Sakaki scratched his cheek. “Yeah, basically. So, Your Imperial Majesty, you’ve had your tearful reunion now. We should get back to the signing ceremony.”
“I’m not done here. Let’s go, Sere.” Gillain picked me up.
“W-Wait? Why? The ceremony? That has nothing to do with me!”
“I heard from Sakaki that there are some people making passes at you. I’ll make it known that you’re mine.”
“Huh? That’s so embarrassing! I don’t want to go!”
“Give it up, Sere,” echoed a voice in my head. “He’ll treat you well.”
“Asu!”
When did you get here?!
“Hmm...” grumbled Lou.
“Lou?! Oh, come on, let me down already!”
I struggled with all my might, but Gillain descended the staircase after Sakaki, as if he were dealing with nothing more than a light breeze. I’m supposed to be an A-ranker... Sniffle.
“Fio!”
“Fio?!”
The people in the guild and cafeteria were abuzz when they saw me in the arms of an apparently strong man who had shown up out of nowhere. Gillain kissed me on the cheek as if to show off.
“Eeeeee!” screamed multiple people. Including me. Ah... Zero hit points...
Gillain got on his black horse, still holding me, and covered me with his black cape on his lap. I was taken off to the old castle while still in a daze.
“Your Imperial Majesty, Lady Serephione, I never thought I would see two holy beasts at once with my very own eyes...” Tabuchi knelt before Lou and Asu and hung his head, dripping an impressive amount of sweat.
“I suppose this is our first time meeting. We don’t have much time, Prime Minister. Let’s begin at once.”
“Yes.”
Gillain tried to take me to the podium where the signing would be held while I was still in my pajamas. I managed to drag myself away and made it to a corner of the room, peering around to make sure I wasn’t in his line of sight.
Lou and Asu stayed by my side. They were giving off immense magical energy too! They usually hid their presences, so why?!
As I sat in the corner, awash in a powerful aura with Prime Minister Tabuchi kneeling in my direction, I felt like a ghost haunting the building. It hurt being looked at by everyone in the room like I was suspicious.
Oh, I understand... There are a lot of political influences from different countries at the historical signing ceremony of Marsche and Galé. They’re protecting me so nobody with sinister motives approaches me.
“Thank you, Lou, Asu.”
The signing ceremony proceeded solemnly. The content of the agreement was that Marsche would become a full vassal state of Galé. Tens of billions of gold in financial aid, interest-free loans for an indefinite period of time, the elimination of tariffs between the two countries, the development of resources in Marsche, and free passage... Wait, what?
“Is that...to come get me?”
“Yeah, he wanted to be able to come into the country without it looking unnatural. Now it’ll be treated the same as traveling within the nation.”
That’s so heavy!
“He bought a whole country for you, Sere,” Lou teased.
“Yes, it took a lot of effort,” Asu explained. “It came down to Gillain’s heavy lifting in the end.”
“He must really love you!”
“Don’t let it get to you, Sere,” Asu reassured me. “It does have upsides for Galé.”
He took a foreign country as a vassal just to pick me up... Maybe I really am loved?
Applause rang through the building. I looked up to see Gillain and Tabuchi shaking hands. Th-This is a win-win in the end, right? That’s good... No, don’t come straight for me!
Gillain stopped in front of me, took my hand, and kissed the back of it. I activated my long-neglected skill as the daughter of a count and smiled gracefully.
“Thank you for protecting my beloved fiancée, Tabuchi.”
The crowd went wild hearing what Gillain said!
“Oh, no, I enjoyed spending time with your lovely Serephione,” Tabuchi said, as if I weren’t right there. Wait, why are you revealing my name?!
Gillain put his arms around my shoulders and kissed my temple. “This is the perfect time for an introduction. Everybody, this is my beloved Serephione Granzeus, daughter of Count Granzeus. Serephione was attacked by bandits in her home country of Judore due to her exceptional qualities, and she has been in hiding under the protection of Prime Minister Tabuchi. We are finally ready to welcome her in Galé. Could I ask for your blessing on our engagement and eternal love?” Gillain glared intimidatingly into the audience.
“Congratulations on your engagement, Emperor Gillain and Lady Serephione!”
“Congratulations!”
“Hooray for engagements!”
“Hooray!” everyone cheered.
Gillain smiled as wide as he could and raised the hand that wasn’t around me to the audience.
“Asu...I’m completely lost. What’s going on?”
“Your time in hiding is over now. The time is right, Sere. You’re going public.”
I wish someone would have told me this before the fact...
“Sere! Hey! Come back to earth!”
Gillain held me tight around the waist so that I couldn’t get away, so I gave my best countess smile to the big shots who looked at us.
“Your fiancée is very lovely, Your Imperial Majesty, but...I can’t help but notice how terribly young she is.”
Well said, Adversary A! Yes, we have a ten-year age gap!
“Thank you for your concern,” responded Gillain. “It is true that Serephione is young, but she is not at all frivolous, since her life has been threatened many times. I feel sad for her. I won’t let anyone hurt ever again, though.” His eyes glinted. The first hero left the scene.
“Congratulations on your engagement! However, given that you are an emperor, in terms of status, don’t you think the daughter of a foreign count... I mean, having a lovely girl at your side is one thing, but our nation needs a queen who can maintain order.” He looked me up and down in evaluation.
Oh, well said, Adversary B! You’re right, an emperor should marry a princess, or the daughter of a marquis at the very least. Definitely not a house ghost in pajamas!
“Thank you for your concern. It’s true that Serephione is the daughter of a count, but I don’t consider status to be an issue. Her maternal grandmother happens to be a Trundle. The family is very well-educated and has garnered respect worldwide. I don’t suppose you’ve heard of them?”
“The war gods of Judore...!”
Why not the gods of wisdom or something? The second hero left the scene.
“Congratulations, Your Imperial Majesty. However, she seems like such a delicate young lady... Will she do well as the empress of Galé? Will she be able to hold the nation together if you go out into battle?”
Well said, Adversary C. Of course the people won’t support a random girl from another country!
“Thank you for your concern. My Serephione is powerless, as you can see, but that just means I will have to pay all the more attention to internal affairs when I am absent. Do you think I will let Galé have a weak point? I don’t intend to have my subjects pay deference to Serephione in the first place. She’s mine alone.”
The last hero left the scene. Now that he was done being publicly shamed, Gillain left to go see Tabuchi. I was finally able to take a breath and go out to the balcony with something to drink. Lou and Asu came with me.
“Asu, care to explain?” I asked.
“You must have gotten most of the idea by now,” he responded. “With the protection that comes with being Gillain’s fiancée, you’re safe to present to the world as yourself. To attack you would be to attack Gillain and Galé. As long as you’re with Gillain, you have no need to hide. You can contact the Granzeuses too. I don’t think you should go back to Judore just yet, though.”
“I wonder what Schneider will do when word of this reaches Judore. Maybe he’ll send an assassin to Galé,” Lou hypothesized.
“Galé may be a mess internally, but it’s merciless to outsiders. An unfamiliar face won’t be able to hide here so easily.”
Both Prince Schneider and I are going to have to shift from static to dynamic...
“I can’t believe how big this engagement announcement was, though...” I said. “I feel bad about causing trouble for Gillain.”
“You didn’t cause any trouble, Sere,” said Asu. “He was going to come for you one way or another. He just also happened to take care of some other issues at the same time. Don’t look so down.”
“Lady Serephione, do you even understand how much trouble you’ve caused for our nation?” someone said. I looked up from Asu to see a tall, blond man in a Galéan military uniform. He looked slightly older than me.
“Um, how do you do?”
“I can’t believe His Imperial Majesty has gone to such lengths for you, of all people.” The handsome man glared at me from above. Is Galé full of beautiful people too? I mentally sighed.
“Who’s he?” I asked Asu in a whisper.
“Gillain’s aide.”
Appraisal!
He shone blue.
Arthur Nirva (Aide to the Emperor of Galé, former aide to the First Prince, heir of a marquis, S-rank adventurer)
Status: Tired, irritated
Skills: Wind magic, one-handed sword, hatchet
Well, he doesn’t seem like a bad person, but what is Gillain thinking by employing someone who was helping his enemy, the first prince?
“He’s not thinking anything, Sere,” Asu answered my thoughts. “He’s not interested in minor details like that.”
“It’s nice to meet you, sir,” I greeted Arthur. “My name is Serephione Granzeus. I’m terribly sorry for the trouble I’ve caused Emperor Gillain.”
“Galé didn’t need this random country...” grumbled Arthur. “What about you clouded his judgment?”
Hmm, I guess he’s neither a friend nor an enemy to Gillain.
“I don’t mean any offense by this, but do you think Gillain’s judgment is ever clouded?”
“How dare you call our emperor by his first name without a title, little girl!” he barked.