The next day, the unthinkable happened.
The sun hadn’t yet risen when my mother-in-law flew into my room in a panic.
“Miss Francette, please wake up!”
“M-Mother? What’s the matter?”
“Well...”
She informed me that my sister’s husband—the imperial crown prince—had flown to Triste, alone, on a dragon. In her words, it was less that he was visiting and more that he had barged in. He seemed to be livid that my sister had been kidnapped. He was demanding that the culprits—Emilie’s uncle and cousin—be handed over to the Empire, and Gabriel and Prince Axel were trying very hard to placate him.
“I-I’ll wake my sister and mother!” I exclaimed.
Wibble, who had woken up from the commotion, hopped onto my shoulder. I didn’t have time to worry about my appearance. Still in my nightclothes, I rushed to the guest bedroom where my mother and sister were staying.
“Mother, Adele, we have an emergency! Adele’s husband has come here on his own!”
My sister sprang up from her bed. “Francette, do my ears deceive me?”
“It seems that he came on a dragon.”
“Oh my goodness...”
My mother was still sleeping soundly. I tried several times to wake her up, but her eyes refused to open. I called for my sister’s attendant and asked her to prepare my sister’s clothes and wake my mother. I, too, would have to change into a proper dress. I prayed that Gabriel and Prince Axel would be able to stall for a while longer.
Thirty minutes later, I hurried to the garden with my sister. The sun was already peeking over the horizon, casting a growing light over the surroundings. The last I’d heard, the imperial prince was still on his dragon, demanding that we hand over the kidnappers and bring my sister to him.
When we finally arrived, we found a crimson dragon rearing forwards, its fangs bared. On its back was a well-built young man with red hair. Facing them was Prince Axel, also atop his dragon, desperately trying to calm the imperial prince. Gabriel stood between the two dragons, doing his best to defuse the situation.
As I was wondering what to say, my sister yelled, “Mochiko, sit!”
The red dragon immediately lowered its body and sat down as instructed.
“M-Mochiko?” I repeated.
“That’s the dragon’s name,” my sister explained.
Setting the name aside—since it really didn’t matter—I watched as the imperial prince spotted my sister and leaped off his steed.
“Adele!” he shouted, running in our direction. He closed the significant distance between us and the dragon in no time at all.
“Why are you here, Your Highness?” my sister asked.
“I couldn’t stay put when I heard that you’d been kidnapped.”
He must have flown here without informing anyone. Upon closer inspection, his face was pale, and his bloodshot eyes were underscored with dark circles. He’d likely been unable to sleep and had rushed here.
I can’t believe he went to such lengths for my sister. He loves her more than I thought.
Just as I was wondering if my sister would be moved to tears, a loud smack echoed into the morning sky. Shockingly, my sister had delivered a powerful slap to her husband’s cheek.
“A-Adele?” the imperial prince stammered.
“Why would you do something so irresponsible?!” my sister shouted, her voice seeming to make the air tremble.
The imperial prince’s eyes widened.
Without missing a beat, my sister pointed her finger at him and continued, “I’m sure you came here without telling anyone, letting your emotions get the better of you, didn’t you?”
“Y-Yes, I did, in fact.”
“Because of your selfishness, the palace must be in a state of chaos right about now! Did I not send you a letter saying that I was fine? Why didn’t you wait for me to return to the Empire?!”
“Uh, well...”
“Your sudden arrival is causing problems for the slime duke’s household as well!”
“But—”
“I cannot believe that you woke Prince Axel and the slime duke up so early in the morning!”
The imperial prince’s gaze darted around before settling on me. For some reason, there was a pleading look in his eyes. Why was he asking for help from someone he didn’t know?
As it turned out, he wasn’t the only one who wanted me to do something about the situation. Standing behind him, Gabriel and Prince Axel were directing the same expression towards me.
My sister was furious in a way I hadn’t seen before. I didn’t know if I could stop her.
She continued to hurl criticisms at her husband, her anger showing no sign of subsiding. The almighty imperial crown prince now looked like a puppy being scolded for misbehaving. I was starting to feel bad for him, so I tried to placate my sister.
“Adele, he seems to be sorry for what he did, so why don’t we leave it at that?” I asked, squeezing her arm.
“I suppose you’re right,” she replied plainly. Perhaps she had been so enraged that she simply hadn’t known when to stop. She took her husband’s arm and said to Prince Axel and Gabriel, “It appears that His Highness has caused you a great deal of trouble this morning. Please allow us to issue a formal apology later.”
Prince Axel and Gabriel insisted that an apology wouldn’t be necessary, but my sister left no room for argument. Meanwhile, the imperial crown prince had become docile, his previous aggression completely gone. It was as if his soul had left his body.
I was relieved that the situation had been resolved without incident.