Custode opened his mouth wide and inhaled deeply, absorbing the mana of both combatants. In less than a few seconds, all traces of fire and ice vanished from the chamber.
“You people,” Custode said with a sigh, his voice reaching me telepathically.
Nearly everyone in the chamber regarded him with flabbergasted expressions. Not only were they seeing him for the first time, but he’d also inhaled an enormous amount of mana. Who could blame them for being surprised?
In any case, Custode addressed everyone in the chamber telepathically, “I came here because I sensed Ally’s fear,” he said, looking between Embert and Father. “What in the world are you two doing?”
Embert pointed a stern finger at Custode. “This is a battle between men. Why are you interfering?!”
Something about this scene feels oddly familiar.
“That’s right,” Father agreed. “You have no right to interfere, even if you are a divine beast.”
Custode heaved another deep sigh while looking at the men. “Did you two not understand what I just said? I came here because I sensed Ally’s fear. That would make this your fault, no? You were scared, weren’t you, Ally?”
Custode, Embert, Father, and pretty much everyone else looked my way. While I was sipping tea with the king and queen, no less.
“Um, yeah…” I mumbled. “I was, uh, really terrified.”
Wow, could I sound any less convincing? Honestly, I was scared, but the king offered me tea. What else was I supposed to do?
Custode heaved his third sigh while looking at me.
Ugh, sorry.
An awkward tension hung in the air because of me. Disregarding that, the king handed his tea to the prime minister and stood up. Then, he descended the platform and knelt before Custode.
“Please forgive our rudeness,” the king said. “My name is King Clovis Bartis of Gandolfin. It is a great honor to meet a divine beast such as yourself.”
When the king bowed his head, everyone else in the chamber knelt and bowed their heads as well. Even the queen. And Embert, who’d been pointing at Custode moments ago. I was the only person remaining on her feet. As I began to fall to my knees, Custode interrupted me.
“There’s no need for you to kneel, Ally.” After looking around the chamber, he continued, “Raise your heads, everyone. I don’t require such formality. Allow me to address you first, Duke Vistriano. As you said, Prince Embert is indeed wicked. He’s cunning, harbors intense jealousy, and often frightens Ally. Even so, his feelings for her are genuine. Would you please allow their relationship in deference to me?”
Father clenched his jaw while listening in silence. Despite Custode’s words, he still struggled to acknowledge our relationship. Looking at Father caused my chest to tighten again.
Ember smiled sinisterly. “You have some nerve, Custode, badmouthing me within earshot,” he muttered.
“Ally is precious to me as well,” Custode said, ignoring Embert. “As such, I will stay by her side. If Embert ever makes her cry, I’ll burn him to a crisp in your stead, Duke Vistriano. How does that sound?”
After meeting each other’s eyes, Father and Custode exchanged conspiratorial grins.
“In that case, I’ll acknowledge their engagement in deference to you, Divine Beast,” Father said. “When you burn the prince alive, make sure only his bones remain.”
“Of course,” Custode replied.
Thus, Father and Custode exchanged a firm handshake.
And so, the demon lord joined forces with a divine beast. I’m not the only one who realizes how terrifying that combo is, right?
The queen tittered as she returned to her throne. “It sounds like you’ll need to be on constant alert for dragon fire, Embert.”
“I’m so sorry about this,” I apologized.
The queen shook her head and placed a hand on my shoulder. “It’s not your fault, Lady Alexandra. Oh, may I call you Ally from now on? I’m looking forward to us being a family.”
Somehow or another, I’d received an incredibly warm welcome. After becoming friends with Lauris as a child, I visited the castle almost daily. As a result, I’d met the king and queen numerous times before this. While they’d been kind to me since childhood, I still hadn’t expected such a warm welcome into their family.
“Thank you very much,” I said. “I’m looking forward to us being a family as well, Your Majesty.”
“No, no, you’ve got it all wrong,” the queen replied.
As I panicked, wondering what mistake I’d made, the queen grinned at me. “There’s no need to speak to me so formally. You’re practically my daughter now. Talk to me like you would your own mother.”
As I recalled, the king had said something similar during our first meeting. “Okay,” I answered with a smile, joy and nostalgia enveloping me.
As the queen and I smiled at each other, the king returned to the platform and turned to face everyone.
“Now then,” he proclaimed in a booming voice. “I hereby acknowledge the betrothal of Crown Prince Embert Bartis of Gandolfin and Lady Alexandra Vistriano.”
Embert squeezed me around my shoulders, having ascended the platform with the king. Once again, an unsettling chill radiated from Father, who stood at the foot of the small staircase.
“May we be forever happy,” Embert said while looking down at Father with a charming smile.
Then, he kissed me. A moment later, a series of terrifying booms echoed throughout the chamber. A number of ice pillars had shot up around Father.
“Would anyone care if I slugged him just once?” he asked in a voice like rumbling earth.
Embert countered Father’s extreme disrespect with a sinister smile. “Heh,” he chuckled. “You think I would let you hit me just because you asked?”
As the proverbial gong rang again, Custode sighed for the umpteenth time. “I can’t take another minute of this.”
A moment later, he teleported me back to my room.
“Welcome back,” Mary greeted me, unable to hide her surprise.
Apparently, she’d been cleaning my room.
✦ ✦ ✦
🦊 🦊 🦊
LATER, Custode and I moved to the living room, where we lounged over a cup of tea.
“I’m exhausted,” I complained with a sigh.
Mother returned about an hour later. According to her, Janus intervened when Embert and Father seemed liable to start fighting again. Fortunately, his threats had brought the confrontation to an end.
“Ally fled the castle because of you two,” Janus had said. “At this rate, she might even run away from home with Custode.”
Janus’s grin had been terrifying enough to shut both of them up. Afterward, the battle ended abruptly when Embert and Father noticed my absence.
Mother laughed as she recounted the tale. “I wonder if Janus is still lecturing them now,” she said while joining our tea party.
Janus lecturing the prince and our father, huh? He really is incredible. I can’t imagine having a more amazing brother.
An hour later, Janus returned with a proposition.
“Why don’t we hide in the Vistriano territory for a while?” he asked. “I’m about to go on holiday too. Besides, His Majesty will keep Embert and Father busy with work for the next few days.”
We took him up on the idea.
✦ ✦ ✦
🦊 🦊 🦊
NOT long after we arrived at our country estate, I received a letter. The senders were Princess Julietta and Lauris. In short, they were inviting me to visit them in Julietta’s home country—the neighboring Kingdom of Bragioga.
Julietta had returned to Bragioga at the start of summer break. Shortly thereafter, Lauris followed Julietta there to meet her parents, the king and queen.
“Fortunately, they acknowledged our engagement without any trouble,” Lauris had written. “I’ve decided to stay here with Julietta until the end of Bragioga’s Founding Festival. Why don’t you and all our other friends come join us?”
“That sounds great,” Mother said, giving me permission readily. “Have fun over there. The capital will be bustling with festivities over the next few days.”
“This year’s Founding Festival will include a sword fighting tournament,” Janus added. “It’ll be even more exciting than usual.”
“A sword fighting tournament?” I repeated.
“That’s right. Every three years, fierce warriors from across Bragioga gather to compete for victory. Royal families from nearby kingdoms are invited to watch the tournament as well. It’s definitely worth experiencing. Even Prince Embert will attend as an honored guest.”
“Oh, I see. Will you be going too, Janus?” I asked.
My brother nodded. “Of course.”
Wow. That does sound like a lot of fun.
“Do you want to go too, Custode?” I asked.
The miniature dragon was enjoying a cupcake in my lap. “Bragioga, eh?” he responded while holding the pastry in his tiny hands. “I haven’t touched down in a neighboring country in a long time. It might be nice.”
“Have you been there before?”
“Indeed. It must have been several hundred years ago. I alighted there because I was thirsty.”
Just for a drink of water, huh? Still, this works out perfectly.
“All right then, let’s go,” I said.
And so, we came to a swift decision to visit Bragioga.