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The Tale of the Wizrain Kingdom

Together Forever

Translated by: S3

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

*****

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The voices of the vast crowd still seem to echo in my ears.

Having finished the public announcement of her engagement to the nation, Elna—still adorned in her hair ornaments and gown—was collapsed into a sofa in Cross’s office, feeling utterly drained.

「...I’m exhausted.」

「Are you? You looked to me like you were enjoying yourself.」

「Well... that's because I remembered a little of what it was like when I was Elnalfia. I wagged my tail and made them happy... but mentally, I'm just worn out. So very tired.」

「Hahahaha. Rest, then. Rest to your heart's content.」

Unlike Elna, who was buried in the cushions, Cross laughed with composed dignity, his eyes fixed on a stack of documents while perched on the edge of his desk. Even at a time like this, it seemed he was wrestling with reports. Elna peered at him sullenly over the armrest of the sofa. Was this cool-headedness a result of a difference in physical stamina, or simply the gap in their experience as royalty...?

「...Hm?」

Noticing Elna’s gaze, Cross glanced over at her.

The smile he gave her then was once again remarkably gentle. To hide the ticklish feeling rising within her, Elna deliberately knitted her brows.

「What is it? What’s wrong?」 Cross laughed again. Above Elna’s head, the Hamster Spirit added the unnecessary comment, 『She’s just blushing, gonsu,』 so she gave him a squeeze. 『Fugyugyun!』

「............」

「............?」

With the smile still playing on his lips, Cross set the documents on the desk. Still leaning against it, he beckoned Elna over with a casual wave of his hand. Elna tilted her head, wondering what he wanted, but stood up as summoned and moved in front of him. At that moment, the Hamster Spirit sensed everything instantly and scurried out of the room.

Cross reached out toward Elna and touched her earlobe as if to tickle her.

「...Hieh...」

「The engagement announcement is over, but should we still keep our rooms separate?」

「I said... separate until the wedding...」

「I see. Then it cannot be helped... However. I haven't been able to see much of you lately. I want to respect your wishes, but I, too, have been forced to endure quite a bit. This much should be permitted.」

As he spoke, Cross’s hand moved to the back of Elna’s neck. With only a slight nudge, Elna’s and Cross’s shadows met, parted, and then joined again. The faint sound of catching breath occurred once, twice—so many times she lost count—and since she knew she didn't dislike it, Elna eventually leaned in of her own accord.

When their lips parted with agonizing slowness, Cross gave a small huff of a laugh.

「...Hm?」

Suddenly, her perspective inverted.

「Eh?」

For some reason, Cross had pinned her down. She blinked repeatedly at the ceiling visible over his shoulder, trying to process the situation.

「Gya!」

Cross’s hand moved to an unexpected place. 「Wh-wh-wha—!」 Elna struggled and flailed. A silent offensive and defensive battle continued between them for a while.

Finally, with one last kiss on her lips...

「Ngh... *Pah!* KNOCK IT OFF ALREADY!!!!!!!」

---

「Hmph. I thought you would run away if you truly hated it, but you handled that surprisingly well.」

Cross stood with his arms crossed, looking so refreshed it was hard to believe he had just taken a full-force blow from a dragon to the gut.

It probably hurt like hell, but he wouldn't show it. One could call it "fortitude in the face of adversity," but really, he was just good at putting on a brave face.

Elna glared at Cross with dubious eyes and adjusted her disheveled dress. She felt like saying, *Is this guy kidding me?* Sensing the atmosphere, the Hamster Spirit made a dashing return and climbed onto Elna’s head.

—*Knock, knock, knock.*

There was a knock at the office door. Cross gave the word: 「Enter.」

Commonwald, Mrs. Brownie, and for some reason, Noma, entered the room.

「Lord Vaid, excuse us... Hm? Has something occurred?」

「Don't worry about it. Is something the matter?」

「Yes. I am terribly sorry to disturb you when you must be weary from the engagement announcement, but we wished to offer our greetings once more...」

Behind Commonwald, Mrs. Brownie gave a graceful bow. Noma, meanwhile, was standing as stiff as a board from nervousness.

「Ah, Mrs. Brownie. It has been a while. My sister was also in your care.」

「Your words are too kind, Your Majesty...」

I had heard that Mrs. Brownie once served as the caretaker for Cross’s older sister.

Feeling somewhat awkward about a topic she knew nothing of, Elna tried to look away, but Mrs. Brownie turned toward her and smiled warmly.

「Lady Elna is such a diligent soul... Even I found myself getting quite passionate during our lessons. My sincerest congratulations on your engagement. Along with my father, I would be honored to be of assistance to you at any time, however humble my efforts may be.」

「No... thank you so much for everything.」

The lessons with Mrs. Brownie were officially over for now. However, recognizing that her education was still lacking, Elna was privately thinking of finding another opportunity to ask for her help.

「And, Lord Vaid. I have one more report for today. Regarding the candidates for the lady-in-waiting who will attend Lady Elna... my daughter and I have just made our selection.」

Commonwald and Mrs. Brownie were father and daughter. A candidate for lady-in-waiting... and with Noma being here, Elna couldn't help but look her way. Noma puffed out her chest with a proud *hmph*.

「As Lady Elna is likely aware...」

Commonwald gestured toward Noma to introduce her, but when he saw her clenching her fists and pumping them up and down—looking exactly like a dog wagging its tail with all its might before its owner—he promptly shut his mouth.

「...Lord Vaid, may I grant this person permission to speak?」

「Granted.」

「Noma, introduce yourself to His Majesty.」

「Yes! I am Normatinnis Latif. I am the third daughter of Baron Latif, and I have been serving in the castle for etiquette training!」

「...Noma, did you actually have such a long name? And you're the third daughter of a Baron? Wait, you're *my* lady-in-waiting!?」

「That's right! Many nobles near the capital give even the girls slightly longer names to follow the royal style. Fufufun. I told you I had a goal, didn't I? It was to become Elna’s lady-in-waiting! Since you're the King's fiancée, you need a lady-in-waiting or two. Yes, I tore through the ranks of rivals, tossing them aside one by one!」

Noma moved her body sharply from side to side—*shupa, shupa*—mimicking the motion of throwing things away.

She probably intended to mean she had "thrown them" metaphorically, but she was acting it out quite literally.

「Because I'm only the third daughter of a Baron, I could only be a low-ranking maid in the castle, but I’m actually quite amazing! Leave the etiquette to me. Like this—*shu, shu, shu!*」

「...Noma?」

At Commonwald’s single, smiling word, Noma froze and instantly snapped to attention.

She then plastered a forced-looking smile onto her face.

For a moment, silence filled the room.

「How strange... During the test, she seemed like such a much more composed young lady...」 Mrs. Brownie whispered, hand to her cheek. Setting that aside, as he watched Noma stand perfectly still with her frozen smile, Cross let out a stifled chuckle. He likely knew about Noma—perhaps because she was Elna’s closest colleague... no, her closest friend.

「I wish you had just told me...」

Elna murmured softly.

Since she had officially become Cross’s fiancée, she understood that she needed a lady-in-waiting by her side to act as a social guide. But having never lived a lady-like life, she much preferred having a familiar friend close by.

The third daughter of a Baron. No matter how close a friend she was to Elna, Noma must have put in unimaginable effort to be selected as Elna’s lady-in-waiting. Yet, it would have been different with just one word from Elna. If Elna had said she wanted Noma as her attendant.

Though Elna knew such a thought would be nothing short of an insult to Noma.

「It couldn't have been that way.」

『I know you're the one who saved the town, Elna. Truly, thank you.』

The day she told Noma she was the reincarnation of Elnalfia.

Just as she had then—treating Elna simply as Elna—Noma turned her sincere gaze toward her. Her topaz-colored eyes, like the ripeness of autumn, sparkled brightly.

「I wanted to be with you, Elna. That’s why I worked so hard.」

—The experience of one's body moving without thinking is surely a rare thing.

「Eh? E-Eh!?」

Embraced by Elna, Noma let out a startled cry and moved her hands frantically. Of course, Elna knew that a full-force hug would break her gentle friend, so she held her with just enough strength that Noma could escape if she wanted to. Without a word, Elna buried her face in Noma’s chest. Since Elna was smaller than Noma, she vanished into the embrace the moment she hunched over.

「Um, uh... El... I mean, Lady Elna...?」

Noma murmured in distress, glancing around at her surroundings. Seeing Commonwald and Vaid nod slightly, Noma bit her lip. Then, she hugged Elna back with all her might.

「—From now on, we’ll be together forever!」

Elna wondered if it was truly alright to have such a happy time; it felt strange, almost beyond belief.

Like the ringing of wedding bells, the laughter of spirits showered down.

Yes, Elna surely replied. She must have answered, "That’s right." But her words were lost, hidden behind the sound of her own laughter that had begun to overflow before she knew it.

—In this way, Elna became known both at home and abroad as Cross’s fiancée.

And it was one month later that a letter from the Albarul Empire arrived at the Kingdom of Wizrain.