Bonus Short Stories
Side: Elfaria
When Elfaria learned that she’d gotten a message not from Theia or Clan, but from Koutarou personally, a smile bloomed on her face like a flower in spring. And when she realized that his message was only a formal request for aid, said smile wilted with disappointment. She thus began plotting her revenge.
“Oh, that Layous... Couldn’t he at least mention how cute I am or how much he wants to see me again? I can’t believe he’d just send an aid request like such a stickler!”
Seeing Elfaria complain like a little girl, Ceilēshu couldn’t help but smile wryly.
That’s not the kind of behavior you’d expect from a son-in-law...
Since Vandarion’s coup, Ceilēshu had been serving as an assistant to Elfaria. Today she’d brought her usual regular report to share with the empress over afternoon tea. The problem was its content, as Elfaria’s mood soured after reading the message from Earth. It had been several months since Ceilēshu first started this job, and this was the first time she’d ever seen the empress act so childishly.
“What should I do?! This message is so rude to me, the Forthorthian empress!”
“I think it’s the other way around...”
Normally calling the empress cute or asking to meet her personally would be crossing a line. Depending on the circumstances, it might even warrant censure. Koutarou had chosen to be decorously formal, and it was the right call. After all, his message would be seen by others—Ceilēshu included. This, however, was precisely what upset Elfaria. Her surprising temper tantrum was most adorable, but Ceilēshu thought it too rude to comment that aloud.
“Is something the matter?” Elfaria asked.
“Oh... I was just thinking about how special Layous-sama must be to Your Majesty.”
“But of course. He’s a hero of legend, both past and present, not to mention my first love.”
The anger suddenly vanished from Elfaria’s face as she smiled wistfully. She’d only spent a few days with Koutarou, but it had left a lifelong impression on her.
“So you don’t deny that he was your first love...”
“You’d already guessed as much, hadn’t you?”
“Well... yes.”
“Just so you know, it’s top secret.”
“Of course. Hahaha...”
The Blue Knight was Forthorthe’s guardian and the current empress’s first love. He was probably the only person that Elfaria could truly rely on, yet she’d never had many chances to interact with him. Due to her position, she couldn’t reveal her feelings for him either. Moreover, her daughter now had feelings for him too. Nevertheless, Elfaria couldn’t help her excitement upon hearing from him, nor her disappointment at his message’s impersonal contents. As a woman, Ceilēshu understood.
“In that case, I believe an elaborate revenge plot is in order,” she suggested.
“I was thinking the exact same thing,” Elfaria replied. “Layous-sama needs to learn his place.”
“As your lost first love?”
“That’s right. And as the man who left me for twenty years.”
“If he’d taken you with him, that would have been a big problem in itself.”
“I was but a young girl back then! I didn’t care!”
“Haha. I suppose not.”
Following that, the two royals fervently debated how best to respond to Koutarou’s message. How to make a thoughtless boy a little more self-aware. It was a difficult problem, but one they thoroughly enjoyed discussing.
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