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The Tale of the Wizrain Kingdom

In My Room Overflowing with Moonlight

Translated by: S3

Treat me to a Ko-Fi to give me more motivation!!!

*****

—Midnight. A small sound, like something gently tapping the window, echoed.

Elna, who had been about to slip into bed, stood up in her nightwear and tilted her head, wondering if it was just the wind. But—tap, tap. No, she was definitely not mistaken. When she checked the window, the source of the sound, she was startled by a huge, black shadow that seemed to stretch out, and her already large eyes widened even further as she blinked.

「...Eh, Cross, is that you?」

「Will you open it for me?」

Hearing the muffled voice from beyond the window, Elna quickly unlocked and opened both the latch and the window. Cross smoothly landed inside the room.

「That wasn't as troublesome as I expected.」

Watching him lightly brush off the dust from his body, Elna felt momentarily dizzy. Cross, in her room. The King of a nation, standing tall right there. It was a sight that could only be taken as a joke.

「H-H-How did you get here?」

「Hmm? I just, you know, hopped across the rooftops. Yes, it seems I can come here anytime now.」

「W-W-W-What in the world are you doing...!」

She managed to swallow the phrase, 'That's something I would do,' and the end of her exclamation, 「That's dangerous! I can't be—...lieve it...」 trailed off, because she was starting to understand how Noma felt. Elna, after all, had a history of jumping not just from rooftops but from the castle windows.

「I came to thank you for the cake. Feliol told me about what happened during the day. My brother was a bother.」

「Eh?」

「It was delicious.」

He was referring to the chocolate cake she had ordered from Kakami. Elna's expression instantly brightened, and she exclaimed, 「I told you so!」 Then, realizing how she sounded, she scrunched her eyebrows and looked away to hide her embarrassment.

「Hmph. Just for that, you came all this way?」

She hadn't meant to add the comment, 'Isn't that disproportionate to the effort?' as she crossed her arms. She bit her lip, exasperated with herself.

「Indeed. It's been a while since we met. I simply missed Elna and came.」

But the next moment, she bit her lip again, this time for a different reason. She wished he wouldn't say such things so casually. Her mouth twitched from embarrassment.

「Elna?」

「............」

「Elna.」

「What is it?」

「You look adorable even in your nightwear.」

「A-Are you an idiot!?」

Even Elna, who tended not to care much about clothes, couldn't help but blush at those words. She had only planned to slip into bed, so she was just wearing a simple short-sleeved dress instead of her maid uniform. After nervously checking her current attire, she looked up at Cross with a glare, rubbing her somewhat exposed arms. Cross was laughing heartily.

「Good. You're finally looking at me.」

「...Are you perhaps messing with me?」

「Of course not. I always only speak the truth to you.」

He was so brazen that it made her close her mouth instead.

「Well, I certainly do have my moments where I deceive you, though.」

「Cross, why are you always so self-assured...?」

「Now, sit down, sit down. Everything up to now was the main topic, and this part is just an aside.」

「This is my room and that is my bed. And I might have said this before, but normally, it's the other way around. The other way!」

In a position that felt like the owner of the room had been reversed, Cross sat on Elna's bed, patting the space next to him. As the King, Cross was also the master of the castle, so in the grand scheme, Elna's room was technically his property, but that didn't seem to be the point.

Oh well... Elna thought, and gently sat down next to Cross. She made sure not to lose focus, as Cross's 'asides' were often important matters.

Since the lamp had already been extinguished, the room was illuminated only by starlight. Cross took a slow breath, and she sensed the movement as he crossed his legs.

「...I received a report from the unit that went to investigate Mount Vidrast. There is definitely a mine at the border between the Kingdom of Marls and the Kingdom of Wizrain.」

「So, Kyle was telling the truth?」

「Ostensibly, yes. As for the hidden circumstances, I honestly don't know. I lack that final piece to determine if that envoy is a person worthy of trust.」

「That final piece...」

A sigh escaped her, her gaze wavering due to the complex feelings inside her.

「What's wrong?」

Then, she heard a voice that resonated clearly in her heart. Even in the dark room, she could clearly see Cross's expression since he was right next to her. His gentle golden eyes looked at her like stardust spilled from the sky.

Elna stared at Cross for a moment and then, flustered, tried to get up, saying, 「It's dark. Should I light the lamp?」 But Cross immediately pulled her arm, making her softly drop back onto the sheets of the bed.

「It's alright. More importantly... is there something you want to say?」

Questioned while her arm was held by his large, rough hand, the spot where he touched her felt hot, and the warmth seemed to slowly spread from there. Elna was relieved she hadn't lit the lamp. Her face must be a mess.

Even with her face lowered, her flushed neck would be obvious to Cross, but she couldn't bring herself to lie and ask him to let go. Elna desperately tried to quiet her pounding heart.

「Today, I met Kyle, and he asked me a strange question...」

And so, she slowly shared what was in her heart.

It was information she had already relayed through Commonwald, but explaining it directly in her own words would surely convey a different nuance... Or so she hoped. She didn't know if that was the case, but Cross offered small nods and acknowledgements to every single one of Elna's words.

「So, what did you think, Elna?」

It felt as if she were facing a mirror. As if the person next to her wasn't Cross, but another Elna asking the question. Though she knew that wasn't true, Cross waited patiently, refraining from adding unnecessary words. So Elna slowly began to unravel her feelings.

She was still a little uncomfortable with peering into her own heart.

「I thought he was Kylevis.」

After saying it aloud, she nearly laughed at the sheer absurdity of it. What Elna was talking about wasn't that the envoy of the Kingdom of Marls had Kylevis's memories, or that he was a reincarnation; she genuinely believed he was Kylevis.

This weighed more heavily on her heart than her inability to answer Kyle's question.

「It's wrong, it's absolutely wrong. There's no way that's possible. I know. I know it, but my heart won't follow. I'm supposed to understand that past life and present are separate, but I really don't understand at all.」

「Given his appearance, it can't be helped. That's just the way it is.」

「It's not that it can't be helped! Kylevis died, he's gone. That envoy, Kyle, he's not a replacement.」

She told herself this again and again. Elna wasn't Elnalfia, and Cross wasn't Vaid, either.

「He's just one person, living in the present...」

She lowered her face in the dimly lit room. She couldn't help but see him as identical to the person from her past life. That fact was simply sad—and frustrating.

Elna couldn't say anything more after that, and only their quiet breathing could be heard.

The castle at night was silent and a little lonely.

「I won't say it's correct.」

Cross murmured softly.

「However, I am a little envious of you.」

Elna raised her face, frowning, wondering what he meant. Was he just saying something random to comfort her? No, that wasn't right. Cross might be deceptive at times, but he didn't lie to her.

「I'm the opposite. By prioritizing my country, my focus falls too much on his position, rather than his appearance or his character. In a way, I'm not really looking at the person at all.」

Elna could only blink in surprise at Cross's unusually vulnerable words. At some point, the hand Cross had used to grab her arm was now resting on top of her hand.

「The issue of trust shouldn't be so complex, it should be simple.」

She couldn't gauge his true feelings from just the profile of Cross's face and his tone of voice. However, the strong grip and the heat of his palm, which contradicted his calm tone, seemed to tell the whole story.

「You can't know the taste of chocolate cake until you eat it...」

「...Hm?」

「If you can't tell just by the appearance, you have to eat it. Hey, Cross. I think I'm going to try feeding Kyle some chocolate cake!」

「Ah, the cake you brought back as a souvenir.」

He calmly nodded, seemingly not having understood Elna's point at all, merely agreeing that it was delicious.

「Um, well, so, how should I put it... I...」

She suddenly felt embarrassed about declaring her resolve now. After all, she was thousands of years old—no, that was Elnalfia's memory. Elna was just a sixteen-year-old girl and was bound to make countless mistakes from now on. So, she stood up with a burst of energy. She then spun around to stand in front of Cross, placing her hand over her chest.

「I think I'll try to look forward properly!」

The vigorous rush of wind that swept through the room at that moment was probably because the window hadn't been completely closed.

The strong wind flipped the curtains, and Elna's apricot hair shimmered in the moonlight. Cross's eyes widened slightly, but he immediately replaced his look of surprise with a gentle smile.

「Hm. Is that so?」

「...No, but. Yeah, well, still...」

「What made you suddenly lose confidence?」

As the wind gradually subsided and the hem of Elna's dress stopped fluttering quietly, Elna placed a finger on her forehead, contorting her expression in thought.

「Even though I said I'd feed it to Kyle, my position is just that of a maid... There are many things I can't do alone, so I'll need help from various people... including you, Cross.」

「Very well, I don't mind.」

「That reply was too fast...! I wish you had listened to a bit more of the outline before deciding...!」

「Of course, I will tell you if something is impossible. I will listen to the details. I will tell you what can't be done. But fundamentally, I want to respect your ideas.」

Cross's words were surely a continuation of their conversation in the carriage, reminding her he had said he trusted her.

「I want to be the one to push you forward, rather than the one to stop you.」

This was the voice of Cross himself, not just the King. Of course, there might be times when Cross, as the King, would deem something impossible. But the fact that he conveyed his personal feelings first made her simply happy. At the same time, her anxiety swelled. Trust and worry are always two sides of the same coin.

「Thank you, but...」

「Don't worry so much. Now, up you go.」

「Why did it come to this!?」

With his usual brute strength, Cross placed his hands on Elna's waist and easily lifted her.

Naturally, she struggled and managed to escape Cross's arms, muttering her second exclamation, 「Why did it come to this...?」 as she instinctively distanced herself. She didn't understand the sequence of events.

「Well, you know. I thought maybe if I tossed you up lightly, it would cheer you up.」

「Of course it wouldn't! And you didn't toss me up in the air! You just lifted me lightly! I'm not luggage!」

「I know you're not luggage. You're my adorable bride, though. Hahaha.」

Cross occasionally laughed like this, with a wide, un-kingly grin. But Elna was actually quite fond of this laugh of his.

「Honestly... please stop lifting me up. It's bad for my heart because it startles me so much.」

「Is that so... that's a shame. In that case. Perhaps I should treat you like a beloved bride.」

She was about to protest, 'I'm not your bride!' when she realized, 'Wait, I'm going to be his bride...' and blushed. In that split-second delay in judgment, Cross closed the distance with Elna and pulled one of her hands.

「Eh?」

Then, her vision spun and spun.

「E-E-Ehhhh!?」

To her astonishment, Elna was dancing. One moment Cross had pulled her hand, and the next, her other hand was resting on his shoulder. Her body moved automatically, independent of her will. In other words, she was literally being danced by Cross.

「Wh-Wha-Why are we doing this?」

「Did you know? A skilled dancer can make even an unskilled person look good.」

「I certainly am unskilled, but I don't even know how to dance!」

「Since you are to become my bride, you must at least learn one dance. Besides, Elna, you're shouting too loudly. People outside will hear.」

She quickly sealed her mouth after being warned, but she was definitely being teased. The proof was the barely-concealed smile on Cross's lips.

(But, oh well,)

I guess it's okay, she thought, because Cross looked so genuinely happy. If Cross was having fun, Elna was having fun too. And of course, the reverse was also true.

The starlight spilled in fragments.

Only the light of the moon and stars, which poured in from the small window, illuminated Elna and Cross. In the quiet night, the hem of her dress swirled lightly every time they spun.

It felt as if they were dancing in the night sky. With every turn, the small crescent moon appeared and disappeared, and Cross's golden hair glittered like stars.

Eventually, their two long shadows slowly came to a stop.

Elna took small, quick breaths, resting her hands on her shoulders. Cross's hands were on Elna's shoulders.

Slowly, the distance between them closed, and their faces drew near. It was then.

「...What is this?」

「S-Sorry. It was reflex.」

Elna had forcefully pushed on Cross's chin. Cross's neck was bent backward at what looked like a painfully awkward angle.

「W-Why is this happening...? Why did I do that...? Was it not the right atmosphere...?」

「No, I certainly felt that the atmosphere was fully right for it.」

「Did I overdo it the other day!?」

「Divided by the number of days, it's definitely below average, isn't it...?」

Elna firmly closed her mouth, deciding not to say anything more. Cross, who seemed to have quite a sore neck, rotated it slowly and muttered, 「Well, it's fine, but don't resist next time, okay?」 with an ambiguous expression, and that was the end of the conversation. Elna's room had somehow become Elna's room again. Yet, she felt as if a tiny sparkle was shining like a piece of drifting sand.

Only then did Elna light the lamp. The specks of light scattered and vanished. The dream-like time was over.

Now, they would talk about reality.

「...So, what is it that you want me to do?」

Cross understood that. The small flame in the lamp illuminated him brightly.

「Well, you see,」 Elna began. Cross looked slightly surprised, but then he nodded, said, 「I see,」 and replied that it would be fine.