Volume 9 Chapter 6 (2/2)
“If it's you, I grant you the privilege to come to this room at any time you want, Louise Isn't that natural? You are my friend”
Louise surveyed the roo
“Everything here has really been sold, huh?”
She said in a lonesome voice
“Yeah, that's right For the duties of a queen, a place to sleep and a desk are enough”
She said that, but the bed was left behind because of the Finance Minister's insistence that “he would oppose her sleeping on the floor, as expected”
Louise realized the absence of the glittering ”Ruby of Wind” on Henrietta's finger, and her eyes bulged
“Princess, what happened to the Ruby of Wind?”
“Ah, I sold it”
“What!”
“Because when I look at it, I recall things Because of the feelings in the ring, I was spurred to go into a war Consequently, now that the war has ended, I released”
“What do you mean!?”
Louise let out a shocked voice
“What's the matter? Louise”
“That ring is a ring necessary for the 'Bearer of Void'”
“What do you mean?”
“Once I insert the ring, I become able to read the Founder's Prayer Book”
“Aren't you the only one who could do that?”
While saying those words, Henrietta paled
“Recently, didn't you receive a notice? At Albion, ere attacked by a 'familiar of Void,' and we met another 'Bearer of Void' There is a possibility that other 'Bearers of Void' exist And that person is unlikely to have a pure heart If the ring falls into the hands of those who have a reason to use the power of Void”
Henrietta was distraught
“Aa, what should I do! If it's me!”
“Do you knoho you gave it to?”
The one to which it was given to was Finance Minister De Muri Henrietta quickly summoned him
“Did you call me, Your Majesty?”
It see unusual about Henrietta's expression It was an anxious voice
“Finance Minister, the ring I gave to you”
The Finance Minister grinned
“Is it that ring? The memento of the Albion royal family, 'Ruby of Wind?'”
“That's it! The one I commanded you to sell, the 'Ruby of Wind' I handed to you Do you remember who you sold it to?”
The Finance Minister produced a small box from his breast pocket
“Is it this?”
The thing which appeared from the small box was the Ruby of Wind, as expected
“When Your Majesty handed this to me, Your Majesty's face was not normal Because of that, I held onto it At any rate, I wanted to return this to your majesty for some time”
“Aah, you are a splendid person, Minister De Muri”
“No Because it is so filled withThis is just like a part of the body”
Leaving those words, the Finance Minister withdrew
Henrietta gazed at the Ruby of Wind which had returned to her hand once again From those eyes, a tear drop trailed down her cheek This tear seemed to come suddenly of its own accord, Henrietta still had a dazed expression
After realizing that she was overfloith tears, Henrietta hid her face with both her hands
“What am I Only after my tears fell did I realize that I was relieved”
Louise's face became serious, and placed her hand at Henrietta's shoulder
“Princess-sa tired Why don't you take a day off and rest?”
“Thank you The one ould call me to 'rest' is only you But, I cannot do that If I were to rest for a day, it is just as if some part of the country has stopped”
Henrietta said, while patting Louise's hair
“You make me envious, Louise”
”What is yourabout? Princess-sa that I don't?”
”I believe thatactually not having anything isThat's what I really feel, when I look at this ring”
Henrietta gazed at the 'Wind Ruby' in her hand and said For a short while, she gazed at it
“I haven't listened to the reason you came here for”
Louise looked hesitatingly as if it beca a resolute expression
“Um It's about Saito”
Henrietta, as taken aback for a moment, returned to normal immediately
“Even today, I have borrowed hiallant ratitude”
“It is about that gratitude To receive Saito alone, sending the Varsenda vessel; conferring the rank of 'Chevalier' giving the instructions for a servant for hi him to kiss your hand in the middle of the city”
“Although this ht not be appropriate as a treatment to ahim like that, do you have any other ulterior motives? This is what I am suspicious of”
“For example?”
“Using hierous duties”
Dumbfounded, Henrietta stared at Louise
“I? Using hi! He is your valuable faht? Even if he becoe The valuable person of you who is valuable to s”
“If that's the case, then it's fine, but”
Henrietta hugged Louise tightly
“As I thought, you are a gentle child, right? Sareat person, to me and the country Yeah, he had displayed unparalleled loyalty As a queen, I should reward this loyalty”
“But, Saito is someone from a different world Soood thing granting such an important task to such a person?”
“That is so he had decided, Louise To me, he is a necessary errr, oh yeah, a necessary person Because of that, I had done what I could Even if he had accepted them, he has the freedom to repudiate theht, I had already said that”
Louise nodded During the cereht, he didn't swear allegiance to Henrietta and the ht if those words were the case At any rate, Saito was not an ordinary knight
Anyway, if he won't be going through anything dangerous, she had no objections any more Louise bowed her head quickly, and withdrew
“Aren't you returning together with Saito-dono? Now, he ht possibly still be in the courtyard”
Louise shook her head
“No because I didn't tell hi So, I return alone as well”
“I see Take care When you are free, coain”
With a respectful bow, Louise withdrew
When Henrietta sat down on her chair, she lifted her hand Gazing at the Ruby of Wind at the center of her pal queen murmured,
“Go love soht that I would not love anyone ever again But”
Mixed with sighs, Henrietta muttered,
“Whether this is love or not, I don't know Just that, sometimes when I think of this, in my chest, a little fire is lit up”
Someone knocked on the door
“Who is it?”
“It is me”
It was the voice of the secretary who ed Henrietta's schedule ”Please enter,” she prompted A lady in her thirties with her hair tied into a bun and glasses on her face entered the room
“I would like to have the privilege of confir your majesty's plans for the next teeks”
“Please”
The secretary read out the plans one by one The worst ones were back to back plans Not being able to catch my breath, surely I would be like that One of these days,time would be scraped off as well, she muttered in her heart
“Well then, on Freya's Day of the first week, there is a diningwith the ambassador of Romalia On this occasion, please put on the Romalian fore your clothes”
“Yes”
Henrietta heaved a sigh, restrained her feelings, and as if she was not feeling even the tiniest speck of fatigue, answered
“For the next day, the Day of Void what do you plan to do?”
The secretary lifted up her spectacles, displaying a worried gesture
“What do you mean, 'What do you plan to do?'”
“Umm The plan is to attend the Ball of Sleipnir should we cancel it?”
“Is it okay?”
Henrietta asked, in a tone as if feeling relieved A resting day was old,
“Yes Because it is just the welcoic Mr Osman, who had invited your majesty to this ball, probably has confused this school activity with that of nation's activity”
A ball in the Acadeic
Moreover, the Ball of Sleipnir was not an ordinary ball Participants would uise by means of a mask and costumes
Henrietta lifted her face
“I will attend Please plan accordingly”
“If Your Majesty could attend it, certainly everyone would be happy but if you take the day off as rest-”
The secretary, who knew above anyone else how heavy Henrietta's as, said in a seely worried expression
“The Acadeeneration of nobles who carry the future of the country is educated For those freshe them as well”
She said this, and the secretary did not have any disagreements after that
”The arrangements will be made”
With those words, she withdrew
Henrietta sat on her chair once again, lifting up her hand She touched her reddened cheek with her hand, and bit her fingernails
Translator's Notes and References[]
The japanese word for this is seihin ?? whichin poverty for the sake of one's pure conduct, not for one's self-interest'
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