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The Tale of the Wizrain Kingdom

A Letter from the Empire

Translated by: S3

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

*****

「I'm serious... Noma, won't you just stay behind in Wizrain?」

「Why? No way. Absolutely, positively not.」

With a huff, Noma turned away, her cheeks puffed out in protest.

Noma was sitting beside Elna in the carriage. Having officially become Elna’s lady-in-waiting, she was now rattling along toward their destination. Because the carriage was enchanted with soundproofing magic, the coachman couldn't hear a word they said, allowing Noma to act like her usual self. However, Elna had noted that the moment they were in the public eye, Noma’s posture became impeccably sharp—proof enough that she had rightfully passed Mrs. Brownie’s rigorous selection test.

『I wanted to be Elna’s lady-in-waiting too!』 the three maid colleagues known as the "Trio" had cried, biting their handkerchiefs in frustration. 『If another opportunity arises, be sure to call for us!』 they had added, striking a synchronized pose. While that would have been lively and fun, Elna felt she hadn't quite caught up with all the changes in her environment yet, so she intended to rely solely on Noma for a while.

「It’s not about whether you want to or not; think about this properly.」

「...His Majesty King Vaid is the only one who absolutely *must* go. Honestly, Elna, you don't even need to be going yourself, do you?」

「Well, that's true, but...」

「Then, if you're going to risk the danger and go anyway, there's no reason I shouldn't follow. Besides, if you're going to the country of Marls as the fiancée of the King, a lady-in-waiting is absolutely indispensable. You understand that much, right?」

「I know you're right, but...」

Elna found herself repeating the same words, her shoulders drooping. Outside the carriage window, the scenery flowed past.

「Risking the danger, huh... I never would have imagined this just a short while ago.」

Was that a sigh that escaped her? A cynical smile played on Elna’s lips as she stared out the window. Though it was just Elna and Noma in this carriage, Cross might be watching the scenery from another one in the procession.

「—To think I'd be going to Marls just to come face-to-face with those bastards from the Albarul Empire.」

---

The letter from the Albarul Empire had arrived in the Kingdom of Wizrain only a week ago.

The Empire's message was absurd, essentially stating: 『We wish to apologize for the fact that we—admittedly by accident—crossed the border.』 However, since they had sent it, it couldn't be ignored. Yet, why send it now, after they had spent so long evasively avoiding the issue?

「Spite, no doubt.」

「Spite, most likely.」

「Spite, I say! Hah-hah-hah-hah!」

The voices belonged to Cross, Commonwald, and Halburn, in that order.

The moment Halburn spoke, everyone in the room—Elna included—covered their ears. The Hamster Spirit, a second too slow, was blown back by the sheer gust of Halburn’s laughter. 『Gonsuuu!』 it squeaked piteously. Incidentally, aside from Cross and Elna, no one knew the Hamster Spirit was anything other than an ordinary hamster, so they simply recognized it as a hamster with a strange cry.

Spreading the letter out in the meeting room, Elna and the others huddled together, their brows furrowed.

「...What do you mean by 'spite,' Duke Halburn?」

「Lady Elna, you are His Majesty’s fiancée. Please, refer to this old bag of bones simply as 'Halburn.' Speak to me as you usually would.」

「...Then I won't hold back. I'll call you Halburn.」

「Ohoho! Even though His Majesty still insists on using my title no matter how many times I tell him! And 'old bag of bones' might be going too far—I'm still in my prime, I'll have you know! Ohohoho-hoou!」

「Halburn, my ears hurt, so keep the shouting to a minimum...」

「Lady Elna. The Duke aside, please refer to me simply as 'Commonwald' from now on as well.」

「Eh? Even you, Master Commonwald?」

(Human rules are such a pain,) Elna thought, a bitter expression crossing her face internally. She felt she had understood them well enough during her lessons with Mrs. Brownie, but facing the reality of it in person was a different matter.

「...Alright, fine. Commonwald. So, what do you mean by spite?」

「In short, it’s because I’m a 'newlywed.'」

Cross sat deep in the back of his chair, arms and legs crossed.

「No, you’re not a newlywed.」

He said it with such confidence that her reaction was delayed for a moment, but Cross ignored her and continued.

「The reconstruction of the royal capital is finally on track. And a King’s marriage is a festive occasion for the whole nation. They intend to throw a wet blanket over the celebrations. In fact, there is much to be done in this country right now. We cannot afford to waste time on leisurely negotiations. That is why I suggested we wrap up the talks in one sitting, but...」

Normally, the situation would require calling in the nation's high-ranking officials and scrutinizing every detail. It was an act unlike Cross, who usually loathed making arbitrary decisions. However, there were reasons for this. He checked the contents of the letter, his brow twitching with an irritation uncharacteristic of him.

The letter from the Albarul Empire also stated: 『We wish to offer our apologies for crossing the border in a face-to-face meeting.』 That in itself wasn't strange, but the location was the problem. To put it simply:

『It must be terrifying for narrow-minded people like you, who whine about trifles, to come all the way to the Empire. Therefore, why not set the meeting in the country of Marls as an intermediary?』

They were definitely being looked down upon; it was a blatant provocation.

「Marls just signed a friendship treaty with us, didn't they? Haven't we heard anything from them?」

「...Marls has very few spirit users. There likely isn't anyone capable of using long-distance messenger magic across borders. We have dispatched spirit users from our country, but the distance between the mines and the capital of Marls is too great. They've probably just received a letter from the Empire themselves and are in the middle of an uproar.」

It was only recently that the rare ore known as "Dragon Scales" had been discovered in the Vidrast Mountains, which lie on the border between Marls and Wizrain. To learn about each other's nations and build a friendly relationship, they had agreed to a periodic exchange of personnel, starting with sending Wizrain's finest spirit users to assist with the mining.

When Elna had asked Cross what kind of users he had sent, he had replied:

『As far as their skill as spirit users goes, there is no problem. Their skill as *spirit users*.』

He had repeated it twice for some reason, so she decided not to pry further.

「We have sent messenger magic to Marls. It will take a little while for a response.」

「The location of Marls itself is not an issue, but the conditions written next cannot be overlooked,」 Commonwald added, adjusting the frame of his monocle.

The group checked the rest of the letter together.

『—Participants in the meeting shall be limited to the royalty of both nations and the absolute minimum of staff. The possession of weapons is strictly prohibited.』

「'The absolute minimum'... that's quite an ambiguous range. Ohohou...」

「Normally, these are conditions we couldn't accept. No weapons... it means we can't even bring guard knights. They will undoubtedly mandate the use of Magic-Sealing Rings as well. That would mean no magic or spirit arts could be used either.」

Anything could happen—no, considering the Empire's past actions, it was almost certain they were being summoned under the assumption that *something* would happen.

The current royalty of Wizrain consisted only of Cross and his much younger brother, Feliol. Cross’s older sister had already married into another country. While there were blood relatives among the nobility, most had renounced their succession rights. He couldn't send his young brother, and if anything were to happen to Cross, the Kingdom of Wizrain itself would be shaken to its core.

「But if I don't go, they will undoubtedly find some pretext to cause trouble. They'll claim that if we won't participate in negotiations, then the border lines are unnecessary.」

And they would attempt to carve away Wizrain's territory. Listening to their words, it felt as though that was their true objective.

「I have no time to deal with hungry tigers rampaging about, eager to devour territory. However, it is the people toyed with by such creatures who are truly piteous.」

「...The people of Wizrain near the border have already had to witness the march of both armies, haven't they? I don't want to threaten their livelihoods any further,」 Elna murmured.

Cross nodded. 「Exactly.」

「...But Lord Vaid, doesn't this effectively mean you must head into this alone? This is simply unacceptable.」

「Haha, don't throw a tantrum, Commonwald.」

「There you go again... please, stop trying to dodge the issue.」

「If His Majesty is going, then I'm going too! I'll sneak in secretly! I'm going! My blood is boiling!」

「The Duke is a bit too loud. That would be impossible. You're not needed.」

「Wha-wha-wha-wha-whaaat!?」

As the men argued back and forth, Elna stared silently at the letter.

「Hey. It says here: 'Royalty of both nations and the absolute minimum.' That means anyone who isn't considered a military force is fine, right?」

「I suppose so. It would be impossible to hold a meeting with only royalty. You need someone to take minutes, check documents, and even though we'll be in Marls, you need staff to manage the venue.」

「I see... and by the way, does 'royalty' include spouses? Even if they aren't married yet... what if it were, say, a harmless-looking young girl who just got engaged to the King?」

The men snapped their heads up at Elna’s words.

If she had remained a maid, she likely wouldn't have even been able to reach the venue. There was no way a mere girl like Elna would be allowed to slip into such a solemn place where only a select, elite few were permitted.

—But now, things were different.

「You should go, Cross. Because... you have the strongest bodyguard there is, don't you?」

Elna grinned. She raised one hand and cracked her knuckles.

Looking at the girl whose sky-blue eyes were shining brilliantly, Cross stared in wide-eyed amazement for a moment. Then, his own lips curved into a slight smile.

「...Well now, that is a reliable bodyguard indeed.」