“Do you remember that?”
Lying on the cold floor and staring at the ceiling, I heard that from above my head.
“What memory?”
“The memory from the last time we drank.”
“When was the last time?”
“Back in first year.”
“That’s too long ago to be called ‘last time,’ isn’t it?”
I couldn’t help but say that with disbelief at Alice’s use of the term ‘last time’ after such a long gap.
“I told you mixing alcohol with tea isn’t a good idea, right?”
But Alice, unfazed by my reaction, continued.
“Yet you drank it like that again this time.”
“Yeah….”
Alice spoke in a voice that sounded like she was about to drift off, then let out a groan.
And then, I could hear sounds coming from above my head.
It seemed like both Alice and I were lying down, staring at the ceiling, with our heads almost touching.
I couldn’t remember why I was doing that.
How far back… Ah, that’s right.
I suddenly sat up, feeling a splitting headache, clutching my head with both hands.
“Camera.”
At least I remembered that this time.
The camera lens aimed at me as I awkwardly sang along to the chanson, using an empty bottle as a microphone.
It was Claire who was filming me.
“Claire!”
“Hmm~ What is it, darling~”
When I turned towards the voice, Claire was lying on the table, looking as if she was dreaming a pleasant dream.
I couldn’t tell if she had just woken up or if she was still in a sleep state answering me.
…Isn’t this the kind of party you have before a wedding? When did we start doing this?
I’m pretty sure until the moment we each had two drinks, it wasn’t like this.
With this, I couldn’t shift the blame for last time’s drunken antics onto Jennifer or the Master. This time, we had caused this ruckus entirely on our own.
We actually ended up keeping our promise to drink for each other since we couldn’t attend because of our busy academy work!
Clutching my thudding head, I called out to Claire.
“Claire, the camera.”
“Hmm~”
Are you really asleep?
But, if she wasn’t asleep, there’s no way Claire would pass the camera to me. After all, someone who has been caught in an embarrassing photo only asks for the camera for one reason.
Claire pushed the camera she was using as a pillow towards me, and then fell back onto the table in the same position.
“……”
I looked at Claire once more, picked up the camera—and just set it back down again.
Claire probably didn’t take it to tease me.
Even if it feels embarrassing now, thinking that this will all become a memory later, I couldn’t bring myself to do much about it. More than anything, just imagining the expression Claire would make if I did that weighed heavily on my heart.
Silently placing the camera on the table, I turned around, and Alice was standing up.
Her expression was still pouty. She looked very tired. I probably looked similar.
“Let’s get some fresh air.”
Nodding at Alice’s words, I headed towards the door.
Outside the banquet hall, it seemed the guards had been on standby all night. Even hotel staff members were gathered.
As soon as the door opened, eyes turned towards us, so Alice and I almost simultaneously pointed our fingers to our lips. Thanks to that, no one greeted us loudly.
We stepped out, making sure the tragic state of the banquet hall was as hidden as possible.
Alice was the first to speak.
“Please don’t go inside until we tell you to.”
Among those inside, there were commoners, but there were also high-ranking nobles who would literally lead this country. We had to at least maintain appearances.
In the end, the staff would see the state of things when they cleaned up, but I could only hope the kids would wake up before that.
“……”
“……”
We exited the hotel in silence. The dawn air was cold. The sky was turning a deep blue, and people were beginning to emerge on the streets.
Alice stood at the hotel steps, and I joined her.
Right then, knights rushed in to form a protective circle around us.
“Honestly, there are many times I think it was better before becoming Emperor.”
“It’s only been two weeks, you know?”
“It’s probably just because it’s only been two weeks that I’m saying that. After a few years, I might adapt to it. But still, I might say it was better before becoming Emperor.”
Alice plopped down on a corner of the hotel steps, and I sat next to her.
“So, do you want to quit? You wanted to be Emperor so much when we were kids.”
“……I guess.”
Alice looked up at the blue sky, pausing for a moment without saying anything.
“Well, it’s only just the beginning. It’s just that we have some guards with us now. If you think about it, we had them before too.”
“That guard was me.”
“Right. That was you.”
Alice chuckled softly.
“Now that I think about it, you should have had guards with you too. In retrospect, it isn’t strange at all, huh?”
“Exactly. This is how it should be.”
Both of us shared a light laugh.
“Well, even being Emperor, I can still attend a friend’s wedding. Honestly, it doesn’t seem like people think too much of it.”
“I think they think it’s quite a big deal.”
“Really? Isn’t it a bit different from how it was during Father’s time?”
“Thinking back, it doesn’t seem like there was that much difference in the past either. We just don’t remember because we didn’t go to the banquets.”
“Oh, right….”
Alice fell silent again, lost in thought.
“Do you think we’ll be going to places like banquet halls often in the future?”
“That’s probably true. In ten or twenty years, who knows, but considering it’s still recently after becoming Emperor, it’s natural.”
As I answered, Alice sighed deeply.
“Don’t think too much about it. Think positively. At least Mia will always be at banquets.”
At my joke, Alice let out a short laugh.
But it wasn’t exactly wrong. Mia, who was originally known for rarely attending events, has been showing up to all the required places lately. Though it seemed she was much more interested in eating than dancing.
“Right, that’s true. Besides Mia, we’ll see familiar faces from the academy often. At least it seems like I won’t have to arrange meetings just to see friends.”
“Exactly! And I think surprisingly we might see Charlotte quite often too. I mean, she was crying as if we’d never see each other again when we parted, yet she just waltzed right in for a friend’s wedding.”
We both burst into laughter again.
“Time goes by, and maybe even the Emperor will be able to travel freely abroad. They said they’re adjusting the rights of the overseas territories, right?”
“……There were parts that were messed up in the last reign.”
Absolute power can be useful if a capable person holds it, but as human beings, it’s hard to remain competent until the end. Even dictators who were capable in their youth become stubborn and set in their ways as time passes.
It seemed like the last Emperor didn’t even think about such considerations, but Alice was different. She knew very well that she couldn’t be like the previous Emperor.
That doesn’t mean she was going to abandon all power. It’s more about gradually relieving herself of the excessively burdensome parts.
“Just imagine the Emperor going on a vacation abroad. That wouldn’t be such a strange picture, right?”
“Thinking like that now seems somewhat reasonable.”
It seemed Alice’s mood had lightened a bit with my words as she looked at me while hugging her knees.
“So, how about you?”
“Me? It’s not particularly hard for me.”
“You got back late yesterday because you were handling official affairs.”
“Still, there aren’t as many things for the Emperor to do. Besides, I’m a Crown Princess. I don’t have actual power, so really, my only job is to show my face.”
I was being truthful. Yesterday was just a matter of having to go a bit far.
“……Really? It’s not really hard or anything?”
“If I’m in a hurry, I could just ride the Gryphon.”
I had tried to come up with a name for it, but in the end, it just became ‘Gryphon.’
Even today, it still eats anything meaty presented to it and has a good appetite. It’s a bit surprising that it doesn’t gain weight, though.
“I’m glad if that’s the case.”
Alice said with a voice mixed with sighs.
“It’s okay.”
I told Alice.
“You’ll do well. You’ve been doing so until now, haven’t you? I’ll vouch for you since I’ve been watching you for a long time.”
“……”
Alice, still looking towards me, shrugged.
“Well, since you said it, I’ll try to believe you. After all, you’re a ‘so-called expert’ who has been watching me for so long.”
The expression on Alice’s face as she said that was the most relaxed I had seen in the past two weeks.
“I’m glad you haven’t changed just because I became Emperor.”
“Do you think I’d change that easily?”
I shrugged my shoulders, mimicking Alice.
When Alice suddenly glanced up at the sky, I followed her gaze.
At the edge of the sky, the blue dawn was slowly melting away, and the sun was rising.
The sky we admired together for the first time in a while was truly beautiful.
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