“How could I have prepared for this! The decades of all elves’ wishes, how could they be so futile like this! Ughhhhhh…!”
“Captain of the guard. Take her away. There seems to be much to hear from her.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Sephiroth, screaming, was dragged away by the guards.
Vanessa looked at the Dark Elf who was crying out in agony and paused for a moment in thought.
‘To be so utterly toyed with by a single magician…’
Who could be held responsible for this incident?
If one must ask, it would fall on the late Emperors who failed to recognize the dangers of magic in time, as well as Vanessa herself.
For the longest time, the danger of a single magician was thought to be no more than a hypnotist’s level of threat.
Yet, this magician infiltrated as an aide to the legion, casting spells over the entire army for years.
And even created an artificial lifeform powerful enough to destroy the Imperial Palace…
‘I have to admit it. I underestimated the sorcerer’s existence.’
Compared to wizards, there are fewer mages, and because of this, the information known about them is as rare as that of black mages.
The information that is known is that a mage’s mana usage is incredibly inefficient.
The medium for sorcery is the mana that is altered by a person’s strong emotions, but the conditions to obtain that mana are strict, and the amount of altered mana that can be harvested from a single person is limited.
Therefore, sorcery is regarded as a one-time technique that vengeful people, who have lost everything in life, hone over their lifetimes to exact revenge.
Yet this person used mana altered from the lives lost in war…
There was no greater malice than this.
It seemed as if the mage had committed revenge on behalf of all elves, but the elf kingdom, whose civil war had ended, was now being freed from all the restrictions imposed by the Empire and was on the road to improvement as a duchy, not a puppet state.
‘Is this the monster born of war…’
Using war to create such a powerful magician was an idea nobody had ever conceived before.
There was now another reason to desperately suppress war.
Vanessa felt her head begin to throb as she realized that she would need to drastically change the Empire’s diplomatic strategy.
“Aslan Vermont.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Those who witnessed today’s events, apart from Reinhardt, the guards, and yourself, are only myself. Therefore, the matter will be kept confidential and forbidden to speak of. Do you have any objections?”
“No. There are no objections. It would be troublesome if the power of sorcery were known, so I will follow the command.”
Aslan Vermont immediately bowed his head in compliance.
Vanessa looked at him, her face expressing a slight discomfort.
“So, are you ready to answer the question I asked earlier?”
“Yes? What question do you mean?”
“I asked how it felt to gaze upon and touch the bare skin of the Empire’s supreme ruler.”
“…”
Aslan’s face stiffened, and his pupils began to shake, sweat running down his back.
Not only had he seen the Empress’s body with his own eyes, but he had touched it as well?
That was already beyond a major crime.
Even Vanessa, unsure of how to respond to this unprecedented situation, stared at Aslan without showing much outward reaction.
‘If it hadn’t been for Aslan Vermont, I would have been dead by now, or perhaps crying out with blood on my hands.’
Of course, she knew that the situation had been serious. Left unchecked, the sorcery might have overtaken her body, turning her into a puppet, or she might have died as her heart stopped.
Although she had already forgiven Aslan internally, Vanessa couldn’t help but wonder what kind of excuse he would make.
‘He’ll probably claim it was an emergency and there was no other choice…’
A moment of silence followed, and Vanessa, regretting herself, sighed inwardly.
Why am I being so petty?
What will I even gain from pushing the person who saved my life like this?
There’s nothing but an obvious excuse to hear.
Why did I expect something else?
I felt embarrassed with myself.
Just as she was about to retract her question, thinking she should forget about it…
“That just now…”
“It was very soft and smooth.”
“…?”
“Your Majesty’s skin, as beautiful as it is, felt so smooth in my hand, it was like I could fit it all in one palm…”
“Wha-what!? What are you saying about the imperial body in such a p*rverted way!!!”
Hearing Aslan’s impudent words, Vanessa couldn’t hold herself back and rushed to cover Aslan’s mouth.
Aslan, who seemed confused with a dumbfounded look on his face, felt the Empress grip his collar, and Vanessa felt her face burning.
“You asked for my thoughts…”
“You don’t even have the slightest bit of reflection, do you?”
“Of course not. If I went back in time, I would still make the same choice to save Your Majesty.”
“…Now you’ve said it so confidently, I don’t know what to say.”
Vanessa let go of Aslan, who answered without a hint of hesitation.
She still felt her face scorching, and it wasn’t cooling down.
She’s embarrassed to death, yet he’s acting like it’s nothing.
What an irritating person…
“Haah. Your group looks quite tired. Go away.”
“But Your Majesty…”
“The Imperial Family will handle the aftermath. I’ve already received too much help from you. If you stay any longer, the dignity of the Imperial Family will be at risk. Go back and recover while waiting for your reward.”
“Yes. I will do so, Your Majesty.”
Aslan nodded in agreement and turned to leave.
Just as Vanessa was about to forget something, she hurriedly grabbed Aslan’s arm.
Ah, I was about to call him back…
She quickly withdrew her arm and wandered with her hand in the air, not knowing where to place it, before speaking.
“Ah… I think I forgot to thank you. When you took the secret guard position, I never imagined such a great incident would happen. Thanks to your calm and selfless handling of the situation, you saved many lives, including mine.”
“It’s nothing new. I simply did what I was supposed to do. I hope you don’t feel indebted.”
“…”
Vanessa, who had been watching Aslan leave the Imperial Palace with his party, let out a deep sigh once he disappeared from her sight.
“Ugh…”
She immediately washed her face with cold water, overwhelmed with regret, and groaned loudly.
What kind of reaction had I been expecting from Aslan?
Had she wanted to see him, in all his guilt, struggling with his feelings after daring to touch the Empress’s body?
But Aslan’s response was completely different, showing no hint of hesitation or shame.
When he spoke about his thoughts, as if describing a work of art, for some reason, Vanessa felt a pang in her chest.
Did Aslan not see her as a woman…?
“Damn it. What was I even thinking…?”
She was the Empress of the Empire.
Therefore, she had lived her life without so much as glancing at another man.
But this feeling—this tingling sensation she had never felt before—was strangely not entirely unpleasant.
.
.
.
‘Damn it. I can’t remember anything.’
Inside the carriage returning to the mansion.
Surrounded by children who had fallen asleep from exhaustion.
I couldn’t sleep at all, as I was searching through every fragment of the memories left in my head.
I can’t remember a thing.
Not even a single detail about what it felt like when I touched Empress Sister’s chest!
I remember that it was just the right size to fit perfectly in one hand, neither too big nor too small, and the shape was flawless, almost too perfect to describe.
But the memory of that sensation?
That, for some reason, has disappeared, and I can’t recall it at all.
So, when I had to give my thoughts to Empress Sister, all I could do was mix in some flattering words that would sound pleasant.
This is driving me crazy!
Was the situation so urgent at the time that it didn’t leave any memory behind??
There’s nothing else I should forget.
To lose such a rare experience — something that might only happen once in a lifetime, or once in a thousand years of empire history — so foolishly…
It’s so frustrating that I feel like I might cry.
“Yuria. You did well. It must have been sudden, but you handled it excellently…”
“Mmm…”
“…”
I thought Yuri was awake since she was sitting across from me in an upright position, but it turns out she was asleep with her mask on.
She must have been exhausted from running around all night, wearing down her shoes.
It was only natural for her to fall asleep.
I decided not to wake her.
“Mmhm, mmh… Delicious cookies…”
“Ah, no… Aslan, if you get hurt… Ugh…”
Just as I tried to adjust my position and stand up, I realized I was trapped by strong hands holding my legs and arms, making it impossible to move.
Charlotte had experienced mana exhaustion, and Julia had spent much of her energy healing the injured undead army.
If I just stayed still, the kids would be able to sleep peacefully without waking up.
So, I decided to bear with this discomfort and returned to my awkward position.
“Sylvia. How about you?”
“I’m fine, there’s no injury… but, Lord, what were you thinking? Trying to take on that monster alone…”
“I have the Evil God Kali with me. I believed she would handle it somehow.”
“…”
[The Evil God ‘Kali’ regrets that she missed the perfect opportunity to respond to your faith.]
Apparently, my answer didn’t satisfy Sylvia, as her expression remained sour.
She then turned her head away from me, closing her eyes.
“My Lord, really… Haah. Never mind. You probably wouldn’t listen even if I said something. I’ll just get some sleep.”
“Hey. What if you fall asleep? What if we get attacked?”
“It’s fine. I’ve placed a barrier over the entire carriage. If the barrier is disturbed, I’ll wake up and be able to respond.”
“…”
She had a plan after all.
Then, it should be okay for her to sleep.
…Just as I thought that, I sensed something was wrong.
“Wait a minute. You said you placed a barrier over the entire carriage? But didn’t you say before that the barrier was so small that only two people could fit inside it, like they would have to hug tightly to get in?”
“…Ah.”
At that moment, Sylvia’s eyes snapped open, and her face slowly began to turn red.
You little…
You were lying to me, weren’t you…?