He reached into his chest pocket and took out another pair of gloves with a different hue before fitting them onto his hands.
“We’re matching,” he said with a mischievous smirk. He showed off the same crests embroidered in his own gloves. Jill felt her chest grow warm and fuzzy. “Come on,” Hadis murmured gently.
And so, Jill paid extra attention to her surroundings—Millay in particular—and kissed her husband’s wrist. She couldn’t hide her embarrassment, and her face turned a shade of bright red as she restlessly fidgeted. Hadis smiled broadly. Y-You always act like an adult during times like these! She pinched her husband’s cheeks in an effort to hide her emotions. And then her knights, tasked with guarding her, announced that they were ready to leave. Hadis stood, rubbing his sore cheeks.
“I guess it’s time for you to go,” Hadis said.
“You sound awfully obedient this time around, Your Majesty,” Jill replied.
Jill would leave Hadis behind in the imperial capital and head to the Lehrsatz duchy. The new Kratos queen, Faris, was waiting to hold a meeting with the Dragon Consort. To allow the vessel of the Goddess to meet with the Dragon Emperor, the man she pursued, would be like placing prey in front of a predator. So, Jill was determined to leave her husband behind, but Hadis had a questionable track record of doing as he pleased.
“Are you sure that you aren’t planning anything?” Jill asked. “Now’s your chance to confess.”
“Nope, I’m not planning anything at all,” Hadis replied.
“Are you sure? While I’m gone, you can’t—”
“I can’t use you as bait without permission, I can’t rush into enemy lines, I won’t change occupations, I won’t test you, and I won’t ingest poison. I know.”
“I-If you say so…”
“Then how about this?” He scooped Jill up to share the same line of sight and touched the tip of his nose to hers. “If I can stay here and be good until you return, will you invite me to your tea party?” Hadis asked.
“Huh?” Jill replied.
He frowned. “In preparation for the meeting, you’ve been practicing having tea parties by inviting Frida, Natalie, and even Lutiya. Yet, not once have I received an invite. It’s not fair at all.”
Jill had good reason for that—she wanted to be perfect before she invited Hadis to a tea party. In fact, she was even treating the meeting with Faris as a practice run for tea with Hadis. But before the Dragon Consort could offer an excuse, she clung to her husband. She knew he’d pout even more if she dared to call him “cute,” and the corners of her mouth tugged upward as she promised him.
“All right,” Jill said. “I shall invite you to a splendid tea party, Your Majesty! So I ask that you please prepare plenty of snacks for me!”
“Hmm… This doesn’t feel any different from our usual spots of tea…” Hadis muttered.
“But if you’re naughty, I’ll have to punish you!” She gently knocked her forehead against his and intently glared when Hadis cracked a forced smile.
“I know,” he said. “You’ll be punished if you’re naughty too.”
“I don’t mind that. Unlike you, I’m always very good!”
“You think so? I find you unexpectedly quite naughty.”
As Jill tilted her head to one side quizzically, Hadis gave her a quick peck on the cheek.
“I wish you safe travels, my bride,” Hadis said. He lowered his voice to the faintest of whispers. “Come back soon.”
His breath tickled Jill’s earlobe, and she was reaching her limit, but Jill mustered the last of her courage to kiss Hadis back on his cheek and squeeze him into a tight embrace.
“I’m off, Your Majesty,” she said. “Stay behind and be good, okay?”
Jill stepped away from Hadis and climbed atop Meine’s saddle. She whirled around to warn Hadis one last time, and the emperor stepped back as the dragon outstretched its crimson wings.
“Listen to everyone, okay?” Jill called. “I’ll bring home souvenirs!”
“Got it,” Hadis replied.
“Oh, and you have to eat, okay? Make sure to take hearty meals, keep yourself warm, and don’t catch a cold!”
Jill wondered if she sounded too anxious, but in her haste, she couldn’t say much more. All the while, the ground below her grew farther away, and Hadis, who looked up at her, grew smaller and smaller by the second. She could see Millay standing behind the Dragon Emperor.
“And no cheating! I’ll hang you upside down if you attempt it!” Jill shouted.
“The same could be said for you,” Hadis replied. “I’m a very jealous man.”
Just as he flashed a mischievous smirk, the crimson dragon flew high into the sky. Jill could barely make out her husband waving at her, and the Dragon Consort’s Palace quickly turned into a tiny dot. The Knights of the Dragon Consort took formation around the Dragon Consort.
“Oh, Your Majesty…” Jill mumbled.
She was headed for a meeting with Kratos. First and foremost, she had to handle the murder of the previous emperor, Meruonis, and the disappearance of Gerald, the crown prince of Kratos. This was an excellent opportunity to have the Kratos Kingdom indebted to the Rave Empire, but this also implied how important this meeting was. It would decide the fate of the two nations. And yet, how imprudent it is for His Majesty to worry about me having a potential affair. Not that I’m one to talk, though. Jill gazed down at her gloves and spotted the small, embroidered crests.
The insignias of the Dragon Emperor and the Dragon Consort were lined up next to each other in harmony, and the emperor had a matching set of gloves. It wasn’t a stretch to assume that Hadis had wanted to imply that he was always with Jill. The Dragon Consort couldn’t help but smile before she soon shook her head to face forward. Her destination was beyond the horizon, where the carpet of lush verdure touched the azure skies—Lehrsatz, the city of trade.