“Haah…”
Freddy Mars… no, Queen Andreas, let out a heavy sigh.
Lately, she felt like she was sitting on a bed of nails every single day.
Although her life hadn’t changed drastically, she still devoted herself to magic training, spending time with her master, just like before.
However, despite that, a deep burden lingered in her heart.
‘Santana… and Cazerose… why did those guys have to…’
The shocking scene she witnessed on her wedding day was still fresh in her memory.
The fact that Cazerose, whom she always considered a lowly girl, was actually a Dragona Empire princess of a far nobler status came as a massive shock to her.
And even worse, that woman had married Santana, whom she regarded as an inferior competitor.
For things to spiral down this path, even a queen couldn’t help but feel a sense of deep despair.
She had been completely defeated.
By the lowly girl she had looked down on and her younger sibling, Santana.
To make matters worse, the possibility that those two could shatter her life if they just paid a little attention was alarmingly high.
‘I’ve barely managed to learn the bare minimum of disguise… but still, I can’t shake off this anxiety.’
Since then, the queen had developed a habit of wearing a mask.
While it wasn’t a big problem since witches often conceal their identities like this, the fact that she had to wear such a thing made her feel uneasy in many ways, as if she were a sinner.
‘Really… is it okay for me to be like this? If something else happens in the meantime… Ah… no, after a while, Santana will return to Bohemia, so there shouldn’t be too much to worry about… right? It… absolutely has to be, right…’
Trying hard to console herself while carrying a heavy weight in her heart, Queen Andreas lived day by day, feeling as if she were suffocating.
Then one day, the worst possible situation unfolded before her.
It was none other than…
*
Preparing to return to Bohemia with Cazerose.
The two of us, now almost inseparable, were surprisingly busy organizing not a small amount of luggage.
“Most of the necessary items are packed. Dishes, furniture, and all the work-related documents too.”
“The luggage isn’t as little as I thought. Honestly, I didn’t expect it to grow this much.”
I had come here empty-handed, and I thought I would leave leisurely with just Cazerose.
Honestly, my envisioned picture was simple: returning home, light and carefree like in my paladin days, just looking at Cazerose, enjoying that modest happiness together.
However, the scene unfolding before my eyes looked nothing like that expectation.
‘From the wedding trousseau to a variety of treasures supposedly intended as a bride price, it’s clearly showcasing that an imperial princess has come to marry…’
Of course, this was a necessary action given that Cazerose, now clearly a princess, was associated with the prestige of the Dragona Empire.
Reflecting on how things had changed, I cast a light smile at Cazerose’s face, the only constant, whether as a paladin or a princess.
‘Well… honestly, these matters don’t really matter to me. Whether she’s a princess or paladin… what’s important is that Cazerose is by my side as my wife. That’s all that matters.’
As I pondered this, continuing to organize luggage, a vital thought flickered in my mind.
‘Speaking of which… should I ask her about that thing I thought of before? It’s under the pretext of escorting her, after all.’
Cazerose had been under the escort of a woman known as Blood, a level 10 mage.
However, for this journey, Blood had other responsibilities and couldn’t accompany us.
Unlike before, Cazerose was literally about to leave for Bohemia, and even the Dragona Empire couldn’t afford to send a level 10 mage along and suffer a loss of power.
With this in mind, I began thinking that maybe I could pull in someone I had my eyes on under the guise of escorting.
‘Didn’t they say she’d achieve level 8 great mage status soon? That would be just fine.’
*
“Huh? W-what… do you mean?”
With a voice full of confusion, Queen Andreas asked. Seeing her, her master Soul smiled brightly as he replied.
“Haha! What I mean is, it’s obviously very good news. The Santana guy and Princess Cazerose you saw before? They wanted to take you along on this journey.”
For Queen Andreas, this felt like a bomb being dropped in an already unstable situation.
So she spoke to her master with as firm a tone as she could muster.
“N-no… but… I can’t! I… I have so much more to learn from you! How can a lowly girl like me accompany such great individuals?!”
“Lowly girl? Don’t say that. I told you before; in our Dragona Empire, what matters most is ability and character. Birth and bloodline are merely secondary.”
“Ah… um… I’m… I’m sorry.”
Reacting without thinking, she dug up a pitiful story, and Soul objected from a purely objective standpoint. Yet, this only made Queen’s chest tighten further.
She had always taken pride in her noble birth and looked down on those of lower status.
But now, the painful irony was that she was the one asserting her lowly status.
Still, as Soul continued speaking, she automatically recognized that this issue wasn’t a problem.
“And, I hate to say this, but I’ve already taught you almost everything I can. From here on, it’s up to you to hone those skills.”
“B-but Master…”
“Mages need to travel and hone their abilities once they reach a certain level. You can’t remain a student under me forever, especially someone as talented as you. You’ll do just fine once you’re independent.”
“Uh…”
With genuine praise, he encouraged her, and that left Queen at a loss for how to respond.
Soul then delivered the final blow.
“Broadly speaking, you could say this is part of your studies as well. Go and see. I hear there’s a big war brewing in Bohemia soon; you should take the chance to showcase your abilities there. Our magic truly shines on the battlefield.”
“…”
“What’s your answer?”
“Ye-yes… I…I understand.”
In the end, swept away by her master’s relentless momentum, Queen could do nothing but accept, feeling a foggy daze and being engulfed by a deep sense of despair.
‘What… what do I do now?.. Really… what am I going to do?’
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