Volume 1 Chapter 3 (1/2)

And so, without any huge doeous princess from the northern empire

During that time, in the castle–

“The Fried Mullet Incident” (Over the course of twentya fried mullet from its head)

“The King’s Red Vest Incident” (The queen laughed scornfully at the king’s new red tunic, co it to the crassness typical of a nouveau riche’ dumb son”

“Laave her a, to her horse Lambda)

“Kiki’s Red Vest Incident” (The queen gazed at Kiki, her pet white monkey, and said, “Really now, you’re such a dope” after putting a red vest just like the King’s on her pet)

And so on Many s and the queen transpired, and whenever one came up, both inside and outside the castle,

“His Majesty is so pitiful!”

There would be a nant at the queen,

“I can’t believe that cold and cruel queen Just thisin the corridors, when His Majesty walked by from the other end, she stared at His Majesty with a face cold enough to start a snowstor How are you feeling?’ with a refreshi+ng s fine until just now, but now I don’t feel well’ with a cold voice!”

“How terrible!”

Theand raise voices of sympathy one after the other

“Why does Her Majesty treat His Majesty so coldly? Even though His Majesty is so wonderful”

“I know His Majesty’s golden hair and green eyes are dreah His Majesty is the ideal husband”

“I bet she thinks that a half-comh blood as the daughter of an emperor Don’t act like you’re all that when you’ve never even peeled an egg yourself!”

“Even though if I was His Majesty’s wife, I would cherish His Majesty”

“Me too I’d never be sarcastic nor would I glare at His Majesty I would kindly listen to what His Majesty has to say, offer him my knees to rest his head on, peel an apple then feed it to His Majesty’s mouth… I want to become His Majesty’s sanctuary–”

“Me too–!”

Mixed aht’s uniforle bun atop her head and she had a crisp and earnest-looking face She is the fe personality, she was relied upon by theLudwik took the throne, she’s mixed in with the maids’ chitchat even more often than before

Even so, she doesn’t proactively join in on the conversations Rather, she si Ludwik” that the maids share and secretly resented the queen’s cold attitude

Evelyn reveres King Ludwik like a God

During the coronation parade, Evelyn wasthe crowd of spectators when she fell fros, she rolled over in front of His Majesty’s carriage disgracefully and was about to die froot off the carriage and approached her, asking

—Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself somewhere?

gently as His Majesty looked upon her with refreshi+ng green eyes

Since then, to Evelyn ore absolute devotion to King Ludwik, seeing His Majesty abused by the queen vexed her soeaten away

(If—just if, I was His Majesty’s lover)

Being hooked along by the maids’ delusions, Evelyn felt her cheeks burn as she opened her eyes wide and inflated her cheeks

(W-what aht beyond the question of gender To begin with, for soained influence, the difference in status between me and His Majesty is– but, compared to that treacherous queen I can better understand and console His Majesty… No, I hts–)

Evelyn’s face got hotter and hotter and her heart beat stronger and faster, to the point where it felt like others would be able to hear it

“I-I-I-I-I-I-It’s about tihts”

She left the

On the other hand, at the salon where the daughters of noblele–

“It’s only a matter of time before Her Majesty returns home”

Therese, the eldest daughter of the Falma Family, one of the Three Grand Duchies of Rhodesia, sat on a soft sofa as she opened a feathered fan in front of her shallow breasts and glowed in satisfaction

Therese, who had her ruby-red hair curled floridly, was raised to become the queen

Her nose is elegant and tall, her lips full and pompous, her waist slim and slender Only her breasts were a bit flat and lonely, but to Therese who habitually states that woar and vapid, it wasn’t a problem at all

Thath blood and aly refined

That’s right I don’t lose even when compared to the queen

“As expected, a bride fron country both thinks and behaves differently, so there’s bound to be a clash I feel so sorry for His Majesty”

She said in an affected show of sympathy, but the shape of her mouth was completely loose

“It’s just as you say Miss Therese–”

Therese’s groupies, fellow daughters froree with her

“The one befitting His Majesty as born and raised in Rhodesia is Miss Therese, a fellow Rhodesian who hails from a nationally famous family”

“If Princess Katerina divorces His Majesty and returns to Endra, the next queen is bound to be Miss Therese”

Therese slackened the area around herahead of yourselves”, but inside her heart she was already visualizing the wedding program

(It rander than Queen Katerina’s ceremony The cathedral in which Queen Katerina and His Majesty held their ceremony is ominous, so we’ll do it in a church connected to ood The petals of bluebell flowers shall cover the floor generously Ohof next year is just the blink of an eye away)

I wonder if I should start ht it over, she picked up an apple tart and put it in hertaste

“Ahh, it’s completely autumn now isn’t it?”

Meanwhile, the king’s close aide Adelheid ant face

“Things are excee–dingly bad”

As soon as she entered the king’s office, she entered into lecture ainst Ludwik

“At this point, everyone in the country is aware of the discord between Your Highness and Her Majesty The youngthat they want to be Sire’s lover in Her Majesty’s stead It’s only been a e, but there are already rumors that the divorce is only athe citizens feel anxious”

Ludwik put his hand against his te a headache as he sits on his office chair

“If the two of you don’t get along, it will increase the strength of Duke Walter’s faction In particular, the influence of therapidly recently He’s spent a lot ofa problem”

In short, from a political standpoint as well, Ludwik and Queen Katerina must achieve a harmonious relationshi+p

“I doubt the Endrish Ehter, would be pleased to learn that the princess is being slighted”

“I know, Adelheid Even I’ iants to retreat to the spirit world in the forest But, I’ ain by the iants, Barbaros, wields”

“In other words, Sire is saying that Sire still hasn’t properly becoht?”

Ludwik sighed in response to Adelheid’s point

“How are we supposed to become husband and hen she won’t even letto tell e forcefully in the courtyard in broad daylight? If I tried that I think I’d be stabbed with the ancestral sword she secretly brought along with her Moreover, ru isn’t just a country bumpkin but even a rapist would spread you know”

Ludwik had expected that they could become a happy couple with time after the episode where he coht and she became beet red when she woke up the next day

But then he was banned fro eyes at every turn, and slighted in both overly perfect Dahl and cold Endrish The wall of ice surrounding the queen continues to become taller and thicker day by day

On rare occasions, Queen Katerina would glance towards him for just a moment with upturned eyes as if worried that she went too far When that happened,

(This person is just aard isn’t she She’s actually a gentle and delicate girl underneath it all)

Ludould ain like this, but then Queen Katerina would immediately turn her head to the side even more sharply than usual

“Corell dela polesé (This is why I hate bumpkins)”

She would say with a cold voice, turning his hopes to dust

(I don’t want to say bad things about the person who became my wife, but could it be that Queen Katerina has a bad personality? Isn’t that why she ree of seventeen despite being the princess of a great empire?)

Ludwik suspects that this is what Adelheid was going towhen she started to say soe the subject

That the princess has a problematic personality–

“In any case, so long as she continues to hate s won’t iardless of how hard I try”

“As one who serves Sire, I find that exceedingly vexing Even though Sire is a gentleman whom one can’t find fault hether it be personality or looks–”

Adelheid gently narrows her eyes

“However, if we don’t iirls who aspire to be Sire’s lover ht sneak into Sire’s room The other day, I received a report that a silhouette see a tree in the courtyard at night frouard”

“S-so like that happened?…!”

As Ludwik tightened his voice, that he witnessed a suspicious person trespass into the queen’s rooh thecrossed the corner of his mind, but he is pulled back by Adelheid’s words

“As such, how about we start by having Her Majesty understand Sire’s charm points?”

The next day, in the afternoon

“……”

“……”

On top of the terrace illuht, Ludwik and Queen Katerina sat facing each other

Each had a sketchbook on top of one’s knees The one who prepared this is Adelheid

“Starting now, I’d like to have the two of Your Highnesses draw each other’s portrait”

She announces with a nice and cool voice

Your Highnesses need to spend soly, how does cultivating a shared hobby sound? His Majesty is very talented at drawing I’m sure His Majesty can depict Madale detail

–Women’s hearts flutter when they learn of talents men have that they didn’t expect If Sire can make an appeal of Sire’s artistic cultivation, I think Her Majesty’s ie as well

Adelheid had said that to him

(It’s true that I’ portraits of women)

That Ludas a sensation for drawing fe his ti customers in the castle town rand chamberlain

The girls would gaze at Ludho ran his colored pencils across his sketchbook, with glittering eyes, and when he showed theht up even more

Ludwik’s dream was to make Rhodesia into a country filled with beautiful wolamor

(If I were to pick out clothes for the queen… I would capitalize on her elegant and slender figure with a sily… the collar would have a bit of height, and the chest area would be open to the extent just before it becomes coarse In contract, from the waist down it would be fluffy… Oh yeah, I should layer several transparent cloths on top of each other and shape them like flower petals As for the color… it would have to be white after all It would help bring out the beauty of her violet eyes and golden hair Her hair would be done up in a sidetail and the ends curled lavishly… a pearl barrette would compliment her hair nicely)

To begin with she’s as beautiful as a fairy queen, so there’s plenty of worth in dressing her up The ie in Ludwik’s mind steadily becomes clearer and more detailed

Ahh, the queen truly is beautiful

I want to make her prettier and prettier I want to help her shi+ne as a woman

Halfway through, Ludwik becarossed in his work and h the colored pencil in use one after the other

At first, Princess Katerina frowned as though she felt ill at ease, but seeing Ludwik run myriad colored pencils across his sketchbook, her expression turned to that of curiosity as she glanced over here and there

“It’s complete”

Ludwik relaxes his shoulders and reveals his sketch of Queen Katerina wearing an elegant white dress, upon which

“How beautiful! It’s the spitting iht”

Adelheid lauded in a loud voice Queen Katerina’s cheeks flushed red as a look of entrancement surfaced on her violet eyes

(It seems she’s taken with the sketch)

As Ludwik unconsciously slackened his cheeks, his eyes met with hers, upon which she displayed a countenance of sudden realization She lowered her eyes and bit her tongue as if weakened, after which she abruptly pouted her lips and raised her eyebrows as she began to sketch Ludwik’s face with a fearsome force

(h I wonder what her sketch of me looks like…)

(I wonder how I look in her eyes Even if I don’t look like an Adonis to her, I’d be happy if she draws me with a pleasant face)

Curious, Ludwik casually rises slightly froainst the table as he leans forward and peeks at where Queen Katerina’s hands are

Upon which–

(T-this is supposed to be me!?)

What was drawn is a fiendish man with eyes slant to the point of caricature and hisbeast

“My face doesn’t look like that!”

It was so mean that Ludwik couldn’t help but protest, upon which Queen Katerina answered flatly,

“I only drehat I see”

You’re saying this is what you see? While absorbing the shock, Ludwik protests further

“My eyebrows aren’t so bushy, and aren’t the eyes too slanted? Besides, what’s with the fire co out of my mouth? And this head that’s twice the size of the bodythe human form, and this face is impossible for a human as well”

“Have you never looked in a mirror before? This is what your face looks like”

“I don’t spew fire from my mouth”

“The ugliness of your heart is embodied on your face”

“Are you sayingmonster?”

As the mood soured, Adelheid cut in

“Are Your Highnesses thirsty? I’ve prepared some tea expressly imported from the East, so please take a break and enjoy it”

Queen Katerina turned to the side in a huff

With an aard air between the two as usual, they pick up their respective tea cups and drink the tea Ludwik thought the taste is rather peculiar; it’s awfully sith a bitter aftertaste Queen Katerina is furrowing her eyebrows as well

“How is it?”

Adelheid asks in a nice and cool manner

“I-it has a very complex taste doesn’t it?”

“……”

“In that case, please drink some more”

Adelheid fills her cup a second time

Queen Katerina cringed her face as she drank three full cups of the tea Perhaps she doesn’t dislike the taste despite her expression after all?

(I can’t believe she can drink so this nasty–…)

As Ludwik gazed at Queen Katerina, her neck suddenly dropped violently to one side

She ins to sway again

She put her right hand to her forehead looking ill

On the other hand, Ludwik also began to feel soan to feel hazy as if lost in a mist

(What’s wrong with me My body feels hot suddenly)

Queen Katerina looks like she’s in pain, squeezing her eyebrows together and opening her htly Her expression appears quite erotic to Ludwik,his heart jump in alarm

(W-what is this! Why is seeing the queen suddenlymy heart flutter?)

Though he was sullen fro been drawn like the atrocious criminal in a wanted poster just before, to feel his heart pitter-patter for her like this now is abnormal

However, seeing Queen Katerina’s pant slightly while her white cheeks gradually redden into a blush, Ludwik feels his heart start to beat even more tempestuously

“Oh my, Madam What’s the matter?”

Adelheid asks, upon which Queen Katerina murmurs in a hoarse voice,

“Haree… Zlocia (I suddenly… feel ill)”

Perceiving sensuality in her frail voice, Ludwik feels even more and more flurried, upon which

“That’s not good Well then, Sire, please escort Madam to her room”

“Why don’t you call a maid? Besides, I also feel ill…”

The fuzziness in his chest and the dizziness in his head intensifies, along hich the queen also beca

“Is that so? Then before Sire feels any worse, Sire must escort Madam to her room as her husband”

Adelheid advises persistently

Ludwik felt ill enough that he didn’t have the energy to defy Adelheid, and also considering that Queen Katerina does seem to be in very bad shape, he stayed silent without co

“Well now, Sire”

Urged by Adelheid, Ludwik ended up taking Queen Katerina to her room

The distance from the courtyard terrace to Queen Katerina’s roo, if they don’t support each other they’ll end up falling over

“D…Don’t touch me, please”

“But if I don’t support you, you’ll collapse”

“I can walk by myself”

“Look at how you’re staggering”

“That’s you”

As the two repeat such exchanges, they arrive in front of her room

Though he received a perpetual ban fro her room,

“It’s an e”

He opens the door without waiting for a reply

Perhaps feeling too bothered to speak, Queen Katerina doesn’t say anything On the contrary, she’s grasping tightly onto Ludwik’s clothes and leaning against him

Just now, Ludwik incidentally realized that this was the first time he touched her body

The wedding kiss was anight consisted of the queen crying on the bed and Ludwik saying, “Don’t worry, I won’t do anything” and eagerly coue, after which he pulled the coazed at her face made wet by tears

Having a girl who until then had glared at hiile with her eyes closed, Ludwik felt his heart skip a beat and thought that he wanted to protect her He thought that when she wakes up, he ought to greet her, eat a warm breakfast with her, and discuss how they want their ether

Ludwik believed that things would definitely go well

Ludwik had experienced with his beautiful neife a wedding night that felt tranquil, yet awfully bittersweet and ticklish to the heart

Things didn’t go as expected though…

(I wonder if our relationshi+p would be different now if I had redone the wedding kiss properly and consu so”)

Ludwik thought about such things with his wavering mind

Ittightly onto his shi+rttail with her slender fingers, as a fragile girl who needs to be protected, just like that night

Ludwik tried to lower her into a sitting position on her bed, upon which

“Le…lera nois (I…I’m fine now)”

She brushed his hand aside with a red face; at that moment, her dainty feet stu their feet to entangle with one another as they collapsed onto the bed

“Wah!”

Ludwik’s hands thrust deeply into the coeese feather, and he breathed in her elegant and lightly sweet fragrance froht under his nose

Underneath his body, there is soly soft and delicate

Upon realizing that that soht on top of that sa her face partly covered by her frayed and disordered hair, Ludwik’s heart jumped so hard he felt like it would fly out of his mouth

(I-I have to get up quickly!)

Ludwik tries to get up, but his body refuses to listen

Ludwik feels his head becorance occupy both of his nostrils entirely He can’t help but want to continue e the feel of her hair that’s like silk thread, and breathing in her wonderful fragrance

(Now that I think about it, we’re a need couple, so there’s no need for et up)

Whether it’s her small face or her slender throat, all of her skin is frosted white and almost transparent Her lips are pink like flower petals, and her violet eyes are like a gem made of solidified drops of violet extract

Really, she’s a beautiful princess just like a dream

Ludwik slid his arhtly

Queen Katerina’s body quivered frailly Even her frightened gesture stirred his heart as well

She raised some sort of complaint in Endrish

“Sulaea dol”

Her voice was tiny and weak She’s probably flustered

–I’entle

Hishis already burning head flare in heat

“Nei”

Ludho hugged Queen Katerina tightly against him, felt his earlobes tickled by her ephemeral breaths

(Nei That ht…?)

–You can’t

“Nei, silberrida solyun daryu heito nei”

–No, you can’t It’s still daytime and you’re already– do stop Ahh, really, you caan’t

It’d be difficult for one to consider her feeble gestures, which consisted of clu her narrow shoulders and slender arht of which absolutely numbed Ludwik’s brain

The queen pushed back against Ludwik’s chest frailly and squeezed out,

“…Y-You’re… heavy”

in Dahl with a strained voice

In response, Ludwik finally raised his body up a little, upon which her face, dyed deeply red, appeared right beneath his line of sight

She looks up at Ludith her glistening violet eyes, and her s a kiss from her lover

Her sweetness caused his chest to tighten

(Is this really, that queen? Not someone else?)

Queen Katerina wouldn’t lare at Ludith a frosty gaze Yet, she’s looking up at Ludith co her body that’s touching him in innocence

“W-what do you plan to do…”

There was no sense of composure from her tone, and the way the last syllable of her sentence quivered is irresistibly sweet

Ludwik also muttered hoarsely,

“Really… I wonder what’s going on–”

What’s the matter with me?

To think I’d want to tightly embrace the queen and become one with her

“I deeply regret saying I wouldn’t do anything to you”

Ludwik muttered painfully, upon which the queen’s narrow shoulders and long golden eyelashes trely fanned the flames of desire as it became frailer and frailer

“I want to revoke that promise”