“Awoo!” A cute sound that was hard to believe came from Emil escaped her mouth, but she immediately covered it tightly.
“…Hey, do you… want to die? Who told you to do that!”
Emil opened her eyes and roared furiously, while Erika looked at her innocently, blinking her bright, beautiful eyes.
Eh?
Suddenly, Erika, who was still secretly snickering, noticed something was a bit off, but the girl didn’t realize why for a moment.
However, there was no chance for further verification. Emil slapped Erika’s hand away. “5 seconds are up! It’s—it’s over now!”
With a bright red face and eyes darting around, Emil crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Now, act as if nothing happened. You’ve already apologized for the injury to your eye… and, don’t you dare tell anyone else!”
“Whoosh—” The usually fearless Emil, who always enjoyed bullying Erika, now ran away in a panic, disappearing around the corner.
“…” Only then did Erika finally realize what had just happened. She rubbed her nose awkwardly, only to find her fingers filled with fragrance and warmth, still feeling the soft lingering sensation in her hand.
Well, since the big girl was wearing a tube-top dress, it was normal not to wear a bra…
Erika grasped at the air twice more, laughing out loud as she recalled Emil’s rare, bashful appearance.
The purple-haired girl’s smile appeared pure yet enchanting under the moonlight. She walked back to her room step by step, her fingers interlaced behind her waist.
“It wouldn’t hurt to stay another day.”
The next morning, Leonardo, the Head of House of the Lyonesse Family, went out early to see off Evelyn, who was about to leave the mansion. Many servants stood respectfully on both sides of the road, watching the Queen depart.
Evelyn looked around, frowning slightly, and said as if casually, “It seems I don’t see Emil?”
“It looks like she’s sleeping in. According to the maid, she stayed up very late last night. I will discipline her properly later, so please do not worry too much.”
Hearing Leonardo’s words, Evelyn waved her hand lightly to show she didn’t mind. She hadn’t come here to see Emil anyway.
This was also a good thing for Erika. After what happened yesterday, she really didn’t know what expression to face Emil with now. Not seeing her made the girl breathe a sigh of relief instead.
Leonardo bowed his head, placing his right hand over his chest. “Then, please suit yourself, Your Majesty. I will report to the court this afternoon.”
“The former Prime Minister Pargas will explain the details to you. Now, let’s go, Erika.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Erika and Evelyn turned and walked out of the mansion’s main gate. As everything belonging to the Lyonesse mansion gradually receded from view, Erika asked Evelyn, who was making rhythmic footsteps, “Is it really okay not to take the carriage?”
“It’s fine. Not riding in one won’t kill me.”
“That makes sense. Then, are you going straight back to the court today?”
Hearing my question, Evelyn looked up at the sky. Then, her gaze slowly fell from the azure horizon, scanning the surrounding scenery and streets with her dark, translucent eyes. She said, “It’s a rare day off. I want to take a walk. It wouldn’t be bad to leave this Monark City and walk around the outer arch bridge.”
Evelyn wants to leave the main city… isn’t this the first time?
As far as Erika knew, Evelyn had never left Monark City since she was a child. After all, she rarely even left the palace, let alone went outside the city.
Erika had originally thought about rushing home to change or taking a shower and going straight to sleep, since she had broken a sweat because of Emil last night and her dress and underwear felt a bit uncomfortable, even if they didn’t smell.
But now, looking at the unusual Evelyn, the girl felt it would be nice to accompany her.
Evelyn’s sudden desire to go for a walk outside the city gave Erika an indescribable feeling—she wasn’t sure if it was nervousness or a sense of accomplishment.
The girl named Evelyn was changing! Erika clearly realized at this moment that the bad ending was moving further away from them.
That’s right. If Evelyn was going to the academy, she had to learn to endure the strange feeling of being away from home and learn to get along with others. There was no harm in doing some warm-up beforehand.
So, where outside the city was suitable for a walk with Evelyn? Erika quickly searched her mind. Knowing the kingdom like the back of her hand, she remembered a beautiful lake and a castle in the middle of it near the suburbs of Monark City.
“There’s a Heinrich Castle nearby. It was a fortress built a century ago during the crusade against the Demon King Noel. It’s now used as a tourist attraction. I’ll take you there for a tour.”
“Alright.”
Perhaps because it was her first excursion, Evelyn also looked a bit excited, like an elementary school student who just found out about a spring outing.
Erika’s mood was also great. Perhaps admiring nature and cultural beauty could heal and stabilize Evelyn’s body and mind. Her personality might even improve, possibly unlocking a hidden ending. The day she would help her become a wise Queen was not far off.
Bringing along the cute and expectant Evelyn, the two girls left the city and arrived at the suburban Heinrich Castle.
An excursion trip, ya-hallo…
“Me, gurgle, legitimate rights, claim, Heinrich Castle, gibberish, lake, muttering, invaders, kill! This… is gurgle territory! This Great One… is now the Great King!”
“Aaaaah!”
In the distance, a massive Gray-skinned Giant climbed onto the city wall from the coastal rocks. Like tearing apart a strip of spicy gluten, he ripped a horse and its rider into two pieces. “Crunch, crunch.” The giant grabbed the front half of the horse with one hand and twisted it into a pretzel, then violently threw the mangled half-corpse away like a discarded empty soda can.
“Kneel, and welcome the castle’s new king!”
That bloody mess flew toward where Evelyn was. That foul-smelling blood splattered onto Evelyn’s fair, pretty face, staining her dress, soaking into her black hair, and turning her gaze cold.
“…” Erika couldn’t read any expression from Evelyn’s blood-stained face.
She didn’t know what had happened, but she knew someone was finished today.