Chapter 2 (2/2)

Yulia turned to the truck driver again. She folded her arms in front of her, slightly leaned her neck backwards, and opened up her shoulders before speaking to him in an arrogant tone. The man widened his eyes and s.h.i.+vered his body.

“Ah, cou…… cou…… could it be? Your majesty?”

“Due to certain circ.u.mstances, I could not dress more appropriately. Don’t try to dig further.”

“Of course.”

As he stared at the trembling man, Kael thought: she was indeed the queen of this land.

“I must return to the royal capital in haste. Cooperate by giving us transportation.”

“If…… if it is okay…… in my humble…… car……”

“I am the one who was in trouble and asked for cooperation, so what reason would I have to nitpick? Do not worry; in fact, I shall reward thee generously later on.”

Words that were, apart from their clarity and sweetness, full of dignity. Eyes that looked down, gently sheltering the other. She naturally comforted the truck driver with the air of a superior.

They sat in the front pa.s.senger seat. Since there wasn’t any s.p.a.ce, Yulia sat on top of Kael’s lap. However, she squirmed around, probably in discomfort. Every time she moved, their bodies rubbed against each other, making Kael flinch.

‘It’s just a kid’s body……’

Even so, it felt nice.

It definitely felt nice.

It was soft, warm, and tender. It did not curve in where it should to curve in, and did not curve out where it should curve out, but it felt nice nonetheless.

“Mm. It is quite tight. But, I shouldn’t complain, given the circ.u.mstances. Would I be asking for too much if I were to ask thee to drive us to the National a.s.sembly Building?”

Yulia momentarily creased her forehead before straightening immediately, and looked at the driver with a gentle smile. However, her eyes were powerful, making the driver stutter under their gaze.

“Of…… of course. I will drive at high speed, no, at a comfortable speed while abiding by the law……”

Yulia lightly patted the driver’s shoulders.

“Do not be afraid. However, thou shalt keep this company a secret to those around you. And, until we arrive safely, any call to the outside is forbidden.”

“Yes, your majesty.”

The driver trembled as he drove the car. For a moment, Kael was worried that he might get into an accident, but decided against saying anything.

He didn’t know how to drive, and since this man drove a truck for a living, he would be better at it than Yulia.

Although the driver was trembling at first, he settled down as time pa.s.sed, though he was still stiff and mute. Around then, Yulia, who had been dozing off, fell asleep completely. As her head leaned against Kael’s chest, she turned quiet, and only the sound of her breathing through her nose remained.

Kael once again felt strange as he watched her sleep peacefully like a kitten. This tender life was resting in his arms, entrusting everything to him. What could he call this kind of situation?

As he looked at her peaceful, serene face, even his own heart felt warm. What was this feeling that made him feel even more comfortable than when he himself was drifting off to sleep?

There was no way for him to know.

‘Her eyelashes…… though she’s young, they’re so long……”

Kael just decided to think about something else.

Drip. A drop of saliva fell out of Yulia’s mouth, onto his clothes.

‘Tch…… dammit, I’ll overlook it this time, since my clothes weren’t clean to begin with.’

Such n.o.ble sleeping habits for a queen. Even as he grumbled, Kael sat still so that she would not wake up.

Five hours later, the truck finally arrived in front of the National a.s.sembly Building. Then, Kael shook Yulia awake.

“Wake up.”

“Mm? Haaaahm?”

Yulia opened her eyes and yawned heavily, with a blank expression. She blinked her eyes a few times, but she wasn’t completely focused. A grain of rheum hung on the corner of her eye, but she did not seem to realise it. A dried up trail of saliva lined her mouth, and her hair was stuck flat onto her head in various places. It was the defenselessness of a child who had just awakened.

“Where are we?”

“It’s the National a.s.sembly Building. Didn’t you say that you have some business here today?”

“Ah.”

Yulia straightened her posture, as if she had suddenly regained her consciousness. She wiped the rheum from her eyes and the saliva from her mouth. When she stiffened her neck afterwards, her eyes regained their sparkle.

“Thou hast done good work, citizen. This is a token of thanks. You could sell it or keep it as a treasure.”

She took off a brooch that was decorating her dress and handed it to the driver.

“M…… Much obliged.”

“Thou may go now. Thy cooperation has been a big help.”

Yulia hopped out of the car and stretched her waist. Her silver hair sprinkled shards of light into the air. She straightened her back, stiffened her neck and brightened her eyes. Even her smallest mannerisms were flawless, and there was strength within her voice.

The atmosphere that surrounded her completely changed. A powerful aura, or perhaps it could be called a presence or charisma, that was invisible, but definitely existed, emanated from her.

“Accompany me, Kael.”

She demanded in a proud and natural manner.

“Alright.”

Kael decided to do as she said for now and carefully observed her face. Just a moment ago, she had been asleep with such a child-like expression, yet now, she had that proud expression of a queen. Which one was her real face? Or, were they both real?

Lunchtime had arrived by the time Kael woke up from his reminiscing of the past. Yulia, who had announced a temporary adjournment, walked over to where Kael was standing.

“I apologise for making thee wait.”

“No, it wasn’t exactly boring. It was sorta refres.h.i.+ng to watch you work. Kinda cool, too.”

Kael waved his hand. Although he had sensed that she was a.s.sertive, he had not realised that it was to this extent.

“Is that so?”

Yulia’s eyes momentarily sparkled. Her ears p.r.i.c.ked up, as if she wanted to hear more compliments. However, she returned to her queenly self, keeping her dignity, and continued as she smiled elegantly.

“I should resolve my business with thee as well; however, right now, the situation within the national a.s.sembly is quite strained. Would you be so kind as to wait until the evening?”

After seeing the brief changes in her expression, Kael answered while suppressing his thoughts, which tried to whisper that she was cute after all.

“Sure. I’m also curious as to what the result of your effort will be.”

“So be it. Under normal circ.u.mstances, observation of the national a.s.sembly’s lobby is prohibited, but I shall make thee an exception and allow it. Just do not be a nuisance by interrupting.”

“Alright.”

Was she telling him not to bother her while she was resting? Kael soon realised that that was not the case.

Yulia did not rest in the lobby. On the contrary, she sat on a chair and, with her mask-like smile that prevented others from reading her thoughts and her sly gaze, faced her visitor.

“What is the current situation, Shafred?”

“Not very good. The Prime Minister has around 170 or 180 votes secured. On top of that, there seems to be an uncertain atmosphere amongst the Gaverine Faction.”

“There is no need to worry about Gaverine. They will not be able to act rashly now that I have returned. Even so, I suppose we need at least thirty extra votes.”

“Yes, your majesty.”

“Tell Griel that I wish to meet.”

“At your command.”

After he exited the room, Kael asked.

“Are they on the side of justice or something like that?”

“Hah? What art thou talking about? As if there’s such a thing in a National a.s.sembly.”

Her silver eyes opened wide and round, emanating the hopelessness she felt for him.

“However……?”

“Shafred shares a deep relations.h.i.+p with pharmaceutical companies. If the medical budget gets cut, there will be less goods delivered to the country, which will then directly affect sales.”

“Is…… Is that right? Then, everybody else as well?”

“There is a particularly high concentration of poor people in the more locally oriented areas, so some face great risks to their position of power if they oppose these kinds of bills. Hah. Though, even they only care about their votes when it is just before the elections, after they have taken all that they could during the rest of their term. Their local elections are just around the corner, just in time.”

Yulia momentarily let out a cynical laugh. Her silver eyes embraced the darkness and reflected a cold streak of light. Those eyes were, without doubt, looking down at the “ugly truth” of this place.

“Ethederyn speaks for the doctor’s union. He opposed me when he was aiming to build another medical university in order to expand the public health centre, yet he cooperates on this issue, since his income would decrease. This is the kind of place the National a.s.sembly is. What is competed for is individual profit. Advocacy for justice is also merely a cover for that purpose. No more, no less. Thou dost not know enough about humans.”

She lightly clicked her tongue, as if she was pitying Kael’s innocence.

Kael shut his mouth. He didn’t know what he had expected, but had he heard a child tell him that he didn’t know enough about humans? He had watched how the world operated for much longer than this kid had. He was still not completely awake. That must have been the reason.

A few minutes later, a different member of the parliament took his turn to enter the lobby. He looked to be between 50 and 60 years old, and although his hair had been dyed black, he could not hide the wrinkles on his neck.

“I have come as you ordered, your majesty.”

The 50 year old parliamentarian bowed to her.

“Thou should be aware that there was an unfortunate accident during my vacation.”

“Yes, your majesty, although I was not informed of the details.”

“On my way back, the Thunder Bird malfunctioned and the engine was set on fire, almost burning me to death. If I had not escaped in the nick of time, I would have reunited with my father in the underworld.”

“How could that be! I am truly relieved that you escaped safely.”

“Indeed. However, to think that the Thunder Bird, which had been so proudly introduced by the Gyle Group, could not even guarantee the minimum amount of safety – I was very disappointed.”

She smiled elegantly as she tilted her head roughly fifteen degrees and leaned her chin against her hand. She was refined and full of grace, but her face did not reveal the slightest hint of “truth”, making it no different from a poker face, making her harder to read than if she had no expression.

“That…… That is…”

Griel could not finish his sentence, and his face sunk to the ground.

“Pardon my humble comments…… It is not yet completely sure…… Whether there was a defect in the car or if it was the job of an inscrutable criminal who should be accused of high treason……”

“Of course not. I am open to many different possibilities. However, as long as there is a possibility that the car may have had a defect, it seems very fair to concurrently investigate the model as well.”

Yulia smiled gently, and her voice became a little more courteous. However, those gentle words wrapped around Griel’s neck like a rope of silk, slowly suffocating him. Griel bowed even lower.

“Your majesty. Even so, an investigation will have a grave, negative effect on the company, regardless of the verdict. Please show sympathy.”

“I would like to do so, but since this issue is a grave matter……”

As Yulia gazed down at Griel, who had lowered his eyes to the floor, her mouth curved gently, looking even more graceful. Her left hand was lightly pressing on the armrest, creating the illusion of a bug being squished and popped.

“The executives and staff members of the Gyle Group all hold the greatest loyalty towards the country and the royal line. How could they have possibly been careless in the honoured delivery of a royal bulletproof car?”

“If thou sayst so, I shall watch for a moment to see for myself if such loyalty is truly evident.”

“Please bestow your trust upon us.”

“I shall accept thy expostulation and give it another thought. You may leave now.”

Yulia withdrew her graceful, mask-like smile and smiled a little more tenderly. However, her stare was still keen and she seemed to be holding a carrot and a stick.

“Yes, your majesty.”

Griel bowed once more before he exited the lobby.

Kael, who had been keeping quiet until then, asked without being able to hold back his curiosity any further.

“So cars made by humans are sometimes defective and explode in the middle of driving?”

In that case, weren’t they too dangerous, no matter how fast they were compared to carriages?

When he asked that question, Yulia looked at him as if he was a pathetic being.

“Hah? What kind of nonsense is that? Gyle is one of the three top car manufacturers. There is no way that there would be that kind of a manufacturing defect in a car that was delivered, not to leave a profit, but to raise their brand name.”

“……? Then, what was the conversation just now?”

“Griel is also a major shareholder of the Gyle Group. Regardless of the truth, if the Royal Inspection Unit is dispatched due to this kind of incident, business will be paralysed, and their stocks will crash. Their brand value would collapse.”

After finis.h.i.+ng her sentence, Yulia slightly cracked the edges of her lips for a brief moment. She gently rubbed her thumb and index finger together, as if twisting the wings of a dragonfly.

“He has no choice but to be conscious of me until the incident is determined to be an attack from a ‘terrorist’. Fufufu.”

Yulia snickered in a low voice, covering her mouth with her hand. The corners of her eyes slanted upwards, making her look like a laughing fox. A dark aura hovered around her. Kael’s mouth dropped open when he saw her, a crafty tactician who could outs.h.i.+ne a sly, old politician.

“What, then the human just now had no bearing on the incident?”

“Pfft. Just about the only one in this country who is bold enough to a.s.sa.s.sinate me is the current prime minister, Saion.”

“Then…… You scared him, even though you knew it wasn’t his doing?”

“I just happened to pick up whatever I saw when I tripped.”

After he heard her words, she felt unfamiliar to Kael.

“That’s somewhat insidious.”

At his murmur, Yulia suddenly pouted her lips and puffed up her cheeks. She looked like a squirrel that had stuffed its mouth full of acorns, and she complained while repeatedly pounding the armrest with her fist.

“It can’t be helped! If I don’t go to such measures, we will lose this vote.”

“Er, it’s not like I’m telling you to act a certain way.”

“Hmph. Even so, thou art criticising me for relying on such means, are you not?”

Yulia protested, folding her arms and turning her head to face the other way in order to emphasise the fact that she was sulking. However, even though her face was turned away, her eyes moved slightly to the side to glance at Kael’s reaction. Kael let out a ‘Pfft’ when he saw her adorable behaviour.

Once he had begun thinking that she was cute, she seemed distant; once he had started to think that she was far away, she seemed cute.

A child, yet a queen.

Eight years old, yet a tactician.

She trembled in fear at the sight of a corpse, yet was determined enough to summon a devil as her final card.

She slept peacefully, yet was daring enough to drive a car at a frenzied speed.

She tried to stop a pa.s.sing car with her little legs, yet was level-headed enough to take the enemy’s corpse whilst escaping.

A girl that possessed both the laughter of a child and the dignity of a queen.

He really could not hate her.

“Criticism, you say? That’s not true. You’re fighting to protect something, even going as far as putting your ‘soul’ on the line to summon me. I’m not gonna judge, even without being able to understand such desperation.”

“Dost thou speak the truth?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Hnn. So be it, then. I will trust thee. Right now, I have to lead the afternoon a.s.sembly, so we shall meet again afterwards. Ah, that’s right.”

She beamed brightly again.

“Go find some food from our world that thou would like to taste. I shall properly treat thee to dinner tonight. If thou wishest, it may include an expensive liquor.”

She left the lobby upon finis.h.i.+ng her sentence. Kael, who was left behind, scratched his head.

“She really doesn’t need to treat me dinner, but……”

What reason was there to smile like that just because I told her that I wasn’t criticising her? As if it had been bothering her.

“Eh. Seems that I’m way too self-conscious.”

There was no way that someone with such a firm goal and philosophy would be shaken by the words of a guy whom she had met less than a day ago.

In the end, the bill was voted down, with 145 against 150 votes. There were two blank ballots and two absentees.

“Reflecting thy stances, a representative of our people’s stances, I hereby announce the rejection of the special law.”

Yulia lifted up the royal seal next to her, and slammed it down onto the rejection box of the bill, as if she was beheading the opposition.

‘This can’t be! Who the h.e.l.l!’

The Prime Minister looked around in rage. There were betrayers amongst the ones who had promised to vote for the ballot. Moreover, it wasn’t just one or two; it was almost a whole party.

Gavril, who had been saying that he would think about it in a positive light, also wiped his mouth clean.

‘Ughhhh.’

If things came down to this, according to the principle that a bill could not be subject to double jeopardy in the same term, the next time that he would be able to bring up this same bill would be at the a.s.sembly during the second half of the year, which would be held after half a year. On top of that, it was obvious that the Queen would waste time and push it to the following year because of the fact that it had already been discussed in the first half of the year.

A bill that had been pa.s.sed by the house of representatives had to be considered in the national a.s.sembly within two years, but in other words, it also meant that the Queen could always hold it off for those two years.

‘Do I truly have to wait for another two years?’

If I had bought a load of gold instead of a mountain with that money, my investment would have risen at least twenty percent! The Prime Minister chewed on his long moustache. As he rended his hair that was already starting to fall off, he lamented.

‘Tch. To think that she thwarted the development of my mountain to distribute medicine to hobos who would benefit the national treasury more if they were dead.’

This d.a.m.ned wench. If she wasn’t Queen, I would’ve already……

No, Queen or what, I should have sent her off this time.

What was the point of letting those hobos live, when they received more support from the government than they paid in taxes? There would be much more for him to take out of that budget if they would just be all swept off the land and into the ocean.

The land development had to be started now. Only then would the official land price, that was about twenty times the purchase price, be deposited into his borrowed-name account. How long would the money invested there be frozen for? He had worked so hard to borrow all of his relatives’ names in order to purchase all the land in that area, yet all of his efforts were for naught.

That wasn’t the only problem.

He had a.s.sured that person that he would definitely get rid of the Queen this time. He was in big trouble, since he had failed even after borrowing 300 bug soldiers. What excuse could he make to that person? When that person told him that they did not care how much extra profit the prime minister gathered as long the “work” was properly done, their voice was icy cold. It clearly emanated unforgiveness and impatience.

He had fought for this case even harder, since he sensed that their patience had reached its limit. Now that things had come down to this, would his head still remain on his body when the next day arrived?

The Prime Minister shuddered.

After the a.s.sembly, Yulia found Kael waiting for her.

“I thank thee for waiting with patience. Didst thou decide on what to eat?”

“Uh…… I did look at this pamphlet here.”

Kael held up the royal capital guide pamphlet that was placed in the national a.s.sembly building’s library.

“But I couldn’t choose after all. You can just recommend something to me.”

“Then, hmm……“

Yulia’s eyes sparkled, as if she had something on her mind. She lightly licked the tip of her finger that she was holding up in front of her lips, and her mouth watered. A drop of drool leaked out of her mouth, on the verge of rolling down. While Kael carefully watched for what would happen next, Yulia hurriedly lifted her head up and swallowed the drop just as it touched her skin. Her ear leaned back and returned to its original place in the blink of an eye.

She quickly dropped her hand and fixed her posture, once again finding her elegant, composed smile. Her eyes, which had be s.h.i.+ning vulnerably, also regained their grace, neatly putting away their sparkle.

“Hm. Then let us go to the royal palace together. In fact, the court cook is also a very talented person with exceptional skills.”

“Sure thing.”

Kael readily consented to her offer.

‘It seemed like she wanted to eat something else.’

I don’t know why she won’t say it out loud, but I a.s.sume that there is no need to dig into the matter.

‘Well, I guess it was a rewarding day.’

He wasn’t able to sleep and his body ached, but it wasn’t bad at all, considering that he had saved a kid. If he were to be treated to a royal court dinner as a reward, this would become a memory to remember.

‘The kid ought to be proud, since she turned down the bill that she wanted to reject after all that commotion.’

Though, he still didn’t understand how evil the bill had been to warrant her going to such measures in order to stop it from pa.s.sing.

“The car is waiting at the rear door of the a.s.sembly building. Accompany me.”

“Alright.”

Kael followed her from behind, as if to protect her back. When they reached the rear door, a long and cla.s.sy sedan was waiting for them, just as she had said. A group of people were standing with pickets in their hands next to the sedan.

“Your majesty!”

One of the people in that group called out, running out. Kael reflectively jumped in front of Yulia to protect her. However, the guards in suits who were waiting next to the sedan grabbed the man first.

“Halt. Do not be rough to the man.”

Yulia raised her hand. Upon seeing that, the guards temporarily let the man go.

“What is your business?”

“I just wished to thank you. I heard that my daughter could continue to visit the public health centre……”

The man, who was now in tears, did not have a right hand – perhaps lost in an accident.

“Being a father…… Though it’s probably an embarra.s.sment to not even be able to afford my daughter’s hospital fees…… Because they say that this child’s disease requires a year of constant medication, or it will not be affected by any medication in the future……”

A girl who looked even younger than Yulia was holding onto the man’s left hand. Although their clothes were of low quality, their two hands were tightly held together.

“That’s a relief. If the doctor said so, make sure to take thy medicine regularly.”

Yulia spoke, looking at the child. A kind and gentle smile decorated her lips. Those silver eyes that looked like a dignified, yet sharp and cold crescent moon now sparkled like the tender rays of a full moon.

“We are much obliged, your majesty.”

The father, rather than the child, thanked her.

“I must go, since there is more work that I have to do in the palace. However, I do read all of thy letters that are sent to the Royal household.”

“Thank you, your majesty.”

The people holding the pickets thanked her together. Kael briefly scanned the words that were written on those pickets.

[Do not take our medicine away from us.]

[Guarantee our lives.]

As they traveled to the palace in the car, Yulia stealthily sidled over to Kael, who was sitting on the seat beside her.

‘What’s up with her?’

Kael flinched but managed to keep still. She held onto his arm like they were close to each other. She slipped her arms around his, as if his arm was a pillow or a teddy bear, and eventually tilted her body, leaning her face onto his arm.

‘Now look at this.’

On top of that, she slowly and gently rubbed her face on his arm. The way she smiled so broadly made her seem completely defenseless. As her downy skin tickled his arm, Kael became fidgety. How could it be described – it was not particularly intense and thrilling, but it was a feeling that seemed to softly caress his heart, like pieces of happiness were being neatly stacked on top of each other, layer by layer.

Embarra.s.sed, Kael purposefully asked in a blunt manner.

“What are you doing?”

Only when Kael asked did she stop rubbing and lift her face up. She was beaming so brightly that it revealed the amount of happiness that she felt.

“So, what dost thou say?”

Kael turned his head the other way, feeling somewhat blinded by her expressiveness – the total opposite of how she had acted during the national a.s.sembly. He nonchalantly returned a question while pulling out his arm.

“About what?”

“About how thou felt after seeing for thyself the people thou saved.”

“Nothing much.”

Kael looked out of the window, pretending indifference. One streetlight, two streetlights, three streetlights. He tried his hardest to blow Yulia’s smile out of his head by counting the streetlights.

“If the Prime Minister’s bill had been pa.s.sed, he would have set up a construction project in the mountain that he had invested in, using that child’s medical fees. If he had at least suggested investing in Port Louvlet, where on-water traffic is currently worsening, I could have understood ignoring the pros and cons.”

“Who cares. Stop the difficult talk. It’s all good, since you weren’t eaten by bugs. You do all that law and politics stuff by yourself.”

“However much thou art disinterested in such matters, it is not like thou didst not understand that it concerned that child’s medical fees.”

Yulia pouted, pus.h.i.+ng out her lips. Although her face was reflected on the window, Kael pretended to not notice it.

“What do the medical fees of someone I don’t know whatsoever have to do with me?”

“Tch. Art thou really going to be like that?”

She sucked in her cheeks and puffed them out immediately after, sulking. After puffing them out until her whole face became round, she released all of the air in one go and pouted her lips again. Still, Kael continued to pretend that he did not notice and answered bluntly.

“What about me? I got you away from all the bugs and brought you here. Ain’t my job done?”

“Uuh……”

Yulia’s mouth popped out even more. She turned her head away and scooted to the other end of the seat.

‘She’s definitely sulking.’

Kael struggled to hold in his laughter.

Even so, he could not respond. Nothing good would come to a human who deepened their connection with a soul-terminating demon.

The reason this could become a memory was because it would end with this one occasion.

Any more than that, and only destruction would await.

‘The medical fees of a poor child, huh.’

She did not hesitate to become a hardworking queen in order to protect such a thing. He had seen many of her faces today, but the face that she had made when smiling to the child was the most important. Though, it was questionable as to whether she would be able to keep that admirable dream even after she became an adult.

‘It would also be a problem if she were to keep it ‘til then.’

If so, she’d just be a hopeless fool. Still, this kid could become a pretty good queen, so to speak. On top of that…… Perhaps a great beauty as well?

Kael glanced at the profile of Yulia’s face, who was still sulking. It seemed like there was a 99.9999% chance as long as she wasn’t involved in an accident.

Then again, that was a story of at least ten years in the future. He would part with her today, and they probably would not cross paths again. It would also be bad if the queen of a country was forced into a situation where she had to go to the extent of summoning a demon twice.

‘And even if she does, the chance that she summons me is close to zero.’

So let me remember what she looks like for the last time. Although she often showed her tough side, in the end, she was really just a cute, lovable kid. It was a relief to be able to part without taking her soul.

The car soon arrived at the royal palace. The Bersian Palace that was located slightly east to the centre of the royal capital, Kamarilla, embraced the night and flaunted its magnificent figure, sprinkling light in all directions. As they approached the front gate, the guards stood at arms, and giant water fountains in the garden that bordered both sides of the road spurted water. Many statues were scattered across the garden to e

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