I called for Lady Fillia, who’d been waiting in a nearby room, allowed her to meet with Silverio, and sent her home.
I asked Silverio a few questions of my own after that before making him return to King Glenreed’s body. As he disappeared, the king’s eyelids opened again.
“Mm, Laetitia… Did Silverio do anything to you?” His Majesty stared at me with such concern as he awoke.
“No, I’m all right. It seems my soul really has stabilized.”
Silverio had only tried to kill me in the past because he found out I possessed past life memories. He feared my soul becoming unstable, my ego collapsing, and that I would cause a disaster with the fallout.
After everything that happened, I was sent to the Shore of the Stars—a place not of this world—but my soul came back stable…at least, that was what I was told. Big Brother Claude explained that King Glenreed connected my soul to this world and stabilized it when he called my past life nickname.
“I asked Silverio just to be safe, but he said my soul isn’t going to be a problem now,” I said.
“I see…” He let out a sigh of relief. My chest tightened, both with happiness and guilt. He was just so worried about me. “I’m so relieved. I don’t know what I might have done if I thought I was going to lose you.”
“Your Majesty…”
He placed his hand on my cheek, touching me gently like I was made of glass. The king’s fingers stroked my skin lovingly, like he wanted to make sure I was really there. The warmth of his body ran through me, landing in my heart and making it feel so hot.
“…I love you.” I took King Glenreed’s hand and confessed my feelings.
Was it my cheek or hand that was so warm? Or was it His Majesty’s fingertips?
I didn’t know—I was losing my grip on things—but I opened my mouth in a desperate attempt to have my feelings conveyed.
“I love you, Your Majesty. As a king, as a person…and as a man. I’ve fallen in love with you completely.” My voice trembled and my eyes lowered to the floor.
I said it.
I really said it.
I knew my face must be bright red. Embarrassed, I let my head hang so I wouldn’t have to look him in the eyes. My feelings for King Glenreed, my love for him, it was like I couldn’t contain any of it inside me anymore.
I’d never even noticed this great love inside of me.
I was such a coward to feign ignorance like that, telling myself I was nothing more than a temporary, figurehead queen all this time.
But the love I felt never faded, and now, I’d put it into words.
“…!”
With my eyes fixed solely on the ground, I saw King Glenreed’s shoes take a step toward me.
Suddenly, I felt his arms around me. I was pulled into his embrace.
“I love you too.”
Those sweet words of love grazed my ear.
Our hearts and bodies became one. I was so warm and red, I thought I might melt there on the spot
“I love you too. Laetitia, I love you so much…it’s like I can’t even imagine losing you. I don’t want anyone else to have you.”
“Your Majesty…”
I was so happy, I felt like I might faint.
Every cell in my body was practically coming to a boil.
This wasn’t like His Majesty. I’d never heard him speak this way before. But in a different way, his blunt confession of love did remind me of the sincere king I knew.
I leaned my weightless body against King Glenreed’s chest, feeling embarrassed.
“I won’t have any other queen but you. I promise that you’ll be the only one I love for the rest of my life.”
Then he took my right hand in his and lifted it up.
I watched as King Glenreed placed a soft kiss on the back of my hand.
His silky, silver hair tickled my skin. I could feel his warm breath.
“So Laetitia, I ask of you, won’t you be my one and only queen?”
“…Of course.” I nodded, barely able to comprehend the joy I felt.
King Glenreed had both confessed his love and proposed to me.
This decision would dictate the remainder of my life.
I put my feelings into words without an ounce of hesitation, surrendering myself to the happiness that permeated everything inside of me.
“I’m happy. I’m so happy, I can’t even imagine what I must look like right now.”
“Ah, you have the most adorable look on your face. It’s hard not to kiss you.”
“……”
I felt my cheeks grow hot and I fell silent again.
His Majesty is so amazing. Where did that icy face from when I first met him go?
Perhaps, when he discovered we felt the same way about each other, he was the kind of person who wanted to shower me with his love in every possible way, both through words and actions.
Was my heart really going to survive from here on out…?
I battled my racing heart as I stepped away from King Glenreed.
Unfortunately—or perhaps fortunately, since my heart wasn’t ready for it—customs in this country dictated that kisses on the lips weren’t allowed until our wedding, when I’d become the official queen.
“…How utterly disappointing.” King Glenreed grimaced, seeming to remember the custom for himself.
That face. It’s just like…
He looked like Lord Aroo did when someone took his favorite foods away from him. I felt a smile spread across my face.
✦ ✦ ✦
EVERYTHING went smoothly after His Majesty’s proposal, and that positive momentum carried through to the wedding.
It was all thanks to my soul’s stability. I’d been unable to think about becoming the official queen because I was so worried about what might happen with my soul.
Opinions of me throughout Wolfvarte were favorable, and none of the four candidates for queen openly opposed our marriage either.
Lady Kate and Late Natalie came to congratulate me, presenting me with gifts of delicious sweets for our tea parties. Lady I-Liena sent me a congratulatory gift too. Then there was Fifu and Fos, the two-tailed foxes.
“Congratulations! Now that you’re staying in this country, it means we can play together forever!”
Then they jumped on me in a fluffy attack. I didn’t know if their words or their cuddles made me happier.
“…Even Lady Fillia accepted me as the official queen.”
Night had fallen after our wedding ceremony was over.
I was relaxing in my bedroom, exhausted in a way that wasn’t particularly uncomfortable.
Lady Fillia’s goal in becoming the queen was to see Silverio one more time.
That day that they reunited and exchanged words, Lady Fillia kept a beautiful smile on her face from beginning to end, never letting her composure falter.
I knew that could only be because of Lady Fillia’s stubbornness—her pride.
She was showing how she’d grown up to be an educated, polite young lady who never let her elegant smile drop for a second. She wanted Silverio to see her that way.
I pretended not to see her face falling just before she left the room.
Lady Fillia had reunited with the man she thought she’d never meet again. He was, in all likelihood, her first love. It seemed to have changed the feelings in her heart, as she gave up on becoming the next queen and began to fully support me instead.
…Although, it’s possible that was just an act, and she’s still vigilantly waiting for an opportunity to become the official queen.
There was value in Lady Fillia’s adept, yet audacious conduct. The two of us were also connected through the honey-harvesting crest tool I was providing to her family. I still hadn’t forgiven her for setting me up and for disturbing the Gardener Cats, but she was someone I would still have to be around, forgiveness or not.
“I’m going to be the official queen, after all. These sorts of relationships are only going to become more common…”
Saying it out loud reminded me of the weight and responsibility my title carried.
Becoming the official queen was not the goal, but the starting line. I still had a long road to walk over the course of my life.
We were going to reveal the existence of the Wing Chord to the people, work out countermeasures against Emperor Ishnad, grow our industries throughout the country, and develop laws and financial matters that would make it easier for humans and beastfolk to coexist…
There was still a mountain of difficult issues to resolve. Not only that, but I didn’t want to neglect the fun things either—cooking, playing with my fluffy friends, and spending time with King Glenreed.
“…I wonder if King Glenreed will be here soon.” I yawned, battling my intense drowsiness, and leaned back against the sofa.
Now that the wedding was finished and I was the official queen, King Glenreed and I planned to share a bedroom. I’d been waiting for him in anticipation and suspense, but he never arrived. Perhaps directing the wedding’s cleanup had taken a lot longer than I thought it would.
“…I’m sleepy…”
I’d been so busy recently with preparations for the wedding.
All of the fatigue I’d accumulated weighed on my eyelids, and before long, I’d sunken into the world of slumber.