caspar who came to pick me up and thedy attendants weing them.

    I, the King, Alfred-sama and Alex, together with the delegation from Caspar were waiting for the appointed time.

    The maids waiting on us were given a day off today, too, so Alfred-sama served the tea.

    ¡°Hereafter, Haruto<i>-kun</i> will bear extraordinary hardships. However, for the sake of everyone in Orannia, I hope you to please endure as a member of the royal family. We also intend to do whatever we can. I ask this of you.¡±

    ¡°Yes. I will do whatever it is I can do to the best of my abilities.¡±

    The King and I confirmed our intentions with each other once again and shook hands.

    ¡°Think of me as your real older brother and if something tough happens, please contact me anytime, alright? My best regards.¡±

    ¡°Yes. Thank you very much.¡±

    I asked Alfred-sama to instruct me on swordsmanship.

    I exchanged words with him while remembering his unsparing figure at that time.

    ¡°Haruto, you can return whenever you want. Don¡¯t do the impossible. And be sure to carry out the strategy fromst time.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if it will turn out well but I¡¯ll take a chance on it. I¡¯m really thankful for everything until now. I¡¯ll do my best.¡±

    The memories that I spent with Alex for 5 years overflowed, but tears didn¡¯t flow anymore.

    The time arrived and the Prime Minister came to call us.

    ¡°Alright, shall we go then? Are you done with the preparations, Shane?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Uncle.¡±

    From this moment on, from ¡ºHaruto¡», I have be ¡ºShane¡».

    Urie came when I went out of the room.

    Urie cleverly utilized the recent confusion and seemed to have be lovers with the person of his heart atst.

    <i>¡°Therefore, you can freely get married without worrying about me.¡±</i>

    The encouragement I received from Urie is still fresh in my memories.

    ¡°Urie<i>-sama</i>, you came. Thank you very much.¡±

    When I talked as Shane, as expected, Urie fondly looked at me as if he was somewhat sad.

    ¡°No, Shane-sama. You are even more beautiful today.¡±

    ¡°Thank you. It is something of a battle dress.¡±

    While smiling wryly, I held out a hand to give ast handshake.

    Urie, who took my hand, pulled me into his arms just like that and whispered close to my ear.

    ¡°Take care, Haruto. I¡¯ll go over to visit so do you best.¡±

    ¡°Thanks. I¡¯m off.¡±

    I answered so, and both of us went for an audience with the King.

    During the audience, there were already two people present.

    The two of them introduced themselves by the King¡¯s prompt.

    ¡°I am meeting you for the first time. I hold the responsibility of acting as an aide to the King of Caspar. My name is Kristoff. We have received a good match this time, Caspar¡¯s gratitude will never be exhausted.¡±

    Kristoff<i>-sama</i>¡®s appearance make him appear methodical but he¡¯s probably still around 20¡¯s.

    <i>So Caspar is a country with merit principle</i>, while I felt admiration, another person lifted his head.

    ¡°I serve as the Knight Commander in Caspar. My name is Eckart. We, the Caspar Chivalric Order, are responsible for escorting the Princess so please be relieved.¡±

    The Knight Commander who said that is around mid-40¡¯s and indeed has the air of a military man. His unrefined appearance inspires a sense of security instead.

    Thus, after some discussions with the King, we went outside the royal pce.

    It was a clear weather, the sky was cloudless.

    It¡¯s the same color as my dress today.

    The present I transformed using the magic potion Alex made¡ªwith a fluffy light gray hair and purple eyes, wearing a sky blue dress.

    A floral ornament, which every one of my coworkers from the garden made, was attached on the dress¡¯ chest part.

    Alex, the King, Alfred-sama, Urie and the people left in the pce came out to see us off.

    Towards those people, I shouted ¡°See you!¡± in a loud voice and bowed my head.

    It might be improper as the princess of a country, but please permit me in this final moment.

    Then, I borrowed the hand of the Knight Commander and climbed the carriage.

    Kristoff<i>-sama</i> sat in front diagonally.

    When we passed through the pce gates, everyone from the garden were lined up along the road.

    I waved my hand inevitably.

    Even afterwards, an unbelievablyrge amount of people formed rows.

    Kristoff<i>-sama</i>, who watched that situation with me, said, ¡°It¡¯s a good country.¡±

    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s a beautiful, kind country.¡±

    I barely answered so.

    I¡¯ll cry if I speak too much.

    I braced myself to carry out Alex¡¯s ¡ºcool strategy¡».

    Thus, after the trip by a long carriage, I arrived at Caspar.

 Chapter 22

    <strong>22. Rumors of the Princess</strong>

    <strong>[Kristoff¡¯s POV]</strong>

    I, who was assigned the important mission of meeting Lady Shane, the Princess of Orania, went with the Knight Commander Eckart to Orania a little earlier.

    I have heard of the current King¡¯s nephew, but in order to know what kind of person he is, I n on listening to the citizen¡¯s stories from now on.

    ¡°As expected of the ¡ºFlower Capital¡», huh? It¡¯s colorful and absolutely beautiful.¡±

    ¡°Yes, truly.¡±

    I agreed to Sir Eckart¡¯s admiration without protest. It should be a mere downtown, but everything that greeted the eyes are picturesquendscapes. Not just that, liveliness can be felt in the entire country.

    However, we did note here for sightseeing.

    ¡°If it¡¯s the citizen¡¯s stories, it has to be the pub right?¡± I proposed, and the both of us went to the pub when night fell.

    Because of the approaching marriage of a royalty, the enthusiasm in the pubs is high, too. The rumors concerning the Princess was naturally raised as the topic, so we were able to join the discussion without having a hard time.

    ¡°Like I said, even though Princess Shane has Lord Urie as her lover, she has to marry Caspar¡¯s [Aloof King] for our sake.¡±

    The man speaking was already drunk, but he was a lover of gossip so he pressed the story again.

    ¡°Really? You seem very knowlegeable about a royalty¡¯s love affair.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, because the couplees to the town festival every year. At that time, I never guessed it was Princess Shane but Lord Urie is famous.¡±

    Then the man who was drinking nearby also joined.

    ¡°I was a shooting booth manager at that festival and Lord Urie dropped all the prizes. But Lord Urie only chose one stuffed bear from that and handed it to Princess Shane. Shane-sama received it with a flushed face, it was very charming.¡±

    Still, from what second man said, I judged that this rumor has a high credibility.

    ¡°That was already from three years ago so I even thought they¡¯re going to get married.¡±

    Afterwards, with stories of how beautiful the princess is and how wonderful this country is, the sky was starting to rise when we finally slipped out from the pub.

    ¡°It seems as if we¡¯ve done quite a pitiful thing to Emperor Leo.¡±

    Sir Eckart also knows the whole story since he was Emperor Leo¡¯s fencing instructor. He was affable even though the other party was His Majesty, so he was allowed to use that nickname.

    ¡°However, isn¡¯t it good that there¡¯s no problem in that area since everyone epted her? Be that as it may, for the whole nation to believe in this ¡°Princess¡± no matter how her existence was concealed, I wonder what kind of magic they used?¡±

    It was rumored that Princess Shane¡¯s father is an extraordinary magician, but as one would expect, it would be unimaginable for him to be able to use magic to that extent. I looked forward to our meeting even more.

    Meanwhile, the day of the meeting with the royal family of Orannia came. I was dumbfounded the moment I saw the princess during the audience. Where in that appearance is a he a man? It¡¯s more urate to say he¡¯s a ¡°beautiful woman¡±. Sir Eckart was also in the same state of surprise.

    And then, we left Orannia together with the Princess.

    From her figure in front of the royal pce bidding her farewell in a loud voice and from her figure in the carriage bearing her tears from their separation, I was able to feel the strength of her will and courage. Additionally, these good looks.

    Perhaps, His Majesty might also be done in with this, too.

    While I was smirking in my mind, we entered the country of Caspar.

 Chapter 23

    <strong>23. Precautions</strong>

    When we arrived at Caspar, I was surprised by the abundance of soldiers. It is a military regime indeed. If I were to choose, I still prefer Orannia after all. However, my debut will be more or less made after the wedding with the Emperor so I only caught a glimpse from the gap in the carriage¡¯s curtain.

    We entered the royal pce of Caspar and I endured the urged to stretch from the feeling of liberation after finally getting off the carriage¡¯s confined space.

    ¡°Thank you for enduring the long journey, Princess Shane. This is sudden, but I will guide you to your room so this way please,¡± Lord Kristoff prompted.

    ¡°Sir Eckart, I¡¯m truly grateful to you. Thanks to all the Knights who were with us along the way, too. My best regards in the future. Please convey it to them.¡±

    ¡°Yes. I will tell them by all means.¡±

    It seems like we will be parting with Sir Eckart so I said my thanks then followed after Lord Kristoff.

    The room I was lead into was pink-colored. It has a canopy, too. I somewhat drew back at the undeniable ¡°princess room¡±.

    ¡°From now on, this will be the room Princess Shane will be using. And this is Elias, who will be taking care of your personal needs.¡±

    The person he introduced was a boy approximately in histe teens. With dark blue hair that looked almost ck and handsome features, although he gave the feeling of being not too expressive, he looked earnest so I had a good impression of him.

    ¡°Originally, a man cannot be appointed as the Empress Consort¡¯s personal attendant. however it¡¯s a special case this time. If you need anything, please order Elias without reservations.¡±

    ¡°I understand. Elias, please take care of me from now on.¡±

    ¡°Yes, best regards.¡±

    Even his answer is curt.

    ¡°Then I will go over the important points once more. Again, the fact that Princess Shane is male is confidential. The only people aware of it in Caspar are His Majesty, the Prime Minister, Lord Eckart, Elias and I. Will that be alright?¡±

    It¡¯s fewer than I expected. Even so, I wonder if Elias being assigned beside me a minimal support?

    ¡°Understood. I will keep it in mind.¡±

    ¡°Next, three concubines already came for His Majesty. They are Princess Ada, Princess Erma and Princess Delia. Each of them are princesses of their own countries. The eldest, Princess Ada, is 24 years old. It would be excellent if Princess Shane regards her like an older sister, but in any case, it would be nice if you get along well with them.¡±

    Even if you say ¡®older sister¡¯, I¡¯m older than her. I can¡¯t say it though because I am supposed to be 22 years old. How embarassing.

    ¡°Well then, after you take a little rest, you will be having an audience with His Majesty. I wille to take you again when it is time so please prepare,¡± Lord Kristoff said so and left the room.

    ¡°Princess Shane. Shall I prepare tea?¡±

    ¡°Sorry for troubling you, please do. Will you drink with me, too, Elias?¡±

    Afterwards, with some haggling with Elias, I finally managed to get him in the same table.

    Elias is also good at making tea.

    ¡°Are you a Squire, Elias?¡±

    ¡°...Yes. May I ask why you know?¡±

    ¡°I have a friend who is also a knight. Your build is simr to his. I¡¯m sorry that you have to take personal care of me even though you are a Squire.¡±

    Those were my honest feelings.

    ¡°No, I am also serving simultaenously as princess Shane¡¯s guard. Do not worry about it.¡±

    Elias is calm as ever.

    ¡°Then I can count on you Elias? That makes me further relieved.¡±

    It¡¯s probably fine since it¡¯s Elias, I thought and showed him a smile.

    ¡°T-the time is drawing near so let¡¯s have you changed soon.¡±

    ¡°RIght. Then I will wear the one inside this case.¡±

    The clothes I asked Elias to take out was a dress decorated with lots of small blue and purple flowers. It is somewhat in for an audience with His Majesty but I didn¡¯t really want to put on a shy dress so this is just right.

    Looking at me in the dress, Eliasplimented, ¡°It suits you very well.¡±

    I felt a bit shy.

    ¡°Thank you. This is what my father back in the country chose for me.¡±

    Thus, Kristoff came.

    I grasped the long sleeves of the dress.

    For Alex and everyone from Orannia, I resolved myself to get through the first meeting with the Emperor.

 Chapter 24-25

    24. Indifferent First Meeting

    The door to the audience room had borate decorations and gave off a profound feeling. The two knights standing in front of the door nodded to our direction.

    As expected, my palms became sweaty from nervousness.

    The Knight opened the door from Lord Kristoff¡¯s signal.

    I stepped inside the audience room, facing straight ahead. Headed by Sir Eckart, several people dressed like Knights formed a line along the red carpet spread from the door. On the other side, there were another group of people who seemed like civil officials. They formed a line like a path leading to the stage.

    And ahead of that, there was His Majesty the Emperor.

    Just as I heard from the rumors, he had short silver hair with some of them hanging down his blue eyes and a solid physique.

    His handsome appearance spurred a sharp atmosphere overall.

    I probably just caught a glimpse of one of the reasons why he was indeed called the ¡°Aloof King¡±.

    ¡°Your Majesty, I have brought Princess Shane.¡±

    After Lord Kristoff presented me,

    ¡°I have troubled you. You had toe to such a far ce as Caspar. Wee, I am Leonhart Caspar, the Emperor of this country. It is a pleasure to meet you.¡±

    His voice was low and clear. There was no change in his expression.

    ¡°I am Shane Orannia. I extend my gratitude for allowing me the honor of having an excellent match for this asion. I, too, find it a pleasure to meet you.¡±

    Although I was thinking a lot of things, the nervousness did not manifest in my voice. Emperor Leonhart addressed me at that interval.

    ¡°I see you did not bring attendants with you, will you be alright? If you feel any inconvenience, you can say it immediately.¡±

    That¡¯s right, I brought no one from Orannia. Alex advised me to bring someone but I declined. It was because I wanted to reduce the possibility that my secret will be exposed even a little.

    ¡°Thank you very much. I was introduced to Elias not long ago so I think I will not feel inconvenience in my daily life. Besides, I received training from my homnd in order to aplish anything by myself.¡±

    I don¡¯t really want to increase the people around me. I thought it was also the same for His Majesty, but I wonder if I looked so much like I cannot do anything?

    ¡°Is that so? I will have you participate together in various official asions as the Empress Consort of the Emperor in the future. There will be numerous hardships but let us endeavor together.¡±

    Those were kind words unthinkable of the ¡°Aloof King¡± but his expression did not change at all.

    ¡°Yes. If it is something I can do, I will help in any way. Please treat me well.¡±

    Afterwards, I was introduced to other people present during the audience and my first meeting with Emperor Leonhart came to a close.

    ¡ª-

    When I returned to my room, Elias was preparing tea.

    ¡°You seem tired, Princess Shane. I prepared tea so please have a seat.¡±

    ¡°Thank you very much. You, too, Elias. Please sit down with me.¡±

    The first time i made him sit with me seemed to be effective. He obediently prepared tea for two this time.

    ¡°How was your first impression of His Majesty?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s see, I experienced having him tell me kind words as opposed to his rumored nickname. It¡¯s just that, I was already nervous with only His Majesty but then, the surroundings were full of great people so I became extra strained. Because of that, I ended up talking indifferently.¡±

    We only exchanged a few words. With merely that to go on, I know almost nothing about Emperor Leonhart.

    ¡°Then it¡¯s alright if you let your guard down, at least when you are with me. My social position also does not require you speak to me respectfully. I do not have the obligation to report on Princess Shane¡¯s affairs so please be relieved. Although if I were asked, I might have to answer more or less...¡±

    Seeing Elias scratch his cheek in embarrassment was heartwarming. His expression did not change so much, just like Emperor Leonhart, but for me who had been amoner until recently, I feel that a Squire is easier to get on with than the top executives of the country.

    ¡°Thank you. Then I will ept your kind offer.¡±

    When I answered so, Elias looked a little happy. I was also d that it did not take time for me to learn to distinguish his expressions.

    I also want to at least build a rtionship with Emperor Leonhart in this level, but the issue at present was the approaching marriage ceremony and my debut 10 dayster.

    ==

    25. Regarding the Queen

    [Elias]

    There are two ways to be a Knight in this country.

    First is to gradute from a Knight training school and pile up several years of experience as a Squire. Another one is to be recognized in military exploits and usual conduct as a soldier and receive a referral from the top brass of the Knight Order.

    However, they say it¡¯s almost impossible to be a Knight through thetter method. This is because a Knight must be both skilled in military arts and also possess social manners that will not be disgraceful as a representative of the country. The standards are frighteningly high. Therefore, majority of the Knights are made up of aristocrats who received military arts training and academic lessons from a young age.

    Among them, I am one of the very few examples ofmoners who passed a Knight training school. But as expected, discrimination due to the status of one¡¯s family certainly exists. My daily life at school was by no means peaceful.

    I finally graduated after great pains. I became a Squire and two yearster, I turned twenty years old. Even though I became a Squire, I am haunted by my social status. It is to the extent that I cannot count the unjustified fault-findings from my seniors either. Even so, the current Knight Leader is not concerned with social status. It was mostly rumored that he give promotions to capable personnels.

    I did not want to be deemed as someone who cannot aplish his job, so I exerted effort more than anyone else.

    Therefore, I despaired the moment I was told to be the personal attendant of the Empress Consort due to arrive for the marriage.

    That day, I was told by my immediate superior to go report to the Knight Leader¡¯s room. A direct summon from the Knight Leader is either a good or bad thing.

    I don¡¯t recall making a big mistake but still, I knocked on the door of the Knight Leader¡¯s room while feeling uneasy.

    I confirmed an answer from inside and entered the room.

    ¡°This is Elias Torazash. I was informed you called for me.¡±

    I saluted to the man admired by all Knights in front of me, Knight Leader Eckart.

    ¡°Sorry for calling when you are busy. I summoned you since I had an earnest favor to ask. Well, sit down.¡±

    ¡°Excuse me,¡± I sat in the sofa in front of Sir Eckart. I felt a little relieved when it seemed like I¡¯m not going to be reprimanded.

    ¡°Well then, you are aware that Emperor Leo invited an Empress Consort this time. I want to ask you to look after the personal needs of the Empress Consort.¡±

    Is he telling me to be the personal attendant of a nobledy although I am aiming to be a Knight for the sake of the country and the Emperor? I felt weak from too much shock.

    ¡°I do not have any experience on taking care of another person. I also did not study for something like that.¡±

    I put up resistance at the very least. Did he judged me to be so unsuitable to be a Knight?

    ¡°Sorry. My words were insufficient. I am not asking you to resign as a Knight. The Empress has special circumstances so I want to ce only trustworthy people near her. Therefore, while I say you will be taking care of her needs, your main role is actually a guard. I cannot speak any more of the situation unless you agree to ept this job, but I think no one is even more suitable for this job than you, Elias. Please, will you ept it?¡±

    I be ashamed at myself from a while ago. Since Sir Eckart said that much, I had no reason to decline.

    ¡°Thank you very much for evaluating me to that extent. I will ept that mission.¡±

    ¡°I believed you will say so. Well then, I will begin to talk in detail right away, but telling others what I will say after this is absolutely prohibited. If it ever leaked outside, be aware that you can only apologize with your own neck.¡±

    After that, Sir Eckart talked about an unbelievable story.

    Who woulde up with making a man falsify his gender to be a bride?

    ¡°Shane-sama is also close to your age. Please, I want you to offer her support nearby. By all rights, a man must not be allowed to serve as the Empress Consort¡¯s attendant but it would be unwise to appoint a woman in this case. Situations he might be unable to conceal alone might also arise so patch things up skillfully if that happens. Fortunately, Shane-sama has a chronic disease and has to have medicine delivered from her homnd once a month. Because of it, your existence is ovee with the reason that if anything happens, a female attendant will not be able to correspond to it with her weak strength. You may be subject to criticisms once you start this mission but I evaluated your patience, diligence and of course, your skills in military arts highly. That is why I gave you this request. I¡¯m relying on you.¡±

    ¡°Yes. I will devote myself to the best of my abilities.¡±

    I stood up and saluted.

    It¡¯s a princess of a country. Just thinking what sort of arrogant nobledy he would be is terrifying but since Sir Eckart asked this far, I decided to aplish it by all costs.

    Finally, the day of Shane-sama¡¯s arrival, the whole country was in a weing mood and enthusiasm overflowed more than the usual. The sky cleared up, it was a good day.

    For this day, I was taught about the job by the maids and butlers serving His Majesty and in cases of emergency, I also received sword training directly from Sir Eckart. There were people from around me who said some annoying things but I finally developed awareness of my own position so nowadays, I feel like they¡¯re just the fluttering of insects.

    Shane-sama¡¯s luggage was delivered earlier than his arrival. I was suprised at its scarcity. I heard that a normal princess would make one room copse from the amount of her dresses, but Shane-sama¡¯s luggage is not even worth one carriage.

    Above all, they included two potted nts with leaves that give off a nice fragrance. It indeed gave the impression of a native of ¡°Capital of Flowers¡±.

    When I diligently brought in the luggage to the room, Lord Kristoff, together with a petite woman, entered the room.

    ¡°Elias, this is Princess Shane.¡±

    If Lord Kristoff did not inform me in a low voice, I wouldn¡¯t have noticed at all.

    I expected that no matter how much he looked like a woman, in some ways, there will be some parts of him that will make it clear he¡¯s a man. However, if I look closely, only his somewhat low voice gives the feeling that he¡¯s male.

    And what suprised me above all, was that he was polite to an attendant like me. In addition, he apologized for having me take care of her personal needs.

    There was not the slightest arrogant attitude I expected. Rather, I ended up feeling ashamed for being addressed too politely.

    Shane-sama appeared really tired after his first meeting with His Majesty. When I proposed that he can ease up in front of me, I was thrown off bnce by her kind smile and gentle words.

    ¡°I¡¯m d he is the Empress Consort,¡± it seemed natural to think so when I saw that smile.

    Since then, drinking tea with Shane-sama became a custom. It was a very pleasant time hearing about Shane-sama¡¯s favorite nts and talking about each of our countries. It seems like the leaves of the potted nt Shane-sama brought from her homnd can be brewed into a drink called ¡°herb¡± tea.

    ¡°Let¡¯s drink together when it grows up,¡± we promised each other.

    I am looking forward to it from now on.

    I still do not have the kind of loyalty where I will wager anything to serve Shane-sama. Still, I can somehow feel it¡¯s only a matter of time, judging from Shane-sama¡¯s personality.

    Contrary to what I expected, this kind of life may not be a bad thing either.

 Chapter 26

    <strong>(I said this in a different page, but I¡¯m going to say it again...</strong>

    <strong>Long ago, I asked the first trantor if I could help trante this story because they seemed kind of busy and I wanted to give back to the tranting Japanese novelmunity.</strong>

    <strong>Well, I never got an answer.... so I kind of tranted it anyways?</strong>

    <strong>BUT I NEED HELP.</strong>

    <strong>If you like this story and you know a bit of Japanese, PLEASE, reach out to me by email and we can trante this together! I am currently (very slowly, I REPEAT, VERY SLOWLY) in the process of memorizing Kanji and learning Japanese all together. I am more of an editor, to be honest, as English is my firstnguage... [Well, my English isn¡¯t really the greatest...]</strong>

    <strong>Do help me! I like this  and I wish to see it continue being tranted!)</strong>

    <strong>Raws:</strong>

    <strong>Edit: I made some changes with the help of Kiriko (See theirment for what was changed)! I thank this kind human for the help!</strong>

    <b>*Leonhart¡¯s POV*</b>

    The sunrise (morning sun) was dazzling.

    I stayed up all night to scan over the necessary documents I needed for the day.

    Today was the day the Prince would arrive from Orania.

    When I don¡¯t sleep, it is a figure that should not be shown. I sat down in the chair and closed my eyes.

    The door to the office was knocked on intensely, so it instantly woke me up. Convinced that this was Kristoff¡¯s knocking, I allowed his entry.

    "Good morning, Your Majesty. Without dy, Princess Shane has arrived at the Royal Pce a short while ago. I would like to reaffirm the uing schedule, is that alright?"

    Oh, the Prince... Now that you mention it, it¡¯s "Princess".

    I felt apologetic to the Princess, but while I was interested in Orania¡¯s economy, I didn¡¯t hold much interest in the Princess himself.

    Actually, I do not know if it would be correct to call him "Princess". I, myself, don¡¯t have strong oppositions for the same gender being romantic interests, but I prefer women. As an Emperor, making a child would eventually lead to further development of the country.

    Kristoff said that these intentions were not good, but what concerned me was how to acquire profit for the country.

    "We will proceed to go in this direction (flow), ... but are you sure?" It seemed Kristoff¡¯s exnation came to an end.

    While most of it went over my head, Kristoff would not make mistakes even if these events were separated.<b></b>

    There will be no mistakes if I leave it to you.

    "Ah, I leave it to you."

    "Understood. Also, I will give the report about Princess Shane¡¯s personality and the investigation of Orania that was done with Eckart.

    ¡°First of all, it is about Princess Shane¡¯s reputation in the country, but since his existence was kept a secret so far, I do not know anything about his childhood.

    ¡°However, in the past few years, I heard that he hid his identity to participate in the city festival, and helped his father, Prince Alexei, with his work. He visited the festival with the Duke¡¯s eldest son each time, and the two seemed to be lovers. Incidentally, from the rumors of the citizens, it seems that they did not deny their rtionship, and it was said that marriage was close by.

    ¡°His Highness Prince Alexei has jurisdiction over the management of the garden at the Royal Castle, but I also asked his colleagues for information. Even though Princess Shane worked as a male there, no one thought it was strange when he was announced as a woman. Rather, they originally thought (s)he disguised himself(herself) as a man. <b>(T/N: had no idea what pronouns to use here)</b> Princess Shane was diligent; also, his knowledge on nts exceeded everyone¡¯s.

    ¡°His poprity was the best. It was like a heroine of a tragedy where they had to separate from their lover in Orania for the sake of marrying into Caspar.

    ¡°When I actually met Princess Shane, perhaps I should say that there was an impression of a man, but they had a refreshing personality. Even when parting with the country, he did not shed tears, and he didn¡¯t bring any attendants with him. It seems he took the secret into consideration as to not be exposed.

    ¡°As for my impressions of him, he was a very pleasant and a strong person to the core (heart)."

    <strong>(T/N: That was one whole big report being stated, I hope I wrote it clearly...)</strong>

    Honestly, it was unexpected that Kristoff would evaluate someone so highly.

    However, what was worrisome was the existence of the lover that was left behind in Orania. Since he came all the way to this country, he had probably resolved himself to get married, but he most likely (probably) wasn¡¯t happy about it because he had to leave his ¡®lover¡¯ behind.

    "I see. Thank you for the report."

    "No (problem?), well, I must be rude but there are preparations, so I must excuse myself. After this, although this may seem impolite, I would advise you to have a hot bath before the audience takes ce." Kristoff said as he left the room.

    Indeed, it seems I had bedhead from bad sleeping habits.

    *****

    When it was time, the country¡¯s important government officials had already gathered in the audience room

    "Everyone, I have put you all through much hardships. I am sorry for gathering you all here today."

    "Not at all, Your Majesty, we do not mind. His Majesty finally weed an Empress, so we also wanted to see you soon." The Prime Minister stated.

    He was a good-natured old man, however his ingenuity was dreadful. I don¡¯t even want to think about how long the war would have been prolonged if he (the Prime Minister) didn¡¯t have the views (opinions, judgement?) that he did. He was also one of the few people who knew of the Princess¡¯s secret.

    There were also many government officials who nodded their head to the Prime Minister¡¯s words.

    During this peaceful atmosphere, led in by Kristoff, the central figure of the topic came inside.

    Looking at his appearance, I got overwhelmed. Is this really a Prince? A flower pattern dress that was not too gaudy, emphasized his neat beauty. When he spoke, his soft husky voice was pleasant fortable), and I was able to have a favorable conversation that I didn¡¯t press any further.

    It looked like he was nervous, but as one might expect, being surrounded like so, it was only natural.

    This seemed likely to build a good rtionship.

    Since I also received reports about him having a chronic illness, did I worry a bit too excessively?

    I did not see his smile in the audience room, so I felt a little disappointed, but when I saw his beautiful smile directed towards the Prime Minister, I felt embarrassed.

    <b>(T/N: *Cough Cough*, you mean you were JEALOUS.) </b>

    Previous ¨C ¨C

    <strong>(Hello, ckMaskedPhantom here! Just a reminder, this isn¡¯t my story, it¡¯s a trantion. Also, this was tranted using online FREE trantion websites, so the uracy of this trantion has been decreased about 90%. </strong>

    <strong>This trantion will give you the jist of what is happening in the chapter, so please do not expect a lot out of me. Also, I will be posting the next chapter soon. Even though the chapters are kind of short, it might take some time because I got stumped in some parts of the next chapter. </strong>

    <strong>IF YOU WANT TO HELP THIS POOR PERSON, PLEASE CONTACT ME. Email. Comment. Whatever means you can! Thank you for reading!) </strong>

 Chapter 27

    <strong>(Yo, ckMaskedPhantom here! I actually finished this chapter a lot faster than I thought, but there¡¯s a small problem. Well, it¡¯s a big problem. Anyways, there were a lot of things that I didn¡¯t know what they either meant or how it could/should be worded. Please bear with me and pray that the next chapter is a lot easier. </strong>

    <strong><i>Important note for the chapter:</i> You will see * and ` and such. It¡¯s just to show you that there¡¯s a lot in the footnotes because wow, I STRUGGLED with this chapter. I put words in [____] to show either a word that I thought would fit better or the direct tranted word that I didn¡¯t like. </strong>

    <strong>Also, this is a heads up: I probably won¡¯t be updating this weekend. I have to attend a funeral tomorrow of someone very important to my family. Don¡¯t know why, but my culture does a long week of mourning with lots of praying and reminiscence. Will try my best to update sometime next week! Sorry in advance... </strong>

    <strong>Raws: </strong>

    <strong>*POV: Princess Shane*</strong>

    When I was confirming the arrangements for the wedding ceremony and the reception, I found a topic that caught my eye.

    It was "the ring exchange".

    It was the first time I found a tradition that reminded me of my former world.*

    "Elias, what is this ¡¯ring exchange¡¯?" I asked, not expecting much [of an answer].**

    In the past few days, I opened up to and was quite frank with Elias. This speech was only used when it was just the two of us.

    "His Majesty and Princess Shane will put a ring on to the ring finger of each other¡¯s left hand. Since the ring is shaped like a circle, it signifies the meaning of eternal love that cannot be interrupted. The ceremony gives an impression of vowing [promising] the future to one another. It is a tradition unique to this country." Elias informed with a bit of pride.

    I, knowing the culture, for the first time, experienced something in this world that I was familiar with.***

    "Is this a tradition from long ago [the olden days]?"

    "Yes. I heard that the Prime Minister, during the time when the nation was founded, spread the culture of their former country."

    No way! I thought, and I asked more.

    "Do you know the name of the first Prime Minister?"

    "I apologize. I can investigate what it is though." Elias, who seemed really sorry, answered.

    "No, it¡¯s probably something that isn¡¯t remembered. If you do remember, I want you to tell me. Also, is there anything else you can remember about the (first) Prime Minister?"

    After thinking for a bit, Elias replied, "Certainly, there is a seasoning called "Soy Sauce" which was also named by the first Prime Minister."

    Ah! So that¡¯s why I felt this country¡¯s cuisine was somewhat nostalgic. I was convinced with this.

    Besides for me, there was another man who came to this world from Japan. I wonder if the man went back to our previous world.

    *`At least this much should be known, so with lingering thoughts, I asked Elias, "Did the first Prime Minister serve this country for a long time?"

    "The story is very famous in this country. The first generation Prime Minister and His Majesty the Emperor got married. It is said that both him, and now you, devoted their life to Caspar."**`

    He informed me that this was a story from a popr bard of a minstrel, but even so, I felt that there was a little hope inside me.***`

    "When you have the time, could you bring me some documents on the first Prime Minister? I want to learn more about this country even if it¡¯s just a little bit." I gave an honest reason for the request.

    Then I realized something.

    "Is the wedding dress possibly white?" <b>(T/N: I had no idea how to word this...) </b>

    I was surprised that Elias already had an answer to my question.

    "Today in the afternoon they will have your measurements taken; therefore, it¡¯s good that I will be able to give you an exnation beforehand." ****`

    There¡¯s 7 days until the wedding ceremony. It seemed Miss Seamstress would be working on it with sleepless nights. ¡°`<b>(...would be working on it all-night long for the next 7 days is probably what this means...?) </b>

    "White wedding dresses are probably for women. I wonder, would it be bad if I had a different color dress?"

    "It¡¯s not that it is impossible, but Sir Kristoff will being in the afternoon, so why don¡¯t you consult with him about it then?"

    In ordance with that advice, I decided to make it a simple indigo colored dress as the result of consulting with Miss Seamstress and Kristoff.

    I thought it would be good to be familiar with this country one step at a time. However, for the me who is concerned with the wedding ceremony, simultaneously, I turned my eyes away from a very serious problem. ¡°*

    Basically, it¡¯s "the wedding night".

    <strong>(BMP: Just wanted to thank everyone for reading this crappy trantion! Thank you for alll the beautifulments in the previous chapter! They motivated me to update another one so keep thements and likesing as I don¡¯t make money off of this trantion [nor do I want to, so support the author!]. </strong>

    <strong>Whelp, I am in need of a trantor and a co-editor? MTL is difficult... </strong>

    <strong>If I skipped a sentence, if I had a grammar error, if I had an error in general, please tell me! It¡¯s kind of sad that these chapters are kind of short, but I am also kind of d that they are short.... Sorry for the SHIT trantion once again...)</strong>

    <h4>Footnotes/Please help me, much appreciated:</h4>

    *I honestly forgot how to English. Help needed. <strong>¤³¤ó¤ÊÔª¤ÎÊÀ½ç¤ò¸Ð¤¸¤µ¤»¤ëÎÄ»¯¤òÒŠ¤Ä¤±¤¿¤Î¤Ï³õ¤á¤Æ¤ÎÊÂ¤À¤Ã¤¿¡£</strong>

    ** <strong>I asked, not expecting much [of an answer].</strong> <¨C This sentence was in a different location, but I moved it so that the story would flow better. Sorry Author...

    *** I didn¡¯t know how to trante it properly. <strong>°³¤Ï¡¢¤Þ¤µ¤ËÖª¤Ã¤Æ¤¤¤¿Í¨¤ê¤ÎÎÄ»¯¤Ë¡¢³õ¤á¤Æ¤³¤ÎÊÀ½ç¤ËÓH½ü¸Ð¤ò±§¤±¤¿¤è¤¦¤Ë¸Ð¤¸¤¿¡£</strong>

    *` I don¡¯t know anymore....<strong> ¤»¤á¤Æ¤½¤ì¤À¤±¤Ç¤â½ñÖª¤ì¤¿¤é¤È¡¢¤¹¤¬¤ëË¼¤¤¤Ç¥¨¥ê¥¢¥¹¤Ë†–¤¤¤«¤±¤¿¡£</strong>

    **` SOS. I NEED HELP. <strong>¤ª¶þÈË¹²¡¢ÉúÑÄ¤ò¥«¥¹¥Ñ¥ë¤Îžé¤Ë¾¡¤¯¤µ¤ì¤¿¤È»¤¨¤é¤ì¤Æ¤¤¤Þ¤¹¡¹</strong>

    ***`AM I ALLOWED TO CRY? <strong>Ò÷ß[ÔŠÈË¤ÎÈËšÝ¤ÎÑÝÄ¿¤Ç¤¹¤Í¤È¡¢½Ì¤¨¤Æ¤¯¤ì¤¿¤¬¡¢°³¤ÎÖÐ¤Ç¤Ï¤ï¤º¤«¤ÊÏ£Íû¤¬¤Ä¤¤¤¨¤Æ¤·¤Þ¤Ã¤¿¤è¤¦¤Ë¸Ð¤¸¤¿¡£</strong>

    ****`What even am I doing?<strong>¡¸½ñÈÕ¤ÏÎçáá¤«¤é¥É¥ì¥¹¤Î’ñ´ç¤Ç¤¹¤«¤é¡¢¤½¤ÎÇ°¤Ë¤´ÕhÃ÷³öÀ´¤ÆÁ¼¤«¤Ã¤¿¤Ç¤¹¡¹</strong>

    ¡°` Urgh.... <strong>¤³¤ì¤«¤é¤ªá˜×Ó¤µ¤óß_¤ÏØÒ¹¤Î×÷˜I¤Ë¤Ê¤ë¤Î¤À¤È¤¤¤¦¡£</strong>

    ¡°* I might as well just give up here... <strong>¤·¤«¤·°³¤Ï¡¢½Y»éÊ½¤ÈÍ¬•r¤Ë¤¢¤ë°³¤Ë¤È¤Ã¤Æ¤Ï¸ü¤ËÖØ´ó¤Ê†–î}¤«¤éÄ¿¤ò±³¤±¤Æ¤¤¤¿¤Î¤À¡£</strong>

    <strong> ¨C ¨C </strong>

 Chapter 28

    <strong>(T/N: Where have I been? Sleeping and sulking depression. Well I was supposed to update yesterday, but I had (and still have) some troubles with chapter 29. Like I¡¯m crying (mentally) as I am trying to get through this. I need help... </strong>

    <strong>I will try my best to update, but I don¡¯t guarantee daily updates. Sorry... Well enjoy this chapter!)</strong>

    On the day of the wedding, the sky was clear. I never thought of myself as HareOtoko, but aftering to this world, I had been blessed with good weather at crucial times.

    This morning, I was busy with preparing for the wedding. I had a stylist do my hair and makeup, and then Elias helped me change into the indigo wedding dress.

    For the sake of staying up all night for this day, seeing my appearance, the seamstresses were slightly moved to tears. Although, I was also a little relieved that Elias said that it suited me. Anyways, it was necessary that I don¡¯t show up in trashy clothing* in front of the citizens (the people). <b>[*T/N: Said something about junky, rags, tattered clothes. Basically he means he doesn¡¯t want to show up in out-dated, out of style, not fancy enough or such clothing in front of the citizens because he is going to be the Empress and he needs to look the part to y the part.]*</b>

    Being careful not to step on the hem (of the dress), I went towards the entrance hall of the castle. When I got there, Leonhart-sama was already waiting there.The figure of this man wearing a white, ceremonial military outfit was just like a picture of a character in a fairy tale. I haven¡¯t met Leonhart-sama since the first day¡¯s meeting.

    "I have kept you waiting."

    "No, not really." Leonhart-sama turned to me and answered, and then looked at [confirmed?] my appearance. "That dress, it suits you." Heplimented me.

    "Thank you. However, I am not ustomed to these sort of dresses, so I get nervous."

    After having a polite conversion, Leonhart-sama lent me his hand to help me on to the carriage. We rode through the streets, and went toward the church for the wedding ceremony.

    While looking at the scenery from the carriage, I remembered the fairy tales I read when I was a child. Never have I imagined myself inside a carriage like this. Moreover, I am even wearing a wedding dress.

    I gave a small wave to the citizens. I was taught one way of waving very strictly.

    "Are there no diforts with your living conditions?" Leonhart-sama suddenly questioned.

    "Yes. Thanks to you, everyday is enjoyable, but I am worried Elias is receiving unjust treatment as a knight because of me."

    Even though the person himself showed his understanding, I was still worried about the matter.

    "If that¡¯s the case, it will be alright. Elias was appointed as a guard due to Ekart¡¯s rmendation. Ekart wouldn¡¯t make a mistake in selecting a personnel. Besides, Elias seemed willing to be taught by my maids."

    I¡¯m a little convinced that that¡¯s how he was skillful in making ck tea.

    "Is that so? That¡¯s a relief."

    No matter what, the conversations with Leonhart-sama don¡¯tst long. It was unnecessary to be conscious of the ¡°cool strategy¡±. However, this strategy might be the best way to go. I think he (Leonhart) would do a better job since he is so unfriendly, and he doesn¡¯t look like he¡¯s acting.

    After a short while, we arrived at the church. Inside the church, there was a wide, chalky, white room where the ring exchange was being performed. The ring exchange was watched by this country¡¯s authorities and representatives of the neighboring countries¡¯. Perhaps this culture was conveyed [taught] by the first generation Prime Minister, but it has achieved its own evolution in Caspar. It was so that the rings were the color of each other¡¯s eyes.

    To be exact, on my left hand was a blue ring that was the color of Leonhart-sama¡¯s eyes, and on Leonhart-sama¡¯s left hand was a shiney, purple ring of my eye color. I was fascinated by the mysterious radiance the rings held.

    However, I was brought back into reality and was surprised by the priest¡¯s words. "Well then, pleaseplete the vow with a kiss."

    I was dumbfounded that this tradition (culture) was also conveyed. It wasn¡¯t heard.** <b>(T/N: I had not heard? What? EVEN? WHAT HAS NOT BEEN HEARD?!)</b>

    To my surprise, Leonhart-sama¡¯ right hand was on my left cheek. When I looked up, naturally, there were blue eyes looking straight at me. When I was gazing at the blue eyes that were more beautiful than the ring, they approached me, and then our lips touched.

    Stealing a kiss, Leonhart-sama separated from me, "Let¡¯s be a good family." he whispered.

    When I heard that, atst the kiss processed and my mind had finally caught up. Turning bright red, I gave a small nod.

    <h4>Footnotes/Please help me:</h4>

    <strong>** ¨C Â„¤¤¤Æ¤¤¤Ê¤«¤Ã¤¿¡£- </strong> I don¡¯t know what this is anymore?

    <strong>T/N: So... How was the chapter? Was it okay? There are a lot of stuff I need to fix. I will edit thister. I did kind of crappy on this chapter, but I will fix it. </strong>

    <strong>If you see any errors, if you find a better way of wording, if you find the correct trantion, justment and I will change it!</strong>

    <strong>Thanks for reading! </strong>

 Chapter 29

    <strong>(T/N: HELLO, IT¡¯S 3AM! So where have I, ckMaskedPhantom, been? Well, just like you all, I read FreeWebNovels, and I was rmended this beautifully funny one. Ended up binge reading it. Whoops. Then I got distracted and totally forgot about updating. </strong>

    <strong>Haha... Well, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter that I worked so freaking hard on. This chapter gave me brain aneurysms. I was seriously struggling and super close to crying! Me, a grown man, crying because I don¡¯t understand. What a beautiful sight...</strong>

    <strong>RAWS: </strong>

    <strong>*POV: Shane*</strong>

    There was little happening beside for people giving warm blessings, but the wedding ended safely.

    Since the wedding ceremony hade to an end, the most concerning thing for me was the "wedding night" (bridal night).

    I was a bit opposed to being held by a man; in addition, I still didn¡¯t know much about Leonhart-sama yet. He also had concubines, so I wouldn¡¯t want to hold a man like him at all.

    *Nheless, I couldn¡¯t help but try to put together facts, such as, having circumstances that I don¡¯t know about. I thought that there should at least be some counter measures.

    That night, I once again put on some make-up, and I put on a silky negligee. ** The maid-san, who was in charge of my make-up, saw my appearance and left the room satisfied.

    Elias showed aplicated expression and handed me a bottle. There was a slightly sticky, pink liquid inside.

    "You may be nervous, but His Majesty is a gentlemen, so please be relieved. Since this liquid has an aphrodisiac effect, please use it if necessary. I think it will relieve the pain a little."

    "Oh, thank you." I said as I received it, but I had no intention of using it.

    Elias probably gave it to me out of kindness, but I was still a little embarrassed. He, then, left the room, leaving me alone.

    There was still some time until Leonhart-sama was scheduled toe. So I went into action.

    First, I removed the makeup that was just applied. I, then, tied my hair together and put on some male clothing I brought from Orania.

    I waited for Leonhart-sama; incidentally, these are from when I worked in the garden. <b>(WHAT THE FUCK)</b>

    What would Leonhart-sama say if he saw this appearance? The more I thought about it, the more nervous I got.

    And then, the door was finally knocked on.

    "There you are."

    The door was opened at the sound of my voice; Leonhart-sama, who was lightly dressed, entered the room.

    He then looked at my figure, and said, "When you look like that, you really are a man."

    The answer was too honest and too quick that my nervousness disappeared.

    "Yes, I am a man. I wanted Your Majesty to see this appearance at least once, and I dare to do this now. Does it ruin the mood?"

    I dared to do this in the first ce. <b>(WHAT?)</b>

    "No, I just couldn¡¯t believe your appearance until now. You also don¡¯t need to worry about formal speech when it¡¯s just the two of us. So, don¡¯t call me ¡¯Your Majesty¡¯. We are a married couple now."

    Even though he was expressionless, it surprised me that his words were gentle.

    "Thank you. Then, is it alright if I call you Leonhart-sama?"

    "...Leo is fine."

    "Okay, Leo-sama. If you don¡¯t mind, would you like to have some tea over there?"

    Even though it was just a nickname, I was surprised by how intimate it feels.

    I offered some ck tea to Leo-sama.

    Arranged on the table, there was the item I asked Elias to prepare.

    "Shane, what is this?"

    "This is a game I learned from my mother. We have time to kill tonight, so I had this prepared."

    This was my secret n to get through the first night.

    "Is that so? I have never seen this before. How do you y it?"

    I was relieved that Leo-sama showed an interest (in the game).

    I immediately exined the rules. "This board has 64 squares drawn on it. There are also 64 ck and white stones each. ck goes first, and white goes second. You are able to move down, left, right, up, and nted. You are also able to change the color of your opponent¡¯s stone by blocking the path [to sandwich or to pinch] at both ends." <b>(I bullshitted this soo much but it was such a long sentence, so I broke it up...) </b>

    The game I prepared was "Othello". <b>(Aka Reversi...?)</b> Even though Shogi and Go were good, Othello¡¯s rules are easy to understand and I was confident in this game.

    After I briefly exined the rules, I decided to start the game immediately.

    Leo-sama had decent strength for a beginner, but he wasn¡¯t my opponent. The result was ck all over the board; it was myplete victory.

    "What is this game? At first, my white was overwhelming, but just like that, it became ck all over." Leo-sama was muttering while looking at the results.

    It seems he liked Othello. (Here¡¯s a bit about )

    "Leo-sama, you were very strong for your first time ying. However, for advice in this case would be that if you leave too few spaces, it would be a disadvantage." ***

    If he had too much strength, these kinds of games would get boring quickly. It¡¯s okay to give advice, but not to the extent of overdoing it.

    "I see, well Shane, let¡¯s y again."

    Yes, I answered, and put the stones back on to the te.

    After that, the matches continued until morning.

    "Pleasee again when you think of a good strategy." I told Leo-sama as I saw him off.

    Afterwards, when I was starting to feel drowsy, Elias and the Maid-san came into the room with smiles on their face.~*

    Everyone was probably thinking it happened, but it was nothing like what they were thinking. <strong>(CONFUSION)</strong>

    And that night, when I was about to go to bed, the door to the room was knocked on again.

    I replied in confusion, and Leo-sama came inside.

    "Shane, I thought of a good method (strategy), so let¡¯s y Othello."

    He was called the "Aloof King", but to think he could be so childish.

    But, do not show this kind of behavior. <b>(Attitude?....to others? WAIT WHAT?)~**</b>

    "I understand. Will you arrange the stones while I prepare some tea?" I calmed myself down atst, and spoke to him.

    From that night on, Leo-sama went to my room for Othello. His skill improved since then, and there were 1 out of 10 times where I became scared.

    Thus, thanks to the "Othello Meetings", a rumor that "The Emperor is obsessed with the Empress" had spread.

    <h4>Footnotes/ Please help me:</h4>

    *¤½¤ì¤Ç¤â¡¢¼È³ÉÊÂŒg¤ò¤Ä¤¯¤Ã¤Æ¤ª¤«¤Ê¤±¤ì¤Ð¤Ê¤é¤Ê¤¤¤È¤«¡¢°³¤ÎÖª¤é¤Ê¤¤ÊÂÇé¤¬¤¢¤ë¤«¤â¤·¤ì¤Ê¤¤¤ÈË¼¤¦¤È¡¢³öÀ´¤ëŒ²ß¤Ï¤·¤Æ¤ª¤«¤Ê¤±¤ì¤Ð¤Ê¤é¤Ê¤¤¤È¿¼¤¨¤Æ¤¤¤¿¡£

    ** ¤½¤ÎÒ¹¡¢°³¤ÏÔÙ¤Ó»¯»’¤òÊ©¤µ¤ì¡¢¥¹¥±¥¹¥±¤Î¥Í¥°¥ê¥¸¥§¤ò×Å¤»¤é¤ì¤Æ¤¤¤¿¡£

    <strong>(WHAT THE FUCK)</strong> ¨C Í¥ˆ@¤ÇƒP¤¤¤Æ¤¤¤¿•r¤Ë½ü¤¤Ç¡ºÃ¤ò¤·¤Æ¥ì¥ª¥ó¥Ï¥ë¥È˜”¤ò´ý¤Ã¤¿¡£

    <strong>(WHAT?)</strong> ¨C ¤¢¤¨¤ÆÒ»ÈË³Æ¤ò°³¤Ë¤·¤¿¡£

    *** ¤¿¤À¡¢¥¢¥É¥Ð¥¤¥¹¤¹¤ë¤È¤·¤¿¤é¡¢×Ô·Ö¤¬ÖÃ¤¯¤È¤³¤í¤¬ÉÙ¤Ê¤¯¤Ê¤ë¤È²»Àû¤Ë¤Ê¤ëˆöºÏ¤¬¤¢¤ê¤Þ¤¹¤è¡¹

    ~* ¤½¤Îáá¡¢ÃßšÝ¤ò¿°¤¨¤Ê¤¬¤é¥á¥¤¥É¤µ¤ó¤ä¥¨¥ê¥¢¥¹¤ò²¿ÎÝ¤ËÓ­¤¨¤ë¤È¡¢ºÎ¤ä¤éÎ¢Ð¦¤Þ¤·¤¤Ð¦¤ß¤òÏò¤±¤é¤ì¤Æ¤·¤Þ¤Ã¤¿¡£

    <strong>(CONFUSION)</strong> ¨C ¤ß¤Ê¤µ¤ó¤¬Ë¼¤Ã¤Æ¤¤¤ë¤è¤¦¤ÊÊÂ¤ÏºÎ¤â¤¢¤ê¤Þ¤»¤ó¤Ç¤·¤¿¤è¡¢¤È¤ÏÑÔ¤¨¤Ê¤¤¡£

    ~**¤·¤«¤·¡¢¤½¤Î¤è¤¦¤ÊšÝ³Ö¤Á¤Ï‘B¶È¤Ë³ö¤·¤Æ¤Ï¤¤¤±¤Ê¤¤¡£

    <strong>(T/N: As you all can see from the footnotes, this chapter was freaking difficult. If I made a mistake of any kind, if I skipped a line, just say the word. Thanks for reading and sorry for the dy (because of my struggles and distraction). </strong>

 Chapter 30

    <strong>(T/N: Sorry I took so long! For 4 days, I was at an anime convention. It was super tiring so I slept a lot after the convention. I feel like the chapters are getting worse and worse as I continue to trante. RIP my life. </strong>

    <strong>Also, shoutout to everyoneee who helped me in the previous chapter! I am super thankful and hope you all can help me again in the chapters toe!</strong>

    <strong>Well, anyways, I hope you all enjoy this chapter! I personally liked this one a lot.</strong>

    <strong>Raws: </strong>

    <strong>*POV: Shane* </strong>

    A month had pass since I came to Caspar. I got a message that Urie would being to deliver the magic potion soon.

    Even though Leo-sama had built a good rtionship with me, I thought that my newly-married life started better than I thought.*

    However, I had forgotten.

    It is said that a woman¡¯s jealousy was terrible.

    I realized I was in the midst of that jealousy when arge amount of incest carcasses came out of the delivered parcel.

    Elias, who was at my side, was unable to hide his anger when he looked inside the box and saw the contents of it. "To show such a rude attitude like this to the Empress, it would be impossible toin if they were punished."

    "Since I have lived a life surrounded by insects because I lived near the garden, even if they send things like this, it doesn¡¯t affect me at all."

    The inside of the box was filled with insects I was familiar with, but rather than being surprised by the contents, I was surprised by the reason behind the box.

    "Even though the sender¡¯s name is not written, it was probably sent from one of the noble concubines. Do you want to report this to the guard in charge of the inner pce?"

    "No, that¡¯s not necessary."

    This degree of harassment was adorable.

    Though, it would be better not to make things worse.

    *****

    The next day, I received an invitation to a tea party from one of the Noble Concubines, Princess Ada. Elias warned me to be careful about the sudden invitation, but I was excited to see what kind of harassment was waiting.

    Princess Ada, the oldest Concubine, was 24 years old, and Princess Erma and Princess Delia were 22 years old. <b>(I used the names from the previous trantor.)</b>

    If I think about it, my selfish younger sisters were giving me recognition.**

    If I made tea, I wonder if they would say, "This pig (sow)!". <strong>(WTF?)</strong>

    "Elias, do I have a white dress?"

    Might as well pick something that would make the tea stains shine more, I couldn¡¯t help but think such things.***

    "Shane-sama, please do not enjoy this kind of thing."

    After Elias¡¯s calm tsukkomi, it was decided that the dress would be bright green.

    *****

    When Elias and I arrived at the garden where the tea party was held, the three Noble Concubines were already there.

    "I amte. I am sorry to have kept you all waiting."

    "No, since the Empress Consort is busy, it is I who should apologize for inviting you here so suddenly. My name is Ada." She gave off the impression of a strong-willed princess.

    For a beautiful person to wear such thick (bright) make-up, it made me a bit disappointed.

    The other two concubines also introduced themselves.

    "Thank you for the invitation. My name is Shane, and I am from Orania. Since you took the time to send me an invitation to this tea party, I brought some sweets. Please, I hope everyone will enjoy eating them."

    I had Elias arrange the sweets on to the table. I hurriedly bought these sweets from a popr store in town after I got the invitation.

    "Thank you. This is my first time eatingmoner¡¯s sweets. Also, Shane-sama, please have a seat."

    I nearlyughed at the conversation that felt like I was soaking in their sarcasm. *>

    Each Noble Concubine was a princess from countriesrger than Orania. Also, since I had a better position in Caspar, these girls probably couldn¡¯t stomach that fact.

    The conversation continued for a while, and then, Princess Erma presented a small bouquet of flowers.

    "To celebrate your wee, I prepared this small bouquet of flowers on behalf of the three of us. I picked a flower that resembles Shane-sama."

    That said, the flowers were cute as there were tiny white flowers. However, these grew on the roadside. Since this was the case, this was obviously an insult to me, the Empress.

    I looked at Elias to prevent him from raising a hand, and then I smiled.**>

    "Thank you. In thenguage of flowers, this flower means "beautiful heart". It is unexpected that you thought of me as such. I will carefully decorate my room with this."

    The concubines were surprised by my reply, "Yes, let¡¯s get along well."

    I nned to skillfully get through this. However, as I am, I will impress them so there would be no further harassment. Even though I was enjoying it, it would be bothersome if I had to deal with it everyday.

    "Erma-sama, since I received flowers from you, please allow me to give a gift in return. For Erma-sama, this flower suits you best."

    A yellow flower appeared when I opened my hand. Surprised voices came from everyone around me.

    It was a magic trick. I remembered seeing it on TV when I was living in Japan. But it seemed like real magic to the people of this country. In other words, this was the only magic I could do.

    I tried to show that if they continued to harass me, I could use magic to get back at them. I wonder if it worked. <strong>(??? The fuck?) </strong>

    "In thenguage of flowers, this flower means "Purity". <b>(Could also mean unselfish or honesty). </b>I think it is perfect for you since you are also beautiful as well." ¡¯Please¡¯, I presented (the flower), and she got a little red when receiving it.

    *****

    The harassment event I was thinking of didn¡¯t ur, and the tea party ended peacefully. From that day on, the harassment ceased, but Erma-sama came to my room often to y instead. She was pretty and looked like a little girl, so I didn¡¯t really feel bad about it.

    Thus, my life as an Empress passed by peacefully.

    <h4>Footnotes/ Please help me:</h4>

    * ¨C ¥ì¥ª˜”¤È¤â¤½¤³¤½¤³Á¼ºÃ¤Êév‚S¤òºB¤±¤Æ¤¤¤ë¤·¡¢°³¤ÎÐÂ»éÉú»î¤ÏË¼¤Ã¤Æ¤¤¤¿¤è¤ê¤âí˜Õ{¤ËÊ¼¤Þ¤Ã¤¿¤ÈË¼¤Ã¤Æ¤¤¤¿¡£

    ** ¨C °³¤Ë¤·¤¿¤éÃÃ¤Î¤ï¤¬¤Þ¤Þ¤¯¤é¤¤¤ÎÕJ×R¤Ç¤¢¤ë¡£

    <strong>(WTF?) ¨C </strong>¤â¤·¤«¤¿¤é¼t²è¤ò¤«¤±¤é¤ì¤¿¤ê¡¢¡¸¤³¤Î´Æëà¤¬£¡¡¹¤È¤«ÑÔ¤ï¤ì¤¿¤ê¤¹¤ë¤Î¤À¤í¤¦¤«¡£

    *** ¨C ¤É¤¦¤»¤Ê¤é¡¢¼t²è¤Î¥·¥ß¤¬Ó³¤¨¤ëÉ«¤Ë¤·¤è¤¦¤«¡¢¤½¤ó¤Ê¤É¤¦¤·¤è¤¦¤â¤Ê¤¤¿¼¤¨¤¹¤é¸¡¤«¤ó¤Ç¤·¤Þ¤Ã¤¿¡£

    *> ¨C ÉÙ¤·¤º¤ÄÏÓÎ¶¤òº¬¤Þ¤»¤Æ¤¯¤ë»áÔ’¤ËÐ¦¤Ã¤Æ¤·¤Þ¤¤¤½¤¦¤Ë¤Ê¤ë¡£

    **> †Ð¤Ã¤Æ¤«¤«¤ê¤½¤¦¤Ë¤Ê¤ë¥¨¥ê¥¢¥¹¤òÊÖ¤ÇÖÆ¤·¤Æ¡¢°³¤ÏÄ¿Ôª¤Ë¤À¤±Ð¦¤ß¤ò¸¡¤«¤Ù¤Æ´ð¤¨¤¿¡£

    <strong>(??? The fuck?) ¨C</strong> °³¤ËÏÓ¤¬¤é¤»¤Ð¤«¤ê¤·¤Æ¤¤¤ë¤È¡¢¤¹¤´¤¤Ä§·¨¤ÇÊË·µ¤·¤·¤Þ¤¹¤è¡¢¤È°µ¤ËÊ¾¤·¤Æ¤ß¤¿¤Î¤À¤¬¡¢ÉÏÊÖ¤¯¤¤¤Ã¤¿¤À¤í¤¦¤«¡£

    <strong>T/N: Damn that¡¯s a lot of footnotes. Again, sorry for thete update. I am trying my best to update more, but I get superzy and I sleep way too much xD Also, if you see any mistakes, errors, grammar in particr that you don¡¯t like, justment below! I really need to find an editor... </strong>

    <strong>Also, please help me with some sentences if you can. Thanks again for reading! Have a good night everyone!</strong>

    ¨C ¨C

 Chapter 31

    <strong>(T/N: Hey everyone! Sorry I took so long. It¡¯s been a busy week and the chapters are getting a bit difficult for me on my own. Thankfully, I got a new Editor and their name is Asami! I hope the trantions are a bit smoother now! </strong>

    <strong>**Important (ish): I want to mention that in this chapter, Shane uses more ¡°Ore¡± then his usual I which is a bit more gender neutral but on a weird feminine (manly ish?) side.** </strong>

    <strong>Also, sorry my chapters are updated irregrly... It¡¯s hard to be productive in this horrible heat...) </strong>

    <strong>Raws:</strong> http://novel18.syosetu/n8981cr/31/

    <strong>*POV: Shane*</strong>

    One month after leaving Orania, as promised, Urie came to visit Caspar.

    While drinking the herb tea brewed from the nts I was raising, we talked about flowers.

    When I told him that Leo-sama wasn¡¯t like the rumored "Aloof (Cold) King", I was warned to not be "moved by his affection(kindness)"* Just like that, time went by as we talked about how Alex would sometimes go missing, and stories about Urie and his lover.

    Having met Urie again, I felt nostalgic when I remembered my time in Orania, but I also realized that I had already adapted to life in Caspar.

    And around the same time, a small incident urred. Leo-sama copsed. Even though he fell, it was not a serious illness. It was diagnosed as a cold that deteriorated due tock of sleep (umtion of fatigue?).**

    However, the problem was that no one was nursing Leo-sama. Because Leo-sama had copsed and was bedridden, his aids were much busier than before. So, I offered to nurse him. I felt guilty and wanted to at least atone for being partly responsible because Othello was one of the reasons for hisck of sleep.

    When I hurried to his room, Leo-sama was sitting on his bed, reading documents.

    "Your health deteriorated because of overworking, so it doesn¡¯t make sense that you are still working."

    I confiscated the documents while I said this. The Prime Minister and Sir Kristoff repeatedly said to not allow him to work.

    <b>(T/N: Herees that weird and annoying Japanese formatting for the dialogue that I hate the most.)</b>

    However, Leo-sama was resisting,

    "If there is something, I will wake you up, so please sleep a little."

    When I said that,

    "Well then, please wake me up in 2 hours. There is work due tomorrow."

    After he said that, he immediately fell asleep. Well, I didn¡¯t wake him up.

    When Leo-sama woke up after a while and realized that I hadn¡¯t woken him up, he was a little angry. Nheless, he obedientlyid in bed when I convinced him that the work was seriously getting done.

    And then, when he was out his drowsiness, I prepared a meal suitable for a sick person. While watching him eat little by little, I started to speak.

    "I also feel responsible for Leo-sama copsing. Because we yed Othello almost every night. I can nap during the day, but that is impossible for Your Majesty. I made you stay up too much.*** I¡¯m very sorry."

    "No, it was because I said something selfish. I¡¯m sorry you had toe out of your way to nurse me."

    I didn¡¯t expect Leo-sama to apologize.

    "No, it is my fault." <strong> (T/N: </strong><strong>Shane is more formal)</strong>

    "No, it¡¯s my fault." <strong>(T/N: Leo is more casual)</strong>

    As we went back and forth, I couldn¡¯t help butugh. Leo-sama also gave a smallugh. It was the first time I had seen himugh. His eyes became gentle; his expression was different from the usual unfriendly face.

    "This is my first time seeing Leo-samaugh. I think it would be good if youughed more often."

    "It is also my first time seeing you (Shane)ugh towards me."

    Once more, weughed at the dispute over something trivial. At that moment, I was being myself.

    After that, we talked about various things and had a good time. And little by little, I got to know more about Leo-sama. For example, Leo-sama doesn¡¯t like flying insects, and he dislikes sticky foods.

    I was happy to know about those little things. I have never been interested <strong>(moved)</strong> by things like this. However, is there anyone who wouldn¡¯t feel happy when they get to know the unexpected side of a seemingly cold acting person?

    And there¡¯s also one more thing I was happy about. While Leo-sama was recovering, he entrusted to me with the task of visiting farmers, looking over petitions rted to agriculture and looking through improvement ns. Since there were no agricultural specialists working in the Royal Castle, I was able to use the knowledge that I learned in Japan and my experience in gardening while living in Orania.

    I could make use of my knowledge and felt a sense of fulfillment. Due to that, I had many debates with Leo-sama.

    Thus, the distance between Leo-sama and I had shrunk in a heartbeat.

    <h4>Footnotes/ Help:</h4>

    * °³¤¬¥ì¥ª˜”¤¬‡g¤Î˜”¤Ê¡ºÀäØÍõ¡»¤Ç¤Ï¤Ê¤«¤Ã¤¿¤ÈÔ’¤¹¤È¡¢¡¸½O¤µ¤ì¤ë¤Ê¡¹¤È×¢Òâ¤µ¤ì¤Æ¤·¤Þ¤Ã¤¿¡£

    ** Ðî·e¤·¤¿Æ£„º¤È¡¢ÇÞ²»×ã¤Ë¤è¤Ã¤ÆïLÐ°¤¬™»¯¤·¤¿¤â¤Î¤È¤ÎÔ\¶Ï¤À¤Ã¤¿¡£

    *** ŸoÀí¤ò¤µ¤»¤Æ¤·¤Þ¤¤¤Þ¤·¤¿

    <strong>(T/N: This chapter seemed soooo much longer when I tranted it... Well, I hope you all enjoy this chapter! If you see any mistakes, justment and I will fix it immediately (or when I can)! Thank again to Asami for being my new editor. </strong>

    <strong>Also, Kiriko! I am sorry for deleting/spamming yourment on the previous chapter! It was not on purpose! (Had to apologize for the 100th time). </strong>

    ¨C ¨C

 Chapter 32

    <h4>Aloof King and Cool (Acting) Queen*</h4>

    <strong>T/N: *IMPORTANT* When I was tranting this, I just remembered that his character isn¡¯t supposed to act ¡°Cold¡±, but cool. I can¡¯t really change the title on Novel Updates, but I will just put the title at the start of every chapter from now on so people don¡¯t get confused with Shane¡¯s character. He isn¡¯t supposed to act ¡°Cold¡± at all. He supposed to be like a ¡°independent, reliable, and sophisticated¡± person. </strong>

    <strong>On another note, sorry for thete update. When I wanted to update, I had to go to a mandatory 4 day excursion for my university, and then my sses started right when it ended. I wanted to adjust to the new school life, so I couldn¡¯t really update until now. </strong><strong>Well, anyways, enjoy the chapter!</strong>

    <strong>Raws: </strong>

    <b>*POV: Leonhart*</b>

    A wedding ceremony to wee an empress was a special thing. The entire country expressed their wees and the citizens gave their blessings.

    The marriage with Shane was exciting because it had been a while since this country had married with another country for purposes other than military expansion.

    At the wedding ceremony, the beautiful Shane attracted all the attention again. I gave a slight smile when I saw his lovely figure wearing the indigo dress. He had a dignified appearance that many people couldn¡¯t take their eyes off of. I, myself, was no exception.

    When I gave a kiss toplete the oath, I was surprised to see wide eyes staring at me. That¡¯s when I saw a glimpse of his youthfulness. I got interested in Shane who showed a different side of himself.

    But no matter how beautiful he was, Shane was a man. I was worried it would be unpleasant if we were to embrace on the bridal night.

    While I was still worried, I entered Shane¡¯s room and saw him dressed like a man for the first time. He was also acting differently from usual, and faced me head on. (?)

    Since Shane didn¡¯t want an intimate rtionship as a married couple, I thought that was fine too. For that reason, I had him call me by my nickname that close friends would call me by.

    After that, Shane taught me how to y "Othello" and it became a daily routine to talk about anything other than love. Our rtionship was one where we didn¡¯t mind each other much, like friends, it was veryfortable to me.

    It seems I had so much fun to the point where it became unreasonable. The moment I copsed, my vision turned ck, and the next thing I knew, I was staring at the ceiling of my room.

    Kristoff severely scolded me while throwing in sarcasm.

    After a while, Shane visited my room and said he was here for nursing. He got angry that I was working, so I asked to him to wake me up after a short while, but hepletely disregarded that request and I ended up giving up on it altogether. I thought it wasn¡¯t a bad idea to slowly pass the time with Shane.

    And for the first time, I saw Shane¡¯s real smile, and not his forced one. Seeing that smile, I felt my heart bing warmer.

    Naturally, a smile floated across my face.

    *****

    While my body was recovering, Shane was acting as my recement for certain duties. The Prime Minister, who also coiled his tongue, made use of his (Shane¡¯s) knowledge regarding agriculture, to lend me strength. (???WTF)

    (??) Even though people from around the world call me "Aloof King", I think it¡¯s nice to be able to express my opinionsfortably. Coincidentally, before the marriage, I had spoken to Kristoff and said my ideal lover was "a wife with the spirit to change the country with me".

    However, about two months after the marriage, I saw apletely different side from the usual beautiful and reliable impression I had of him. On that day, a visitor from Orania was scheduled to visit Shane, so I thought I should greet him and visited Shane¡¯s room.

    (???) When I opened the door to improve the venttion, I saw Shane and a young man who were full of smiles. With this, I was convinced that was Shane¡¯s real nature. I hesitated to greet them, and ended up going back to my office.

    Ekart, the Knight Commander, was already waiting in my office.

    "Oh, Leo-sama, you have returned early."

    "Ah, well Shane was chatting so happily, I missed the chance to greet them."

    When I said this, Ekart, for some reason, seemed like he understood the situation.

    "I guess it would be enjoyable for Shane-sama. I think today¡¯s visitor is the former lover."

    I couldn¡¯t utter out an answer to that unexpected reply. Come to think of it, it was reported that he had a lover in Orania. It doesn¡¯t seem like their rtionship has continued until now, but I was convinced they were once lovers when I saw their smiling faces.

    Why was I so shocked?

    That night, I visited his room as usual, and sat on the chair near the window. Then, the potted nt caught my eye. That was one of the few things Shane brought from Orania.

    Even though the leaves had been growing until yesterday, it was now bare. When I asked what happened, he said he used some to make "herbal tea" for the guest that came today.

    (*???) Did he care for the nt and wait for the leaves to grow for that person? For some reason, my heart felt heavy.

    Was this a desire to monopolize a friend, or was it apletely different emotion? I didn¡¯t dare to answer myself.

    <h4>Footnotes/Please Help Me:</h4>

    (?) Ò»ÈË³Æ¤âÆÕ¶Î¤È¤Ï®¤Ê¤ê¡¢°³¤ÈÕýÃæ¤«¤éÏò¤­ºÏ¤ª¤¦¤È¤·¤Æ¤¯¤ì¤Æ¤¤¤ëÊÂ¤¬»¤ï¤Ã¤Æ¤­¤¿¡£

    (???WTF) Ô×Ïà¤âÉà¤òŽ†¤¤¤Æ¤¤¤¿¡¢Þr˜I¤ËŒ¤¹¤ëÖª×R¤ò»î¤«¤·¡¢°³¤ËÁ¦¤òÙJ¤·¤Æ¤¯¤ì¤Æ¤¤¤ë¡£

    (??) ÊÀég¤«¤é¡ºÀäØÍõ¡»¤Èºô¤Ð¤ì¤Æ¤¤¤ë°³¤ËŒ¤·¤Æ¡¢È«¤¯ßh‘]¤âŸo¤¯ÒâÒŠ¤·¤Æ¤¯¤ë¤½¤Î×Ë¤Ï¡¢îm¤â¤·¤µ¤µ¤¨¸Ð¤¸¤ë³Ì¤À¡£

    (???) ¤½¤·¤Æ¡¢ïLÍ¨¤·¤òÁ¼¤¯¤¹¤ë¤¿¤á¤À¤í¤¦¤«¡¢é_¤±¤é¤ì¤¿ìé¤ÎÏò¤³¤¦‚È¤Ç¡¢œºÃæ¤ÎÐ¦¤ß¤ò¸¡¤«¤Ù¡¢ÓH¤·¤²¤ËÔ’¤ò¤¹¤ë¥·¥§©`¥ó¤ÈÇàÄê¤Î×Ë¤òÒŠ¤¿¤Î¤À¡£

    (*???) Àý¤ÎË¼¤¤ÈË¤Îžé¤Ë¡¢¥«¥¹¥Ñ¥ë¤ËÀ´¤Æ¤«¤é¤â¤»¤Ã¤»¤ÈÈ~¤ÎÊÖÈë¤ì¤ò¤·¤Æ¤¤¤¿¤Î¤«¡£

    <strong>T/N: I want to say thank you to Asami (who is an amazing editor) for always putting up with my shit and myziness. Also, I want to thank everyone for always helping me with sentences I don¡¯t understand! I hope you all can help me again this chapter! Thanks for reading!</strong>

    ¨C ¨C

 Chapter 33

    *POV: Shane*

    Recently, I feel that I have had less opportunities to see Leo-sama. Our ¡°Othello Meetings¡±, which we had every night until a while ago, have be scarce. Instead, a small bouquet of flowers would be delivered on the days when he doesn¡¯te.

    Suddenly losing something that had be a habit affected me a lot.

    One day, Elma-sama, one of the concubines that I became friends with since the tea party, came to drink tea in my room.

    ¡°Shane-sama, you haven¡¯t been looking welltely.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, I¡¯m just a little busy with work. Thank you for worrying.¡±

    Well, Elma-sama, who was blushing a little, looked really lovely when she was sipping her tea. She must have had some good reason for bing a concubine at such a young age. Even so, she doesn¡¯t show her dark side at all. (?)

    ¡°By the way, I¡¯ve heard some bad rumours in the inner pce but don¡¯t worry about them¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a bad thing? I can¡¯t go wrong with knowing.¡± (??)

    ¡°Oh, is that so? Then, don¡¯t worry about it.¡± (???)

    (????) Although Elma-sama interrupted herself impatiently, I was rather interested in continuing the topic.

    ¡°Please tell me without putting on airs. Elias, do you know what the rumors are?¡±

    I quietly asked Elias, who was holding back, but he hesitantly answered with ¡°no¡±, ¡°that is...¡± and other things like that.

    ¡°If you know, hurry and answer me.¡±

    ¡°Um, that, it¡¯s just a rumor, so please do not mind it... His Majesty the Emperor seems to have gone back and forth to the inner pcetely, and there are rumors that he had finally gotten bored with the Empress¡±

    Oh, that must have been difficult to say to me.

    ¡°So there are such rumors? I don¡¯t really mind, so it¡¯s okay¡±

    In order to restore the atmosphere that had sunk a bit, Elias offered the sweets she (Elma-sama) had prepared.

    After eating it, Elma-sama returned to her room, but on the way home...

    ¡°I am your friend, so if there is something going on, you can talk to me¡± She insisted while grasping my hand.

    At the tea party, I replied that I didn¡¯t mind it, but honestly I had feelings that I couldn¡¯t understand. When I think about Leo-sama¡¯s smile being directed at other people, such things makes my feelings sink further. As I thought, real women were better. With my thoughts so far, I was stunned by my contradicting feelings. (^)

    So far, I acted cool so that Leo-sama wouldn¡¯t like me, but now I thought that I would like that he liked me more than the concubines. That evening, I thought so much about it that I couldn¡¯t sleep.

    The next morning, like usual, flowers were delivered. It was to inform me that we wouldn¡¯t be meeting up this evening. When I saw that bouquet of flowers, I couldn¡¯t help but think of hisfortable low voice whispering sweet words to a woman. I was angry with myself.

    Up until now, I had disyed the flowers by the window, but I had them arranged so they wouldn¡¯t stand out. When I looked at the flowers I received, bad thoughts would slip into my mind. It was the first time I had ever held been angry due to the flowers I loved so much.

    Nevertheless, today I had to discuss some work with Leo-sama, so I couldn¡¯t help but feel depressed. I had to resolve myself to go into Leo-sama¡¯s office for work even if I didn¡¯t feel like facing him.

    As usual, I knocked on the door and entered the room, and there Leo-sama was, leaned back on his chair, looking a bit worn-out. Seeing that figure, I remembered how I wanted to help this person with work. And before I knew it, I realized how my feelings had changed.

    With this realization, it gave me answers to the series of emotions that had me overwhelmed since yesterday. Ah, I like this person. That thought gradually calmed me down.

    ¡°Oh, Shane, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Leo-sama asked me, and I felt my face be red when our eyes met. Without a single word, I left the room out of embarrassment.

    Even though I didn¡¯t run, my heart was beating violently. I sat down immediately while my hand held the left side of my chest.

    I was feeling self-conscious about it, and the depressed feeling disappeared, but I didn¡¯t know what to do. (^^)

 Chapter 34

    <strong>(T/N: MERRY CHRISTMAS! I know. I¡¯m super fuckingte with the chapter~! Life has literally been stressing me out from studying like crazy to final exams, then there¡¯s all the therapy I have been going through, and now I am trying to find a job and figure out a way to avoid homelessness. So it¡¯s been quite a ride these past 2 months. </strong>

    <strong>To be honest, I probably won¡¯t be able to continue tranting this even though I really want to. After I finish chapter 36 [I am almost done with it] I will be begging someone to take over for me. Thanks for reading the trantions and I really hope someone picks up this amazing novel!) </strong>

    My birthday wasing up next week, but my rtionship with Leo-sama was still awkward. After bing aware of my feelings, when I looked at him, I became frustrated at myself for behaving so suspiciously. It was bing more difficult to pretend to be cool.

    My only moments of peace was when I was drinking tea with Elias.

    "Shane-sama, have you decided on what dress you will be wearing for the party next week?"

    "Ah, I was thinking of wearing the light purple dress that His Majesty gave me the other day. Is that weird?"

    "No, because I am sure His Majesty will be pleased, right?"

    I¡¯m relieved he agrees with me. When I was in Japan, I heard that men would give women clothes because they wanted to take them off; remembering such a thing made me feel a bit embarrassed. By no means did I desire to ever do such a thing...

    It was my first birthday ever since I came to Caspar, so it was decided that it would be a big birthday party. Urie will also be attending because it oveps with the delivery of the magic potion.

    Naturally, there would be opportunities to dance at the party. I think I will practice a little more so that I, at least, won¡¯t step on Leo-sama¡¯s foot. It was no surprise that my actions were because of him.

    *****

    And just like that, the day of the party arrived. When evening came, people began to flood therge dance floor of the royal castle one after the other.

    I waited behind the door before entering together with Leo-sama. It¡¯s a been a long time since it¡¯s been just the two of us, so I felt a little tense.

    "The dress suits you well."

    "Thank you, I am happy to be able to attend such arge party in this lovely dress."

    I was happy that I was praised, and happy that I could talk.* I looked down so he couldn¡¯t see my red face. It seems it¡¯s very difficult to suppress my feelings.

    *****

    When the two of us entered the dance floor, many participants weed us with an apuse. After my greeting, as the result of Leo-sama¡¯s toast, the music yed by the orchestra began echoing throughout the dance hall.

    I greeted many people as the leading actor, and when I started to feel a bit tired, it was finally time to dance. I felt relieved that I was able to move my body.

    Of course, Leo-sama was the first dance partner. Naturally, his arm was around my waist, and I unconsciously looked up and was fascinated by his beautiful eyes.

    "It¡¯s tiring to be in the same position for a long time. Are you alright?"

    "Yes. It¡¯s been a long time since I have danced, so I am feeling a bit nervous." I whisper, as we walked to the center of the dance floor.

    The other participants naturally moved out of the way, and seemed to watched us. When we started to dance, I felt a bit embarrassed, but with Leo-sama¡¯s smooth lead, time passed by in a blink of an eye. When the song ended, everyone around us pped.

    After that, Leo-sama was naturally surrounded by other woman because it was hospitality of the host to dance with them.

    On one hand, it¡¯s not that I didn¡¯t have to dance, but it seemed there was nobody with a high enough status or was confident enough to invite the wife of the Emperor, me, to a dance, in front of His Majesty, so I became a wallflower.**

    However, Urie was the one to call out to me. "Princess, if you don¡¯t mind, would you like to dance?"

    "Yes, with pleasure."

    I missed that voice that joked around a little. He graciously grabbed my hand, and lend me to the edge of the dance floor. Urie took into consideration to not stand out too much.

    Since Urie was the one who taught me how to dance, our breathing was perfectly matched.

    When we finished dancing, the alcohol I was drinking caught up to me, making me stagger a bit.

    "You should take a breather outside. Let¡¯s go to the terrace."

    Urie, who was worried, came out with me.

    "Sorry Urie, and thank you."

    "It¡¯s okay, I also had something I wanted to talk about." Urie said this a little embarrassed. And when he confirmed that there was no one around, he leaned closer to whisper into my ear.

    "I wanted to tell you that I decided to marry the lover I was talking about before. Actually, I wanted Haruto to attend the wedding as well, but I know that is impossible, so I wanted to tell you at least. But I will still send you an invitation."

    "Congrats! That¡¯s really great!"

    I unconsciously took Urie¡¯s hand and congratted him on the unexpected news.

    "Oh, thank you!"

    Urie¡¯s eyes looked delighted as he moved his head to look at me.***

    "Can you let go of my wife?"

    When I looked back at the sudden voice, Leo-sama was there with a cold expression that I had never seen before.

    <h4>Footnotes/ Please Help Me:</h4>

    * ¨C °ý¤á¤é¤ì¤ÆæÒ¤·¤¤¡¢Ô’¤¬³öÀ´¤ÆæÒ¤·¤¤¡£

    ** ¨C Ò»·½¤Î°³¤â¡¢Ó»¤Ã¤Æ¤Ï¤¤¤±¤Ê¤¤ÔU¤Ç¤ÏŸo¤¤¤Î¤À¤¬¡¢»ÊµÛ±ÝÏÂ¤ÎÕýåú¤Ç¤¢¤ë°³¤òÕýÃæ¤«¤é¥À¥ó¥¹¤ËÕT¤¨¤ë³Ì¤ÎÉí·Ö¤ä×ÔÐÅ¤¬¤¢¤ëÈË¤Ï¤½¤¦¤½¤¦¾Ó¤Ê¤¤¤è¤¦¤Ç¡¢±Ú¤Î»¨×´‘B¤È¤Ê¤Ã¤Æ¤¤¤¿¡£

    *** ¨C ¤½¤¦æÒ¤·¤½¤¦¤Ë¤Ï¤Ë¤«¤à¥æ©`¥ê¤ÎÒ•¾€¤¬¡¢°³¤ÎÐ±¤áÉÏ¤Ø¤ÈÒÆ„Ó¤·¡¢¤½¤·¤ÆÒŠé_¤«¤ì¤¿¡£

    <strong>(T/N: I will try to get the next chapter out tomorrow or Thursday. If you see any mistakes, just tell me and I will fix them. Thanks for reading and thanks for being patient with me!)</strong>

    ¨C ¨C

 Chapter 35

    <i><strong>(T/N: Hey everyone! Sorry for being super damnte. Again. As I said a lot in thements in the previous chapter, life has been choking me and dragging me along. My living situation got worst and I have until May to get my shit together for when I get kicked out; my college life has been super stressful with exams and tests back to back to back. The stress between home (along with medical bills) and college has gotten so bad, I am failing a ss T_T College life is great....</strong></i>

    <i><strong>Anyways... I would like to give a special thanks to Zen Wistalia (my editor) for actually finishing chapter 36 for me while I was gone! And to end my rambling, I would also like to give a special thanks to Ars trantions for picking this up after I post chapter 36! </strong></i>

    <strong>*POV: Leonhart*</strong>

    "Your Majesty, can you do a little work instead of just thinking?"

    I heard a loud voice that caught my attention, and saw Kristoff sigh who knows how many times today. After I realized my feelings for Shane, this state continued.

    ¡¯I¡¯m sorry¡¯, I answered as I held the documents, but none of the words were processing. Towards such a me, Kristoff gave another sigh.

    "I don¡¯t know what happened with Shane-sama, but isn¡¯t it better to tell him your feelings instead of worrying like this?"

    "No, I¡¯m just troubled because I can¡¯t express the feelings that I want to convey."

    To be honest, I was amazed at the sight of myself.

    "You keep thinking about Shane-sama, and you can¡¯t get any work done; you even came back here because you were jealous of Shane-sana¡¯s former lover. Even I can understand how Your Majesty feels. How slow can you be?"

    Even if you say that, I don¡¯t know what I don¡¯t understand.

    "In this situation, isn¡¯t it best to prepare a birthday present for Shane-sama?"

    I was stabbed right in the bull¡¯s eye.

    "Now that I think about it, I don¡¯t even know what Shane likes. The only thing I know that he likes is flowers, but I have been sending that to him everyday recently."

    "So, do you want to invite the jeweler to the castle this time? It seems like Shane-sama doesn¡¯t like morous jewelry, but I remember him wearing some earrings."

    It was a good idea, so I left it to Kristoff to arrange it. Even though one of my problems were solved, another one arose when I had to figure out what color would suit Shane best, or what design would look good or not.

    * * * * *

    And finally the day hade, Shane¡¯s birthday party was organized by me. For that reason, Shane wore the dress that I had gifted him before; their hair was loosely gathered giving off an elegant, adult-like appearance. I decided I would give them the present after the party was over. I was worried, but now I was feeling rather nervous.

    It wasn¡¯t my first time dancing with Shane, but obviously my feelings were different than before. I put my arm around his thin waist that didn¡¯t seem like a man¡¯s waist. It was a given that there were participants who were fascinated by Shane¡¯s beauty.

    When the song finished, I had to go dance with the other women as the host. It was irritating that I couldn¡¯t keep dancing with Shane.

    While I was dancing with other women, Shane was drinking alcohol slowly, waiting for time to pass. As expected, there was no man reckless enough to dance with the Emperor¡¯s wife, so I was relieved.

    However, while I was distracted, I noticed the surroundings bing noisy.

    When I looked around, I saw Shane dancing with another man. When I looked closely, it was the Duke¡¯s son from Orania.* Their breaths were in perfect sync, showing that they have danced many dances together. I couldn¡¯t express the jealousy that I felt towards this man who knew the Shane I didn¡¯t know. I was astonished by the strong feelings I held.

    After a short time passed, it seems the alcohol was too much for Shane as he was being supported to the terrace; when I saw their faces near each other, I pushed away the women who were surrounding me. At the terrace, the two people started to talk, but when I heard Shane¡¯sughter, I unconsciously aimed hostility towards the Duke¡¯s son.

    At that moment, my voice was surprisingly cold.

    <h4>Footnotes:</h4>

    *It says Marquis, but I kept it as Duke¡¯s son as that¡¯s how the previous trantor tranted it

    <i><strong>(T/N: This chapter was a hell of a lot easier than the next chapter. I should have it as soon as I get this one damn sentence to make sense. I don¡¯t understand Japanese idioms which is why I am struggle XD Anyways, thanks for reading and thank you all so much for being patient with me!)</strong></i>

    ¨C ¨C

 Chapter 36

    <strong>(T/N: Thanks for waiting and being patient! This is thest chapter I will be tranting and Ars will be taking over from here! Thanks so much for reading this machine trantion of this great  and <del>enduring the pitiful excuse for a trantion.</del> This chapter was surprising kind of lengthy and it was extremely difficult to trante so please bear with me! </strong>

    <strong>Also, one more shout out to Zen Wistalia for tranting thest bit of this chapter that I didn¡¯t do! They are the reason why I can even post this chapter...)</strong>

    <strong>*POV: Shane¡¯s*</strong>

    Leo-sama, who suddenly appeared, forcefully pulled me away from Urie. The people around us felt tense as Leo-sama¡¯s facial expression seemed discouraged.*

    I didn¡¯t know why Leo-sama suddenly became disgusted, and I was having a hard time processing what happened.

    "Leo-sama, it¡¯s the long awaited party, shouldn¡¯t you go dance with someone?"

    I desperately suggested trying to get out of this situation. Leo-sama nced my way, his usual no facial expression was there, but it had a cold impression. However, he quickly removed his gaze, took a small breath, and then looked straight ahead again.

    * * * * *

    By the time the party ended, I was mentally exhausted. In the first half of the party, I enjoyed my dance with Leo-sama, but in the second half, I had a particrly difficult time.

    When I finally saw off thest guest, I was relieved that I could finally go back to my room, but Leo-sama grabbed my arm. We quickly moved down the corridor, and I paid attention to not stumble as I wasn¡¯t ustomed to running in heels and a dress. I then found myself in Leo-sama¡¯s private room.

    "What¡¯s the matter with you? You have been acting strange."

    I unconsciously questioned, but was pushed up against the wall and looked at harshly.

    "Some time ago, you seemed like you were having fun."

    What was he saying? I wonder what he was talking about.

    "I don¡¯t know what your hinting at."

    I also felt a little belligerent.**

    "Were you not just dancing happily with the Duke¡¯s son of Orania? And in addition to that, you seemed to breathe in perfect sync while dancing."

    "It was Urie who taught me how to dance, so naturally we would be able to."

    "On the balcony, were your faces not extremely close to one another?"

    "It was because Urie was speaking in a tone from the old days; it was to make sure no one could hear."

    The dispute we had continued. However, I suddenly noticed, the things that Leo-sama was pointing out, I was thinking simr things. Did Leo-sama feel the same way about Urie like how I felt with other women touching him?

    "From what I heard, you and the Duke¡¯s son were lovers. Weren¡¯t you happy to see your former lover? Nevertheless, didn¡¯t you unwind yourself a little too much? Have you thought about your awareness as the Empress?"

    While I was thinking, Leo-sama emotions became high strung.***

    When I came to Caspar, I thought the rumors with Urie would be convenient when dealing with Leo-sama, but now I had to figure out how to solve this misunderstanding.

    "Leo-sama, that is a misunderstanding. Urie and I do not have that sort of rtionship. First off, as a matter of fact, Urie has a lover. Today, I was told that they are finally going to get married, so I was ovee with emotions.. I certainly may have acted a bit inappropriate as the Empress."

    Exining to that extent, Leo-sama seemed to have calmed down a bit.

    "But while you were in Orania, why didn¡¯t you deny the rumor?

    "Yes. Certainly in those days I thought I could use the rumor to go around Caspar easier."

    I answered obediently, surprising myself. Leo-sama took in a small breath and immediately asked another question.

    "What do you mean by that? Why is that?"

    "At first, I was concerned about Leo-sama¡¯s rumors. Besides, I couldn¡¯t really stomach the fact that I married a man. So I wanted to keep my distance from you. However, the more I got to know about you, the more I realized the rumor of you being an ¡¯Aloof King¡¯ was just a lie. In reality, you are a gentle king who thinks about his people. That¡¯s why I thought I wanted to stay by your side"

    I could feel my face turn red little by little.

    "Moreover, some time ago, I kind of felt the same way as Leo-sama. I thought that I wanted to keep dancing with you, but whenever I saw you dancing with other women, I felt a bit depressed. So, I thought this feeling was jealousy."

    There was a small silence.

    "Jealousy? Certainly I was feeling a bit of jealousy towards the Duke¡¯s son. I see... I, it seems like I have liked Shane for a long time now. I realized up until now, I was convinced that I satisfied with what we had now."

    Suddenly saying such things and even so easily, does he even understand the meaning of "like"? No, his understanding of the word was probably different from mine.

    "What do you mean by like?

    Recently, I felt like I was being avoided."

    "Even if I say the meaning, it is what it is.It means that my feelings are like love. Regarding recently, I couldn¡¯t organize my feelings, and I couldn¡¯t go see you because I was ashamed and embarrassed."

    As Leo-sama spoke, his face turned so red even I couldn¡¯t beat him. And I also thought it was strange that we thought of the same things everyday. It was a little funny. /*/

    With a smallugh, ¡°Me too. I was really embarrassed and couldn¡¯t go see you. After that, I knew I liked you too."

    After I answered, Leo-sama wasn¡¯t able to endure it and heughed in a simr way.

    When I unintentionally looked at the clock, the day had ended.

    "Oh, it¡¯s already midnight. My birthday has ended."

    I casually mumbled. Suddenly, Leo-sama rushed to his desk as it seemed he remembered something.

    "I¡¯m sorry, even though it has past, I still have your present. I hope you like it." He presented a small box.

    "Thank you. Can I open it right now?"

    ¡¯Yes¡¯, Leo-sama answered a bit nervously. When I opened the box, there were a set of earrings.

    It was a simple design with clear blue gems. But for me who doesn¡¯t like overly morous things, the piercing design is one that I can wear everyday, which makes me very happy.

    ¡°It is very beautiful. Thank you very much. I will cherish it. ¡°

    "I am d to hear you say so. It was worth choosing it. ¡°

    Leo replied, so I just ced a gentle kiss on his lips. Just this contact gave me tremendous happiness.

    I would like to share the joy in the little things with this person. Is what I was thinking from the bottom of my heart.

    However, because I was celebrating my birthday, I remembered that I lied about my age.

    I think I might as well tell him the truth.

    "Leo-sama, because we can now speak to each other honestly there is something I would like to tell you something."

    "What is it?"

    "You see, I lied to you a little about my age when I married you, Leo-sama."

    After he heard that, Leo-sama didn¡¯t seem surprised.

    ¡°Is that so? When I first saw Shane, I certainly thought that you were a bit young. Wait, don¡¯t tell me that you still haven¡¯t reached twenty yet? ¡°

    I thought it was still calling the mackerel... **/**

    ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing like that. Actually, I pretended to be 3 years younger. Today, I am actually 26 years old. I¡¯m older than Leo-sama by 2 years. ¡°

    When he heard that, Leo-sama wasughing while holding his stomach, saying, ¡°I was deceived¡± with the face of someone who had swallowed a peashooter.(*)

    <h4>Footnotes/Please I am in need of HELP:</h4>

    * ¨C ¤½¤Î¤Þ¤Þ‘“È»¤È¤·¤¿±íÇé¤Ç°³¤ÎëO¤Ë¤¤¤¿¥ì¥ª˜”¤Ë¡¢²Î¼ÓÕß¤Î¶à¤¯¤¬¾oˆ¤òÓàƒx¤Ê¤¯¤µ¤ì¤Æ¤·¤Þ¤Ã¤Æ¤¤¤¿¡£

    ** ¨C means hostile or aggressive

    *** ¨C easily upset or nervous

    /*/ ¨C ¤½¤·¤Æ¡¢°³¤âÈ«¤¯Í¬¤¸¤³¤È¤ò¿¼¤¨¤Æî†¤òºÏ¤ï¤»¤é¤ì¤Ê¤¤ÈÕ¡©¤¬¾A¤¤¤Æ¤¤¤¿¤³¤È¤Ë¡¢ºÎ¤À¤«¤ª¤«¤·¤¯¤Ê¤Ã¤Æ¤·¤Þ¤Ã¤¿¡£

    THESE ARE THE JAPANESE IDIOMS:

    **/** ¨C ¤ä¤Ï¤ê¤½¤Á¤é¤Ë¥µ¥Ð¤ò¤è¤ó¤Ç¤¤¤¿¤ÈË¼¤Ã¤Æ¤¤¤ë¤Î¤Ç¤¹¤Í...¡£<strong> (HONESTLY I KNOW THIS MEANS LYING ABOUT ONE¡¯S AGE, BUT I DON¡¯T KNOW HOW TO WORD IT!) </strong>

    (*) ¨C this is a Japanese idiom for having ¡°a look that is stupid surprised¡± etc. so basically he¡¯s making a weird expression of some sort...

    <i><b>(T/N: Thank you for reading this chapter that was honestly the most confusing thing ever! It¡¯s 2am so I will be heading off to bed XD... Whatever grammar errors I have made will be fixedter. </b></i>

    <i><strong>This will be thest chapter I am tranting for this novel, sooo thank you soooo soo much for reading until here! Ars will be taking over and when they post the next chapter, I will also have it linked here. Hopefully, I see you all again in a different  that I might trante due to me learning Japanese in college! Hopefully Ie back with a better understanding of the Japanesenguage. XD Bye bye for now everyone!)</strong></i>

    ¨C ¨C

 Chapter 37

    <strong>Announcement</strong>

    If this is your first time here, wee! I¡¯m Ars, trantor of another JP BL called ¡°Picked up a Strange Knight¡±. If you haven¡¯t read it yet, please do check it out! Earlier I received ament requesting that I pick up this story, so I contacted the previous trantor who then gave me the go-ahead! Thanks to ckMaskedPhantom for all of their hard work¡ªlet¡¯s hope their situation gets better and that they can return to tranting some awesome stories!

    Here is chapter 37. Enjoy!

    An invitation to Urie¡¯s wedding ceremony had arrived. Though I unfortunately couldn¡¯t attend, I nned at the very least to send a letter and gifts.

    The invitation came with a picture of the couple: Urie and his lover. Urie smiled happily in the picture, and the person between his arms was undeniably a cute-looking boy.

    ording to the letter Alec had sent, Urie had gone to an orphanage to offer the Knight Order¡¯s condolences. There, Urie had fallen in love with the young man at first sight and seemed to have won his heart.

    At present time it seemed that they had gone to Orania to carry out their passionate romance, though that plot twist was something I had only heard from rumor.

    When I showed this picture to Leo-sama, his reaction revealed that he believed without a doubt that Urie¡¯s joy must be a lie.

    Although you could say that Leo-sama and I had confirmed our mutual feelings for each other, there hadn¡¯t been a sudden change in our rtionship.

    However, the recently-infrequent ¡°Othello Meetings¡± had now once again be a daily urrence.

    Those meetings didn¡¯t have the feeling of ¡®a battle of wits¡¯ or anything like that. Instead, they had a gentle and calm atmosphere where Leo-sama and I asionally shared kisses, softly brushing our lips together.

    Tonight as well, the two of us went out to the terrace after we¡¯d finished our work.

    I felt that the starry sky of this world, which was mostly free of any artificial lighting, was much more beautiful than the stars I had seen in Japan.

    Chatting beneath this starry sky was a custom that we had only recently begun.

    Today I had prepared some sweet and sour liquor made of citrus.

    ¡°I apologize for having made you wait.¡±

    I offered Leo-sama a ss and sat down beside him.

    ¡°Thanks. The stars are as pretty as ever today.¡±

    ¡°They are, aren¡¯t they. When I had been in Orania, I had often gazed up at the sky back then as well.¡±

    Back in those days I¡¯d looked up at the stars while feeling homesick and wistful for Japan, but now the loneliness that I had felt was gradually fading away.

    ¡°The flowers of Orania are rather beautiful, aren¡¯t they? On that topic, Shane, I know that you¡¯re fond of flowers, but which flower would you consider your favorite?¡±

    My absolute favorite is the wisteria. But... I haven¡¯t yet seen a single one in this world. Even if I tried to describe it with my words, I didn¡¯t have the confidence in being able to convey the uniqueness of this flower¡¯s form¡ªI had gotten up to there in my thoughts, when I remembered the existence of the picture book I had brought with me from Japan.

    ¡°I have something nice to show you. Please wait for a bit.¡±

    I hurried back to my room, and returned with the picture book. It had been seven years since I had firste to this world, and after I had opened this book countless times, its corners had be rounded. Even so, the beauty of the pictures was still in good shape. I pointed to the wisteria inside.

    ¡°This is the flower that I love the most. It¡¯s called ¡®wisteria¡¯, but unfortunately I have never seen it in this ce.¡±

    The moment Leo-sama saw this picture that had been illuminated by magic, his facial expression changed slightly¡ªhe looked somewhat surprised.

    But in the next moment, his expression returned to its usual state.

    ¡°It¡¯s a beautiful flower. It has the same color as Shane¡¯s eyes.¡±

    Though he said that, I felt pained to have to lie about the color of my own eyes. Even though there were many things we talked about now, I still hadn¡¯t been able to broach the secret around this color.

    If it were known that the Emperor¡¯s Royal Consort bore eyes of such an ominous color, I worried that I wouldn¡¯t be able to stay with him. 1 Though I knew that Leo-sama wasn¡¯t that kind of person, I also understood that he wasn¡¯t in a position where he could decide such a thing solely by himself.

    Leo-sama looked at that picture book for a long time. And suddenly, as if he¡¯d resolved himself, he asked me a question.

    ¡°Shane, if you¡¯re willing¡ªwould you be able to tell me your real name?¡±

    I would never be able to tell him the color of my eyes. That was why, I thought, I hoped that I could at least not hide other things from him.

    ¡°That is alright with me, but please don¡¯t be surprised. My real name is actually ¡®Haruto¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Really? It¡¯s the same as mine, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    It had surprised him after all. When I saw him like that, I couldn¡¯t help but smile.

    ¡°My name has several unique letters with meanings attached to it.¡±

    While saying that, I took some moisture from my ss and wrote the kanji¡ºÇç¶¼¡»on the table.

    ¡°This is read ¡®Haruto¡¯. Though each letter has its own meaning, its overall significance is that of ¡®and of auspicious days¡¯.¡± 2

    When I exined it as such, Leo-sama grasped my hand while looking a bit joyful.

    ¡°What I wish is to make this country a brightnd, and with my own hands, change this country that has been wracked with conflict. Would you be willing to create such a nd of auspicious days¡¯ with me?¡±

    It had been a long time since I had written my name in kanji, so the letters turned out much clumsier than before. Spoken Japanese was, for the most part, something I could no longer call upon, so bit by bit I had begun to be unable to recall the words. When I thought about how in this way I was gradually starting to forget what I knew of Japan, it would be a lie to say it hadn¡¯t distressed me. Yet even so, I felt that I wanted to do everything in my power to live here, in this country¡ªLeo-sama and I, together.

    With our hands connected, I returned a squeeze to his hand and replied, ¡°Yes.¡±

    <strong>Trantor¡¯s Note</strong>

    Thank you for reading Ch37!

    To be honest, this story is one that¡¯s been sitting in my reading list for a long time so I¡¯m not actually familiar with what happened earlier. If you see any details that are inconsistent with previous chapters, let me know.

    Although my main trantion priority is <i>Picked up a Strange Knight</i> and its sequel, the chapters of this story are short enough that I¡¯ll probably be able to put out at least one or two each week.

    Also, hm... hm? This story, it¡¯s listed as shounen ai on novelupdates, right? The previous chapters, do they not have any smut in them? Then why is it that as soon as I pick up this story, the very next chapter has some X-rated content?! I don¡¯t know if prior trantors have mentioned this yet, but the final chapter (not counting epilogue) is R18 too...

    Well, the next chapter is only at the level of R15. Be careful about opening it in public, but otherwise, please look forward to it.

    The title used here is one I don¡¯t really know how to trante: ¡°»ÊµÛÕýåú¡±. The first word is Emperor, thest one is ¡®Princess/Consort¡¯. I wasn¡¯t sure how to interpret Õý or the phrase as a whole so I just went with something that seemed it would fit. ?A more literal trantion is ¡®and of fine/clear weather¡¯¡ªas in, nothing ominous on the horizon, everything is clear and fair. There¡¯s a lot of room for poetic interpretation, but I went with something that fits the context. ?

 Chapter 38

    <strong>Advisory Notice

    </strong>

    <strong> </strong>This chapter contains some explicit content.

    I had made a promise with Leo-sama to reform Caspar together. In any case, I resolved to do as much as I could with my own knowledge and experience.

    In order to expand my knowledge of agriculture, I actively went for tutoring at the Royal Castle¡¯s Agricultural Department where they generously exined things to me.

    Elias¡¯s position had turned into something like my assistant, and though I had felt truly sorry for making him work like this even though he was a knight,

    ¡°When I served at the Knight Order, because of my status as amoner there were many times where the useless and misceneous tasks were left for me to handle. When it is for Shane-sama, however, it is a matter of acquiring knowledge for the sake of this country. My feelings are rather those of gratefulness. Of course, I have also secured my training as a knight, so please, do not worry.¡±

    When he replied as such, I felt relieved and trusted him with this work from that point on.

    And so, I gradually deepened my involvement in the state affairs.

    On the other hand, my rtionship with Leo-sama hadn¡¯t really made much progress.

    Because we were in love with each other, of course there were times when we had such an atmosphere. However, although our parts had touched together, there wasn¡¯t any progression from there. I felt that this wasn¡¯t really enough, but I couldn¡¯t say that out loud myself.

    This evening as well, when our gazes met each other, it was a signal.

    I quietly closed my eyes and epted Leo-sama¡¯s lips, as well as his tongue.

    He licked at the top of my mouth, making a whine leave me.

    Leo-sama extended his hands toward my pants, and skillfully stripped them.

    I also put my hands on Leo-sama¡¯s belt, but because it took too much time I could only just uselessly scuffle with it.

    When Leo-sama brought his hand to that ce to touch me directly, I couldn¡¯t help but let out my voice.

    ¡°...Mn... please don¡¯t tease me so much down there.¡±

    I protested against the way that Leo-sama had doggedly kept stroking me the previous time we had done this.

    ¡°Your reaction is simply too cute; I can¡¯t help it. Touch me too, Haruto.¡±

    So he said while pulling at my hand.

    Ever since I had told him my real name, Leo-sama began to call me as such whenever the two of us were alone together.

    As we kissed, our lower halves met, our things pressing together.

    ¡°Leo-sama, I... want toe already...¡±

    ¡°Hold on for a little longer, we can do it together.¡±

    As Leo-sama said that, he thrust and rubbed his thing against mine.

    ¡°Ah, nn... I can¡¯t. I¡¯m going toe...!¡±

    The pleasant feeling was too much for me, so I ended uping a little early.

    And just as usual, I ended up teased and yed around with by Leo-sama.

    After quickly cleaning up, Leo-sama crawled back into bed.

    Today there wasn¡¯t any progress, either.

    ¡°Haruto, did you hear about what¡¯s happening tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I heard that there will be a ceremony for celebrating the end of the war with Trancia.¡±

    Trancia is a country that had warred with Caspar up until the very end. Tomemorate the third year since the end of the war, key people from Trancia were invited to thememoration ceremony.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Our rtionship with Trancia has been tense for many years, but recently it has greatly settled down. That¡¯s why the fact that we¡¯ve passed the third year mark is very meaningful.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡±

    I understood the significance of this ceremony, as well.

    ¡°That¡¯s why, if tomorrow goes through safely, there is something I would like to talk to you about. And then, I want to make Haruto mine.¡±

    His sudden speech surprised me.

    I didn¡¯t say anything, only embracing him and nodding in reply countless times.

    Leo-sama also said nothing , simply stroking my head.

    Like that, I fell asleep while wrapped inplete happiness.

    <strong>Trantor¡¯s Note</strong>

    I thought I had already learned from Taro-sensei all of the Japanese R18 vocabry I needed, but actually this chapter used some, er, vague terms that I wasn¡¯t exactly sure about. ¤ª»¥¤¤¤Î¤â¤Î¤ò’i¤­ºÏ¤¦...

    Regarding the country of Trancia, please let me know if it has appeared in previous chapters under a different name. The author uses both ¥È¥é¥¤¥·¥¢ (toraishia) and ¥È¥é¥ó¥·¥¢(toranshia) when referring to the country. I thought the author must have decided to change the name of the country halfway through writing, but in the next chapters both Toraishia and Toranshia appear... so I¡¯m not sure if these are typos or not. In any case, I opted to refer to the country as Trancia in the trantion.

 Chapter 39

    The party that arrived from Trancia was surprisingly small.

    Supposedly, on the day of the departure, the current king had fallen to sudden illness. For that reason, the king¡¯s younger brother, the Royal Prince, hade in his stead.

    This Royal Prince was a slender and fair-skinned man in his early twenties, and gave off apletely different impression from his older brother, the renowned dauntless and resolute warrior.

    When the ceremony started, I recalled the things Leo-sama had spoken ofst night and gradually became unable to concentrate.

    My duty for today was to entertain Trancia¡¯s Royal Prince during the dinner party after the ceremony, so please cut me a little ck.

    First, Leo-sama gave his weing address. Next was the reception of the Royal Prince¡¯s speech, and finally both parties confirmed that the other had no intention of once again waging war.

    The ceremony then progressed without dy.

    Afterward, while the dinner banquet was still being prepared, there was a bit of free time.

    I changed into a pale red dress, and as I waited for the preparations to beplete, I passed time by drinking tea.

    And it was then that Leo-sama, dressed in full uniform, made his entrance.

    Although I¡¯d finally calmed down after going through a lot of trouble, the memory of our promise for tonight sprang up in my head again.

    ¡°Haruto, you don¡¯t have to be so nervous. You look like you¡¯re about to leap away from my hands at any second.¡±

    ¡°I ask that you please not tease me so much. Also, I¡¯m not nervous at all.¡±

    Though I tried to resolutely refute his words, I couldn¡¯t hide how my face turned red.

    ¡°Got it, sorry about that. Anyway, it¡¯s almost time¡ªshall we go?¡±

    Though he said it in a somewhatughing tone, Ipliantly took the hand he held out to me.

    At the dinner banquet, I was to serve as the person who conversed with the Royal Prince.

    ¡°I have heard that the Queen is actively involved with national affairs. The way you endeavor to pursue knowledge regardless of being a woman makes one such as myself feel respect and admiration.¡±

    ¡°No, not at all, it¡¯s nothing so great as that. Rather, I believe that the Royal Prince visiting a neighboring country as a representative has taken a far greater responsibility.¡±

    As the meal progressed, we conversed with small talk.

    ¡°As for that matter, it¡¯s simply that what I am able to aplish are only matters such as these. Unlike my brother, I am incapable of going out to the battlefield to fight.¡±

    As he said that, a wry smile that didn¡¯t match his age came upon the Royal Prince¡¯s face.

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t say such things. There are matters which only Your Highness and Your Highness alone is capable of doing. On my end, I feel that the things I know how to do are too few.¡±

    I didn¡¯t think that such cheesy words would actually be able to touch his heart.

    Even so, I couldn¡¯t not say it.

    The disaster came suddenly.

    When the meal reached the end of its course, I stood up from my seat while thinking that it was about time I ask for dessert. With a sigh, I looked out the window. The view was somewhat familiar and nostalgic, but a light that I had never seen in this kind of ce was approaching.

    It was a light given off by an urrence of attack magic, like what Alec had showed me in Orania.

    The escort knights around me also realized its existence, though a bitte.

    In an instant, they formed a defensive wall around me and Leo-sama.

    However, I, who had noticed this attack magic¡¯s existence a moment faster than the others, was the only one who saw...

    That magic¡¯s trajectory wasn¡¯t heading toward Leo-sama, nor to me, but instead aimed straight toward the Royal Prince.

    In that moment, I realized it.

    Just howe Trancia¡¯s King had developed a sudden illness just before the day of the departure?

    Just howe such a wry smile hade over the Royal Prince¡¯s face?

    He had known that he hade to this ce in order to die.

    So that he could be the burning embers that sparked the resurgence of war, he stood there without any sort of defense at all.

    I ran toward the Royal Prince¡¯s location.

    Crashing into him, I protected his body with my own.

    A powerful impact coursed through me, starting from my back to the rest of my body.

    That impactunched me into the air, and my body struck the floor.

    I couldn¡¯t breathe.

    Everything felt heavy.

    At the edge of my gradually narrowing vision, I caught sight of the Royal Prince looking over with a dumbfounded expression.

    He seemed fine. What a relief.

    From a distance, I heard a voice that sounded like Leo-sama¡¯s calling my name.

    These arms that embraced me now were surely Leo-sama¡¯s arms.

    Even without seeing his face, I was certain from feeling the warmth of his arms.

    ¡°Sor...ry, Leo-sama.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t keep the promise we made for tonight.

    My voice was hardly able toe out.

    At the very least, I wanted to touch his face¡ªI gave all my effort to lifting my right hand, but it fell to the floor, unable to reach.

 Chapter 40

    Leo-sama¡¯s perspective.

    The moment when the attack magic¡¯s light red, what came into my sight was Haruto¡¯s figure as he collided against the ground.

    ¡°Haruto¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡±

    In such heavy shock, I wasn¡¯t able to keep in mind that using his false name.

    More importantly, I rushed over to Haruto¡¯s side.

    I held Haruto¡¯s body within my arms, and with all of my might, I shouted his name.

    As if responding to my call, Haruto extended his right hand toward me.

    It was a small relief to know that he still retained consciousness, but the moment when I attempted to take his hand, Haruto¡¯s right hand lost its strength and fell to the ground.

    His faintly whispering voice as he said ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡± was, to me, an absurdly deafening sound.

    ¡°Haruto, open your eyes! You promised me we would make and of clear skies together, didn¡¯t you! Hurry up and open your eyes...¡±

    I desperately called out to him, but he gave me no response.

    Behind me came the sounds of Kristoff shouting for a rescue team, and Eckhartmanding the knight squads. 1

    And then, suddenly before my eyes, I saw the younger brother of Trancia¡¯s King, fallen on his backside and his eyes wide open with shock.

    The moment his figure entered my eyes, I couldn¡¯t suppress my fury.

    ¡°Bastard, you came here to let yourself die. As a result, you drove the Queen to fall into this state. Tell me, how will you take responsibility for this?¡±

    These words overflowing with anger were spoken quietly.

    Even so, the Royal Prince¡¯s body shook so much that he was unable to spit out any clear words from his mouth.

    To save an oafish man like this, Haruto was now hovering at the boundary of life and death¡ªwhen that thought crossed my mind, my hand reached toward the sword at my hip.

    ¡°If you can¡¯t think of a way, then allow me to settle it with my own hand.¡±

    So I said, as I gentlyid Haruto on the floor and drew my sword.

    Slowly, I approached the Royal Prince.

    However, the moment I raised my sword, Eckhart came up behind me and grabbed my shoulder.

    ¡°Leo-sama, do you mean to disregard Shane-sama¡¯s intentions? Killing the Royal Prince here will just be ying into Trancia¡¯s hands. Please allow the Knight Order and I to handle the rest from here. The rescue team has also arrived, so please remain by Shane-sama¡¯s side.¡±

    After being admonished, I regained a bit ofposure.

    ¡°Sorry. Thanks.¡±

    It would only make things needlessly chaotic if I were to stay here, agitated as I was. Thus, I followed after Haruto and the rescue team.

    ¡°How is Shane¡¯s condition?¡±

    As we left the room, I asked this question to the rescue team¡¯s leader.

    ¡°Sir. Although I am not yet able to make a definite diagnosis, it is unusual that the magic st did not seem to have much of an impact on the Queen¡¯s body. Although the bruises caused from having been blown away by the magic shockwave are severe, I believe that this is something that can be cured using our healing magic. As such, please rest assured.¡±

    I doubted whether there could really have been no impact from taking the brunt of such a st of magic, but perhaps this was the silver lining on our misfortune.

    After receiving this report, I was finally able to calm down.

    Then, the thought struck me that I was behaving foolishly as someone who was supposed to be an Emperor.

    When in the midst of such an incident that will shake the entire country, if I neglected to provide direction for my people, then what were they to do?¡ªI thought.

    ¡°Squad leader, forgive me¡ªI must return to the assembly hall. If there is anything wrong with Shane¡¯s body, I ask that you report it to me immediately.¡±

    After requesting that, I parted from Haruto¡¯s side.

    And thus, two dayster, the events had finally settled.

    The public, both within and outside of this country, hadn¡¯t been made aware of the situation in the slightest.

    Of course, the situation I was referring to was that of Haruto¡¯s condition.

    For the past two days, the condition of Haruto¡¯s body had been fluctuating between better and worse.

    Although the initial diagnosis had been that recovery magic would be enough to cure him, in reality, almost none of the magic showed any effect on Haruto.

    It was for that reason that Haruto¡¯s own bodily strength became the key that held his life and death in the bnce.

    What happened next urred in the middle of a meeting with various concerned parties on how we would deal with the aftermath.

    The squad leader rushed into the conference room, an unusual expression on his face.

    ¡°Your Majesty, something serious has urred. The Queen¡¯s hair color has turned entirely ck.¡±

    I hurried over to Haruto¡¯s room, and sure enough, Haruto wasid there with jet ck hair spread over the sheets.

    ¡°Is this an effect of the treatment?¡±

    ¡°No, the magic we used would not have this kind of result.¡±

    ¡°Then what caused this?¡±

    ¡°That is something we still do not know. It had just turned this color, all of a sudden.¡±

    After being told such, what came to me then was that perhaps this hade about because of the medicine Haruto had been taking.

    ¡°Shane had been regrly taking medicine ever since he hade here for our marriage. I believe it was once every two or three days. It could be that you might be able to find a clue on his treatment from that medicine. Please investigate immediately.¡±

    After I gave thismand, I was quickly notified of the results.

    ¡°Your Majesty, that medicine was somethingpletely unexpected. The magic contained within it is something that even magicians such as us are unable to decipher.

    ¡°However, we were just barely to analyze that it seems it is somehow rted to changing something¡¯s color. As such, in some way, shape, and form, this magic had also been affecting the Queen.

    ¡°Yet for such advanced magic such as this, it is most likely only His Highness Alexei, the Queen¡¯s father, who would be able to provide any further insight.¡±

    A grave atmosphere settled around us.

    What the squad leader was saying, in other words, was that without His Highness Alexei, we wouldn¡¯t be able to save Haruto.

    Meaning that we had no choice but to reveal our country¡¯s circumstances to Orania.

    But, this wasn¡¯t the time to waver.

    I would do whatever it takes to get the healing magic to Haruto as soon as possible.

    ¡°Send a magicalmunication to His Highness Alexei of Orania immediately. It doesn¡¯t matter how you do it, and you are to report anything and everything to him if needs must.¡±

    His Highness Alexei arrived half a day after we had sent the magicalmunication.

    Just what kind of magic had he used to reach us this quickly? When I considered the unfathomable talent for magic that His Highness Alexei must have, I couldn¡¯t help but feel awe and uneasiness.

    Thus came my first meeting with this man whose figure was burlier and sturdier than I could have ever imagined, considering how delicate Haruto was.

    ¡°I am honored to meet you for the first time. I am Leonhart Caspar; pleased to make your acquaintance. I express my sincerest gratitude to you foring all this way despite the suddenness of the message.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Alexei Orania. Your Majesty, right now, please clench your teeth.¡±

    Ha? Before I could even ask him to repeat what he¡¯d said, a brutal impact mmed against my right cheek.

    Not sure how the previous trantors wrote this guy¡¯s name. Ekaruto / Ecart / Eckhart ?

 Chapter 41

    Leo-sama¡¯s perspective.

    I received a violent punch, and the taste of iron spread through my mouth.

    Hurriedly raising my right hand to restrain the knights, who were reaching for their swords, I faced His Highness Alexei.

    "I sincerely regret the inconvenience I have caused by inviting you here so suddenly. Moreover, for having involved your daughter in the battles of my country, I can only give you my deepest apologies."

    I deeply lowered my head.

    After bing Emperor, I tried not to readily lower my head to others.

    In this instance, however, I felt that no matter which way I apologized, it wouldn¡¯t be enough.

    "No need; in all honesty, I¡¯m not satisfied with only punching you once. But in any case, please show me to where Shane is."

    "Of course. I will leave this matter to your hands."

    We entered the room, and His Highness Alexei had everyone other than myself leave. While looking through the medical examination documents that the medic team had left behind, he used his magic to create some kind of medicine for Haruto to swallow.

    After a while, he took Haruto back to the futon, and turned back to look in this direction.

    "Shane¡¯s body has a constitution that is resistant to magic. That said, I had looked for a countermeasure back in Orania, and so I was able to treat him. He may wake up as early as tomorrow."

    At those words, I let out a sigh of relief.

    "Your Majesty. I would like to talk to you for a bit, if it wouldn¡¯t trouble you?"

    Contrasting my relief, the look on His Highness Alexei¡¯s face wasn¡¯t pleasant.

    After passing on the responsibility of Haruto¡¯s care to the medic team, he and I departed from the room.

    When the two of us once again confronted each other, I felt that I might be swallowed up by the intense atmosphere emitted by His Highness Alexei.

    He was a strange person who had abdicated his right to the throne, and despite possessing a rare talent for magic, managed the garden of the royal pce.

    The number of people who spoke disdainfully of him weren¡¯t few.

    However, they were entirely off the mark.

    "Your Majesty, this may be quite sudden, but it¡¯s about Shane¡¯s coloration. What you had called me here for, and what you may have already realized, was about the effect of that medicine. That ck hair is, in actuality, his natural hair color. There are no excuses I could give to possibly apologize for what must seem like such deceit. But please, at the very least, do not me Shane for this."

    "Of course. That won¡¯t be an issue. I feel that I must apologize to Haruto for making him go through such unnecessary efforts. Moreover, I want to take this as an opportunity for him to live a life with his original hair color. Yet if his hair color were to suddenly change, it may lead to needless spection, so I wonder if it would be better to say that it happened for the sake of treating his disease."

    "So that¡¯s what you were thinking. Thank you; I¡¯m truly grateful."

    I got the impression that Alexei¡¯s facial expression had softened.

    "So Haruto had told you about his name, had he. Seems like things have been going much better than I had expected."

    "Yes. I promised him that we would create and of clear and bright skies together."

    He nodded as if to say ¡¯So that¡¯s how it is¡¯ with a gentle expression on his face.

    "Your Majesty might have already somewhat noticed this, but Haruto and I aren¡¯t rted by blood. However, in Orania, we got along just the same way as any other parent and child."

    This sudden confession was also not a surprise.

    Whether you considered his bodily constitution¡¯s resistance to magic, or the color of his air, his facial features, body shape...

    No matter what you looked at, there wasn¡¯t any simrity to be found.

    "One day, Haruto had all of a sudden fallen in front of my house. At that time, he couldn¡¯t properly speak themonnguage, and had even been surprised by magic. I realized that Haruto must certainly have had some sort of extraordinary circumstance behind him. However, I chose not to force the story out of him. I thought that I should wait until Haruto told me of his own volition. However, before that could happen, he was sent to Your Majesty to be wed."

    "I¡¯m sorry," I apologized, but he only just replied, "No, no," whileughing.

    "To be honest, when that decision had been made, I even thought that it would be better to wage war against Caspar. I was ready to go myself to fight on the battlefield when I asked Haruto if he was really alright with this. All I wanted was for Haruto to be happy. Because he hade to Orania and lived with me as if he were my own child, I couldn¡¯t stand for him to be unhappy.

    "Yet it seemed that I had only been experiencing some needless worry. Even in Orania, I had heard of the good rtionship between the two of you. Of how Haruto had, indeed, made for an excellent Empress. Every time I heard that said, I couldn¡¯t help but swell up with pride."

    His Higness Alexei took a sip of tea.

    When I heard His Highness speak this story, I felt a pain in my chest.

    Just what should I do to be able to give back to Haruto all of the happiness and joy that he has given to others?

    "I¡¯ve been speaking for too long. Since Haruto doesn¡¯t seem to have any further problems with his condition, it¡¯s about time that I take my leave. There¡¯s still work to do in the garden, hm."

    "Then let us prepare a carriage for you. Please wait a moment."

    Before I could call a servant, His Highness Alexei stopped me.

    "No need; it¡¯s fine. I can return via magic, after all."

    Though I couldn¡¯t imagine possibly doing such a thing with magic, myself, if it were His Highness Alexei, then he definitely could. Thus, I apanied him to the castle gate to send him off.

    "Then, I ask of you ¨C please make Haruto someone who is even more full of joy."

    As we parted, he took my hand and told me this.

    "Yes. I swear."

    His Highness Alexei gave a small nod and said,

    "Then the next time, for sure, I ask that the two of youe to Orania together."

    As he spoke, he took a single step beyond the castle gates, and in the next instant, His Highness Alexei¡¯s figure was nowhere to be found.

    It was truly formidable, the extent to which magic could be used.

    When I thought of how he had said that he had felt it would be better to go to war against Caspar, I couldn¡¯t help but feel that there would be a definite chance of their winning.

    Two days after that, Haruto opened his eyes.

    <strong>Trantor¡¯s Note</strong>

    Halfway through, I suddenly realized that the raw had started calling him "His Highness Alexis". I had a crisis over whether I had been getting his name wrong the entire time.

 Chapter 42

    Haruto¡¯s perspective.

    When I woke up, it was to a room in darkness.

    There wasn¡¯t a single inkling in my mind of how long I¡¯d been asleep.

    Yet when I looked over to the side, I saw Leo-sama; in his sleep, he had nearly slumped over on my bed. Since even on a normal day of work I usually had quite a lot of things to attend to, I began to feel a mix of emotions ¨C that feeling of wanting to leisurely rest in my own room, and the happiness that came from being able to spend time together with him.

    I shifted about quietly as I moved, but despite my efforts, Leo-sama woke up.

    "Haruto! You woke up. Thank god."

    He embraced me within his strong arms and spoke, his words gentle.

    "I¡¯m sorry for having caused you such worry. Yet I hope you can forgive me, now that I¡¯ve woken up."

    "Yeah. Of course I will. Just please, spare me, and keep yourself from doing anything as crazy as that in the future. My heart can¡¯t take it."

    After saying that, he stroked my head and turned the light on in the room. With that, I was then able to see that the color of my hair had returned to its original ck color, catching me off guard. Even though we¡¯d been getting along so naturally just moments ago, once he found out about this, I doubted whether I would be able to continue being able to live by Leo-sama¡¯s side. Even though this was the one thing that I¡¯d kept hidden from him the entire time, why...

    "Leo-sama, I¡¯m sorry. My hair ¨C it¡¯s this color. And my eyes, too."

    I said that while turning my face down. I was afraid of how he would react, and I couldn¡¯t bear to look at any part of Leo-sama.

    "I heard the story from Alexei-sama after I had invited him here for your treatment. I¡¯m sorry that you felt you had to worry over this for so long. But, you know, once you¡¯ve actually taken a good look at it, it really is a beautiful color."

    This reaction was somethingpletely unexpected, and I had no idea how to respond.

    "You don¡¯t think that it¡¯s frightening?"

    "I heard that it may be that way in other countries, but in Caspar, it has a rtively positive image. For you see, the first founder who had built this country by its roots was someone whose hair was this color, as well."

    Ahh, that¡¯s right. There were various cultures whose founders I had thought were possibly Japanese, but I had never been able to confirm whether they had ck hair and ck eyes.

    "Since we have such a rare opportunity, let¡¯s use it so that you can live with your natural color. It would only cause mayhem if we told the truth, so let¡¯s say that the change in your hair and eye colors was caused by your illness."

    If I knew that he would¡¯ve epted this so easily, it would¡¯ve been better if I¡¯d told him about it from the start.

    "Is this really okay? To leave it like that."

    "It¡¯s fine. More importantly, do you remember the promise we made before the ceremony? I want to fulfill it."

    That¡¯s right.

    I¡¯d made him wait for this for so long.

    "I understand."

    "Then in any case, sleep well for tonight. As soon as I¡¯ve finished tomorrow¡¯s government affairs, I¡¯ll call for you."

    As he spoke this gently, he enveloped me in the nkets.

    And then, just when I was about to fall asleep once more, I had a moment of full consciousness where I had the thought that I was d that I was here, in this world, for at some point, it had be the ce where I felt most at home.

 Chapter 43

    It was in the evening of the next day that Leo-sama came to pick me up.

    "Sorry, I kept you waiting. How is your body feeling?"

    "It¡¯s alright. This morning, Elias told me about what had happened when I had been asleep. Thank you so much for all of the things you¡¯ve done for me. I heard that you had also worked to resolve the matter with the Royal Prince peacefully."

    "Yeah. It¡¯s not the best idea for the Caspar of today to jump into war. Don¡¯t think any more of it."

    "Even so, I¡¯m still very grateful. Thank you."

    Leo-sama, who once again told me ¡¯Don¡¯t worry about it¡¯, seemed as if he was a bit shy.

    "Like I said yesterday, there¡¯s something that I wanted to show you, Haruto. Will you be alright if we walk a little?"

    Because of the magic that Alex had put on me, my physical condition waspletely free of problems. "Yes," I replied to Leo-sama, and followed after him.

    I went walking together with Leo-sama through the royal castle. The path we took really felt as if we were going through a secret passageway, for after going past a moving bookshelf, we entered what seemed to be an underground waterway. I would never be able to get through this ce again on my own, I thought, and then I saw a blurry light at the end of the dark passageway.

    There, I saw the heaviest and most massive set of doors that I¡¯d ever seen, along with magical lights illuminating either side of them.

    "We¡¯re here," Leo-sama uttered briskly, and with his right hand he traced some kind of word over the doors. It seemed that this action had the same effect as using a key. A heavy creaking sounded, and the doors opened inwards.

    "This is what I wanted to show you. Come inside."

    At Leo-sama¡¯s urging, I went inside. I didn¡¯t mention a single thing about how mysterious this all seemed.

    Beyond the doors was a ce filled with lush greenery, with small white flowers blooming here and there. And then, in the center was enshrined an enormous tree brimming with purple flowers. Those were the flowers which were my absolute favorites of all, but which I had given up on ever seeing in this world.

    "How could there be wisteria in a ce like this?"

    I asked this question, stunned.

    "So this really is the flower that you¡¯d told me was the one you loved most, earlier. The reason I was surprised when you showed me that picture was because I was happy that I would be able to show this to you. This ce was created by the first King for the first Prime Minister. The Prime Minister had also loved this flower, so he had raised the condition that in order for him to agree to marriage, this flower would have to be found. From then on, this ce was passed down as the location where each sessive King would pledge their love to their one and only."

    For him to have brought me to such an important and significant ce, it was impossible for me to feel anything other than happiness flowing through me.

    "Haruto, for now and forever, stay with me."

    "Of course I will."

    I was finally able to give him my answer. Tears naturally started falling from my eyes.

    For a while, I gazed at the wisteria without saying a word.

    After a while, the tears stopped, and I was finally able to bring myself to look at Leo-sama.

    "Leo-sama, in that pitcture book, each and every flower depicted is said to have its own unique meaning. It¡¯s called ¡¯thenguage of flowers¡¯, and in thatnguage, the wisteria means ¡¯Never shall I leave you¡¯.1 The first Prime Minister surely knew this, and that¡¯s why he asked for this flower."

    "So that¡¯s it. This is the reason why everybody came here to make their vows, huh."

    And then, another long while of quiet passed between us. To me, this time I spent held within Leo-sama¡¯s arms was something that I would surely never forget.

    <strong>Trantor¡¯s Note</strong>

    This is the finale of the story; the main plot has finally wrapped up.

    Thanks to the author Kasumi Ritsu/Ï¼ÂÉÏÈÉú for writing this story, and thanks to saekichi of Wisteria Trantions and ckMaskedPhantom for their work in bringing us to this point ??

    The next chapter, 44, takes ce in the bedroom, and chapter 45 is the epilogue (about a paragraph long). I¡¯ll release them together at ater date.

    In the meantime, please check out the other story I¡¯ve tranted, ! It¡¯s one of my all-time favorite BL web novels. The main story is already fully tranted, and I¡¯m just working on thest omake + the sequel now. The author, Taro/¤¿¤íÏÈÉú, is a wonderful person and an amazing writer, so I really hope you guys will check out her work. ( ¡ä?£à)

    I¡¯ll be back soon to finish up this trantion. See you then!

    ¡¯I cling to thee¡¯ in Victorian English, ording to some dubious blogs and sites. ?

 Chapter 44

    <strong>Tranted by Amaryllideae</strong>

    There was no Othello at the party.

    (Othello is 2 yer board game in which you try to flip as many ck and white discs to the color of your side.)

    Leo-sama and I left the secret garden and went to Leo-sama¡¯s private room by ourselves.

    ¡°Haruto, I would like to fulfill another promise, would that be okay? I want to make you mine. ¡°

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    I could feel that my face was getting red.

    Still I did not hesitate.

    Leo-sama¡¯s hands grasped my chin that I was lowering, and directed it upward.

    And thus I looked up into the burning eyes of Leo-sama.

    I naturally closed my eyes as Leo-sama¡¯s lips ovepped my lips.

    His lips moved to my cheeks and eyelids.

    After a little, it was ticklish, so I opened my eyes, and Leo-sama said,

    ¡°Open your mouth.¡±

    It was said with a slightly husky voice. Although I was embarrassed, I still obeyed.

    Leo-sama ¡®s tongue came in from gap of my slightly opened lips.

    In spite of my own tongue attempting at escape, Leo-sama licked it as we became more intimate.

    ¡°Nn... fu...¡±

    My sound of my voice caught me off guard.

    In the meantime, Leo-sama gently hugged me and carried me to the bed.

    He gently ced me onto bed and kissed me again.

    And during that time my clothes began to steadily disappear.

    Leo-sama showed his experience with just how skillful he was in using his hands.

    The clothes were taken off quickly, Leo-sama¡¯s lips were gradually moving towards my lower parts.

    And after he stretched out his hand and made me a little hard.

    ¡°Leo-sama, hold on, please wait a moment,¡±

    I hit Leo-sama¡¯s back to interrupt him.

    Leo-sama raised his face for a moment as if something was wrong and said:

    ¡°Impossible.¡±

    I was answered with a single word and it was dismissed.

    "Wait, please wait. I hate being the only one naked. Please take off Leo-sama¡¯s clothes as well. ¡°

    Leo-sama got away from me quickly and took off everything in no time.

    Leo-sama¡¯s bare skin, which I saw for the first time, was solid with beautiful muscles.

    But when you looked closely, you could see he has many scars.

    I noticed and wanted to kiss them.

    ¡°Haruto, stop staring, it¡¯s embarrassing."

    ¡°You want me to stop embarrassing you? Even though you were doing the same thing to me a while ago? ¡°

    Hearing that I became a little naughty.

    ¡°I understand. Then I will do it again, but slowly this time. Now, I want to touch Haruto. ¡°

    Leo-sama, who said that to me, put my hands together and pressed them over my head.

    He reached below once more and opened my legs.

    ¡°I will not do it anymore, please let go of my hands. I also want to touch you. ¡°

    I did like being the only touched.

    Leo-sama kept his hands gentle.

    With one hand, Leo-sama touched himself.

    He firmly grasped that below and it grewrge, from medium hardness toplete firmness.

    When thinking about what would happen soon, there was some fear, but also a strong desire to fulfill the promise with Leo-sama like that.

    After doing so for a while, Leo-sama took out a small bottle from the side of the bed.

    He poured the liquid in his hand to begin to stretch me from behind.

    ¡°Haruto, I will go slowly so you can get used to it.¡±

    He said it gently, but a little nervously in a small voice.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    I answered.

    One finger came in slowly.

    I felt a sense of ipatibility that was unavoidable, it was a sense that I have never felt, but while I was getting used to it, at the same time I was epting a second one.

    ¡°Haruto, are you okay? Is it not painful? ¡°

    I strongly felt that I wanted to ept this person properly.

    ¡°Yes ....nn. It is a bit tight, but it¡¯s okay ... unn, aah, nnn... eh, aah... here..."

    As soon as Leo-sama¡¯s fingers touched a particr ce, an incredible voice came out of myself.

    ¡°I guess this is a good spot for you, Haruto. You can call out without worry. Everyone would feel good if you touch that over there. ¡°

    Even so, I still had a little resistance that I had called with a voice like a woman¡¯s.

    But Leo-sama¡¯s hand attacked me and I did not have time to care about such a thing.

    The number of fingers was increased, and the thrusting of his hand also increased in speed.

    ¡°Fuu .... Leo-sama, please stop your hand ...¡±

    I patted Leo-sama¡¯s back again.

    But it was ignored again.

    ¡°Please bear it this once. I will not be able to enter after this if I stop. ¡°

    Leo-sama said so, and moved his hands further.

    ¡°Mmm, already... waah ...¡±

    I was worn down in a short while.

    And while I was out of it, Leo-sama leaned forward and his hard-on entered me.

    ¡°Ahhh.. just wait~ eh~ a little.¡±

    ¡°L-loosen up a little more.¡±

    Whether or not I wasprehending his words, Leo-sama came into me steadily.

    Because I was stretched out, I did not feel severe pain.

    Even so, the sense of pressure as if pushing at my internal organs increased my fear.

    Looking up at Leo-sama, he was perspiring slightly and he had wrinkles between his eyebrows.

    When I saw Leo-sama also being patient and going slowly, I wanted to wipe his sweat and stretched out my hand.

    At that moment, it went in steadily to the hilt.

    ¡°Nn, ah~¡±

    ¡°I entered all the way. Will you be okay if I move? ¡°

    ¡°Fu~ you do not have to ask such a thing.¡±

    I was not able to answer anything else anymore.

    Leo-sama, who began to move slowly, asionally touched my good spot, asionally aimed near it, teasing me sinfully....

    It was my first time and I could only raise my voice.

    ¡°Haruto, how is it?¡±

    ¡°Nnn, eh? Everything is okay ~ah there~¡±

    ¡°Here? I will do it properly, so let¡¯se together. ¡°

    In the blink of an eye, he had me worked up and we finally came.

    And after a little while, I felt Leo-sama call me and interrupt my half-consciousness.

    The next time, I had woken up, Leo-sama seemed to have already taken care of me, I was in clothes and in Leo-sama¡¯s arms.

    From the window where we had forgotten to close the curtain, you could see the sky getting brighter little by little.

    ¡°It¡¯s still before dawn. You can still sleep for a little longer. ¡°

    I heard a voice from behind and someone kiss my hair.

    ¡°Yes. I want to see the sky before dawn. ¡°

    ¡°I see. It¡¯s beautiful. I want to protect it, that beauty. ¡°

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll help you.¡±

    I answered, and immediately after I heard the rhythmic breathing of sleep from behind.

    While listening to it, I kept watching the sky for a while.

    The difficulties, sufferings, dangers that you will face from now on.

    Whether it was in Japan or Orania, I would stay by his side and aid him.

    Still, I wanted to be with him to realize his wishes no matter what he decides to sacrifice.

    The next time I wake up I would begin thinking about what to do, but now I thought that all I wanted was to taste this happiness, and I fell asleep again as I hugged Leo-sama.

 Chapter 45 (end)

    And now... THE FINALE!

    After that, they governed the military and political affairs splendidly against Caspar.

    Leonhardt, once called the ¡°cold king¡±, was now called the ¡°Reimei-o¡± which means ¡°dawn king¡± from his achievements.

    And with every presence of Haruto, it was always apanied with the ¡°Dawn of King¡± and discussion about all his achievements always ensued .

    They were always with each other.

    And the poets sung of the meritorious life that came after like this:

    ¡°When happinesses to the empire, the first to appear is always jet ck.

    That ck is not a sinister symbol.

    It is only the dark before dawn, and the time of dawn surelyes after that. ¡°

    Author Notes:

    This ispleted.

    Thank you very much for staying until the very end and for your support.

    There are ns for extras soon, I would be happy if you kept watching this.

    Thank you very much.

    T/N: I didn¡¯t see any extras, if there are any I¡¯m not sure where I can get them either ;-;

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!