episode_0142

“… Phew.”

The empress, left alone, closed her eyes and concentrated.

And I thought of the image of the Demon King who would come flying with all kinds of sword strikes from all directions.

It was a swordsmanship so elegant and powerful that it could not be expressed in any other word than the pinnacle. It was efficient and beautiful at the same time.

I continued to spar with the imaginary Demon King over and over again. However, the future that I could picture was only a miserable future where my neck was cut off. No matter what I did, I couldn’t keep up with his swordsmanship.

“… Damn it.”

The empress, who was drenched in sweat despite having done nothing, cursed her miserable body while spitting out bitter curses.

If only her feet had been intact, if only her body had been a little more normal, if only so many strong men had not died on the battlefield – countless what-ifs tormented her.

To be honest, I was scared. I wanted to live as an empress in peace, holding the baby in my arms. But she was wise, so she knew that peace was a paradoxical thing that demanded blood and fighting as a condition of existence.

That’s why I had to keep repeating the Demon King’s fight in my head. It was a precise image training that actually strained my body, and a fear so strong that my body would get hurt just by imagining it.

Unable to bear the burden, the empress eventually vomited blood.

“… You are so good at doing reckless things with that body. Do you claim to be the empress of the empire with that attitude? Indeed. I can only envy you. ”

“Raul… I understood what you meant. If it weren’t for me, you would have been executed on the spot.”

The Empress knew well what Raoul meant.

I didn’t know that you would work so hard with a body that no one would blame even if you ran away. It’s truly amazing that you don’t stop working even though you’re in the highest position. You’re so amazing that I want to emulate you.

The empress did not pull out her sword because she knew that was what it meant, but she felt a strong desire to do so.

“Training through a mock battle with the Demon King? This is training beyond common sense, without a doubt. The only person who would do such a thing would be Her Highness the Empress. It’s not that I don’t know the reason for doing it, but wouldn’t it be better to think about it a little?”

“Wow… Why do I still get mad even though I know what the words mean?”

This time, the Empress knew.

That was just a compliment. Only the Empress could do such image training by analyzing the Demon King’s sword even a little. It was great that she was doing such a genius training that defied common sense, but it was also closer to a concern that she should hold back a little for the sake of the baby in her stomach.

But the way you expressed it was wrong.

“You should rest a little for the sake of the baby in your stomach. I feel bad for the pretty and kind baby.”

“I don’t know if they’re pretty, but they both have personalities. Whether they’re kind or not is something we’ll have to wait and see.”

“Hey you little shit!!!”

Raoul raised his staff and blocked the Empress’s sword.

“Do you know how many times I’ve tolerated murder while talking to you!”

“… I guess there are as many people who hate me as there are people who hate me.”

“No, not that much.”

“Then is it the number of people who like me?”

“No, I don’t mean to write that much.”

Even the Empress burst into laughter as she was dumbfounded by what she said, and returned her sword to its sheath.

“Haa… This is tough. Should I just go back?”

“I’ll help you.”

Raoul returned to the mansion in the Empress’s wheelchair, looking around at the things that were scattered around. Somewhat restored houses, children playing and picking wild flowers on the roadside, crops ripening to a golden color – all these were things that had never been seen during the war.

“… Is it hard?”

“It seems like a very bad habit to omit the subject and speak as if the other person knows what you mean.”

“Hey!!! Is that what you’re talking about?!!!”

“I’ve never done that.”

“Ah, seriously, I should just cut that snout off…!”

“The baby in your stomach is listening.”

The Empress forced herself to take a deep breath and cool down her raging anger. Raoul had been acting like that for more than a day or two, and if she thought about it, he had been like that since the day they first met.

Because the fond memories of that day still vividly maintained their shining value.

‘It is a pleasure to meet you, Raoul Bergé. This is the first time I have met the son of my master, the illustrious sage of the Empire, in private.’

‘…’

At that time, the Empress smiled and offered Raoul a handshake, but Raoul was busy hiding his hand behind his back.

‘Dirty.’

‘Yes…? Is there anything on my hand…’

‘You little bug…’

At the time, the Empress was deeply hurt, but it turned out that Raoul had refused to shake hands with her, saying that his hands were dirty because he had caught a bug with his bare hands.

Even the young empress, who had heard that story, had no difficulty guessing that he was the type of person whose communication skills had penetrated underground.

“… It was really fun back then.”

“Still, don’t you have more memories than back then?”

“Yes. The memories and the wounds have all increased.”

“If there were no memories, there would be no hurt.”

“Yeah… You’re only talking about the basics today.”

The two people were lost in nostalgia, reminiscing about someone they had in common.

But I knew that if I continued to be consumed by past memories, I would become rusty, so I quickly escaped from that swamp of memories.

Remembering the dead was always done right after the fighting was over.

“The atmosphere has become strange in many ways.”

Meanwhile, they saw Raoul’s little maid Betty playing with the village children.

It was amazing to see her accepting the dark elf without hesitation, but it was also amazing to see that proud dark elf obediently doing maid work.

“By the way, I think I’ve seen that maid girl somewhere… The palace… The villa garden…? No, was it a banquet? No, a funeral…”

“It’s not really that important. That kind of thing.”

“No, in my memory… sigh… why does my memory feel foggy? This rarely happens. ”

“Originally, as people get older and get pregnant, their memory tends to decline.”

“I’m still in my 20s!”

“Excuse me, but Your Highness the Empress is older than me…”

At that moment, the scabbard raised by the Empress struck Raoul’s jaw.

“Raul… Didn’t you learn that if you bring up your age in front of a woman, you’ll be left behind?”

“….. I know if you hit the chin wrong you could die.”

The two people smiled faintly and reaffirmed their friendship that they had not seen in a long time.

So the two of them ate together and talked about various things. They also invited the Emperor and Camilla, but the Emperor was busy organizing the army, and Camilla was pouring all her energy into controlling her father’s spear.

“… What does Rosie plan to do?”

“I want to leave it as is.”

It didn’t really matter to Raoul whether he went crazy from guilt or lost control of himself and ended up destroying himself.

I just hoped that with that face that looked just like Leila, she wouldn’t do anything weird.

“Why don’t you just hit me coolly?”

“…..”

“There would be no punishment more cruel to that woman than leaving her alone.”

“It sounds like you’re asking for forgiveness.”

“I’m telling you not to waste your nerves trying to ignore it.”

Raoul’s hand stopped at those words that seemed to hit the nail on the head.

“… I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Raul, did you know that when you lie, only your little finger trembles slightly?”

Then Raoul immediately looked at his little finger.

“… I wasn’t nervous.”

“Yeah, that’s a lie. But I guess we can tell who the idiot is.”

Raoul clicked his tongue in an uncharacteristic manner and glared at the Empress with eyes filled with discomfort.

No matter how much of a mask I wear, I can’t fool a friend I’ve known for over 15 years, so I can’t help but feel uncomfortable.

“Now let out all the anger, sadness, and desire inside you.”

“Are you saying this knowing how much effort you put into hiding it?”

“That’s what I’m saying, you little punk.”

“……”

Raoul was silent.

“Don’t take such ominous things with you to the afterlife. Take only good memories and recollections with you. Besides, if you become a ghost because of those things… I don’t even want to imagine it.”

“… if.”

For the first time, Raoul decided to take a chance on something he thought might be possible.

He always assumed the worst and hated the “what ifs”.

For the first time, I decided to stake my future on what if.

“I will do so when this war is over.”

“If you say that, you’ll die miserably on the battlefield.”

“Your Highness the Empress also seems to have a habit of talking nonsense.”

Raoul, too, seemed a little annoyed as he pulled the Empress’s cheeks apart.

“No matter what, should I only do it for you? Just thinking about the past…”

The Empress also grabbed Raoul by the collar and hair at the same time.

“Good. It wouldn’t be so bad if we had some time to talk about old times.”

So the two of them threw away their positions and started fighting childishly.

About an hour later.

The Emperor, who had finished all his work and returned to have a simple meal, could not help but be surprised.

Raoul with disheveled hair and clothes, and the empress with ruined makeup and clothes.

It was a situation that could have easily been misunderstood.

“That…”

“Your Majesty…”

“It’s okay. There’s no need to explain. It’s not like Jim doesn’t know about their relationship. They must have fought, after all.”

Even though we’ve been friends for 15 years, there seems to be something different about us.

“Of course they would have fought over who loved me more…”

The sword and staff simultaneously pierced the wall, and the emperor drank his tea with an indifferent expression.

“Disloyal traitors who are not even colorful…”

Even though the battle with the Demon King was only three days away, they didn’t seem to have changed.