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The Tale of the Wizrain Kingdom

Come Back Before You Were Even Born

Translated by: S3

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

*****

It had already been a full day since Elna and the others reached Mount Vidrast.

The delay was due to the fact that Elna had lost consciousness immediately after her fit of laughter, leaving the Marls people at the mine unable to make sense of the situation. Ordinarily, she would have needed to inform Cross and the others of her status right away, but she wanted to believe that, under the circumstances, this couldn't be helped.

After all, one of them was dressed in a maid’s uniform, and the other was undeniably an aristocrat, but one who bore sword wounds and possessed a magnificent blade. They looked like nothing so much as a maid and a knight—except the maid had arrived with the knight on her back. It was a bizarre sight, and expecting the staff to handle it smoothly was a tall order.

There was no way the people of Marls could have known the face of the Emperor of the neighboring Albarul Empire, nor that of Elna.

「I-I had no idea you were the fiancée of King Crossgard and the Emperor of the Albarul Empire...」

Facing Elna, who had finally woken up, the Marls soldier’s face twitched. Even now, after her explanation, there was a sense that they didn't quite believe her. Elna could only think that this, too, was inevitable.

「The spirit user visiting from the Kingdom of Wizrain is currently away from the mine... exploring the surrounding area. Please wait a little longer for their return.」

「I understand.」

「I shall be guarding the door outside. A diplomatic envoy from Marls is also expected to arrive soon, so please rest quietly for the time being.」

Elna nodded at the soldier’s words and sat back on the bed. On the chest right beside her, the hamster spirit and Fere were playing, punching at each other with little *ora-ora* and *pishi-pishi* sounds. Perhaps they were blowing off steam.

The room was much like an inn. Usually, it was likely used as sleeping quarters for the soldiers. It contained one large chest, a table and chairs for meals, and two small beds. From one of those beds, a pair of large legs dangled out, having completely overshot the mattress.

「...Are you awake?」

「Yeah.」

Rigoberto answered in a low voice, checking his arm while remaining sprawled on his back.

「It’s been a full day since we arrived at the mine. I was out cold too, so I only just got the details, but the treatment for your wound is finished. You should probably thank the people of Marls.」

After all, they had treated the wounds of a complete stranger. In truth, it was unclear how they would have reacted had they known he was the Emperor of the Albarul Empire. Rigoberto was famous for being a cold-blooded sovereign.

Rigoberto said nothing in response to Elna’s words, simply letting his right arm fall back onto the bed with a soft *posu*.

「Also, I asked them to send word of our whereabouts to Cross—to the people of Wizrain—and to Albarul or Marls. An envoy from Marls is coming for an inspection, but a spirit user from Wizrain can send word much faster using spirit arts, so they’re calling the user back now.」

「Hmph, spirit arts, huh...」

Rigoberto gave a short, derisive snort but said nothing more. Elna, still sitting on her bed, glanced back at him.

「Are you finally starting to believe?」

She wore a smug, triumphant expression. She still harbored a bit of a grudge over him calling spirits fairy tales and claiming magic and spirit arts were the same thing.

「............When shown a sight like that, I have little choice but to understand to some degree.」

「Fufufun.」

Rigoberto had been unconscious when Elna was conversing with the dragon, but he had climbed the mountain on her back in the middle of an unseasonal blizzard. He must have realized that hadn't been a normal occurrence. Elna’s face lit up even more with pride.

「...So, how are you feeling? Your fever seems to have broken. They left some food on the table. Do you want to eat?」

「There are no issues. I will be moving as usual shortly. I don't need food.」

「You really are something of a monster...」

There was likely some stoic bravado involved, but Elna blinked, impressed by his humanly miraculous recovery rate.

「That is my line. ...Just who are you?」

「............」

Knowing the question was coming, Elna simply smiled in silence. Part of it was simply that she couldn't think of a clever answer.

「...Fine.」

(Right, I managed to dodge that one.) Just as Elna turned away from Rigoberto and pumped a fist in victory—

「You, Elna. Come to the Empire.」

「...Excuse me?」

「I shall bring you into my country under the same conditions as that man. I will accept no answer other than 'yes'.」

Elna stared at him, her mouth hanging open. (What is this guy talking about?)

「The same conditions... Does that mean I would become your fiancée—no, your wife?」

「What else could it mean? Since you are called a fiancée, King Crossgard has surely not laid hands on you yet. Hmph, even if he has, I shall make you forget such a trivial thing.」

Elna wondered if it was some kind of joke and locked eyes with Rigoberto, who remained lying on the bed. Seeing him staring back without so much as a blink, Elna let out a sigh. It wasn't that she was exasperated; she simply decided she needed to put her thoughts into clear words.

「I've learned that behind your actions, there is a heart that desires peace. But I can't condone your willingness to use any means to get there. I hate it when people die. Even if it’s not peaceful, I think it’s better for people to stay alive.」

「Why? If the deaths of one or two save a thousand, there is no problem.」

「There might not be. In the long run, you might be right. But on this, I won't budge. You and I will never cross paths.」

They were destined to be parallel lines. An invisible boundary stood between Cross and Rigoberto. It wasn't that one was good and the other bad; they were simply both unable to yield. That was all.

「Besides, even if you say you’ll make me forget...」

Elna rested her hands on the bed and leaned back slightly. A faint smile played on her lips.

「I could never forget.」

If she could have done that, she would have done it long ago.

「Unfortunately, the bond between me and my husband isn't that flimsy. If you're truly insistent, you'll have to go back and try again from before you were even born.」

The words came out of her mouth naturally, without a hint of hesitation.

Rigoberto’s expression became ambiguous, and the frown between his brows deepened. He was making a very strange face.

「...Is something wrong?」

「No... You are his fiancée, are you not? I heard you were not yet the wife of the King of Crossgard. Which is it?」

「...Hm?」

Now that he mentioned it, she realized she was the one who had spent so much time insisting she wasn't his wife.

「............」

Elna quietly covered her face with one hand. (I'm the one who wants to be born again.) She felt a wave of inexplicable regret, realizing she had finally started saying the same things Cross did.

In the awkward silence, the hamster spirit and Fere were playing a game of sumo, bumping into each other with *doskoi, doskoi*. *Doskoi ham-ham. Doskoi fere-fere.*