“Your Imperial Majesty!”
“But never mind that, Isadora. The king of Hautean has never taken a step outside that small country, what measures can he take during the great demon war? Just tell him to comply when we ask for help later.”
“Yes.”
“The appearance of the saintess will be widely announced to the world at the banquet to pray for victory. The temple minions might throw a fit but that’s none of my business. It’d be good if God could give her a halo or something, but that’d be difficult, wouldn’t it?”
“He said he could exert influence only when karma accumulates.”
“Then, let’s just use magic to make up for it.”
There were a few sorcerers who were known to have disappeared next to him. For the Emperor, faking God’s halo is child's play.
“Did you make the Barbarians your sons?”
The Emperor’s last question was about the Barbarians. When Isadora smiled and nodded, the Emperor remained silent for a while. He told her,
“Don’t be too affectionate.”
“Yes.”
“The Barbarians are good guys, but they never stay with us. In terms of friends, they are like wanderers. They make as many memories as they can together, but then leave us alone, saying that we can’t be together..”
“I know.”
Isadora looked at the Emperor.
The Emperor was worried about her daughter. There were only a few things that the Emperor did not know among the events that happened in Dandelion, he also knew what kind of relationship Lara and Demian had.
The Emperor asked Isadora what would happen if Demian left and abandoned Lara one day. Demian was a Barbarian, so he might follow his comrades to go far away.
It was a concern that anyone could be worried about. Anyone but Isadora, however.
Demian loved Lara. There was no way he would betray and leave Lara, but even if it happened, as a mother, Isadora would not just turn a blind eye. The same went for the God of Fate. Crucially, Isadora was not the type of mother to interfere with her child’s love affair.
“The kids will take care of that on their own. I have never seen a case that went well when the parents interfered with their children’s relationship. If you’re confident that you have properly raised your child, you have to believe that they’re going to have a proper romantic relationship.”
“Now you’re even trying to teach me.”
“You’re a little different. Your son’s relationship will become the future of the Empire.”
“Don’t comfort me. It offends me.”
“Yes.”
Isadora nodded firmly. The Emperor, who was walking ahead of her, smiled with his hands behind him.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
Acerus and the expedition force left Dandelion. Next to him were the knights of the Crown Prince’s castle and the elite troops who were camped in layers. The demon Valac disguised himself as the Crown Prince’s aide and followed the expedition force as a secret advisor.
On the days before leaving, Acerus clung to Demian and Oscar and complained all night long.
“If I die, you must visit my grave once a year. Do you get it, you arsehole? You can’t make friends closer than me. Or else, I will be a ghost and haunt you every night.”
“Crazy bastard.”
“If you get married and have a child, make sure to bring your child to my grave to greet me. Your child has to call me godfather! If you have a boy, you have to name him Acerus and if you have a daughter, name her Acerina! Get it, you punk?”
Acerus, who liked to drink, took out all his treasures and continued to drink until he was drunk. The deeper the night, the worse Acerus’ drunken behavior had gotten. His aide wrote down everything Acerus said. He said he would read it tomorrow morning, but the aide ended up not being able to stand it anymore and ran away.
When Lara said she’d pick up Demian in her carriage that night, Eunice was bored and said that she would follow her out. After seeing the treasures that Acerus had collected, she fell in love with them at a glance. She ended up sitting down there and lifting her glass.
Eunice shouted that the Imperial family’s drinking taste was the best in the world. She had found a kindred spirit in Acerus and they drank until morning.
“Long live Your Imperial Highness!”
“Long live Tarragon!”
On the day Acerus left for the North, numerous citizens of Dandelion came out to the street and saw him off. Lara stood far away with Demian and looked at Acerus’ back. On that day, Acerus’ back seemed wide.
I hope you come back safely.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
The banquet was just around the corner. The following days were busy, it took so much preparation the surrounding atmosphere was hectic. Lara moved nonstop with the people sent by the Emperor, they fitted outfits, planned formations, and put greetings together.
Eunice and Ximena, who were at first excited to tour Dandelion with Lara, picked out clothes and shoes with a serious face a few days later.
The nobles of Dandelion had considered the banquet to pray for victory held on a winter day, which marked the end of the year, very important. On this day, the high Imperial Palace was completely open to the public. For a country in a warring state like Tarragon, it was difficult to find events more meaningful than the banquet.
Knights who were not part of the expedition force, many nobles, and some wealthy people were invited. Even the people who could not enter the Imperial Palace took off the black cloth hung on their doors and came out to the streets to hang out with others and share food.
Lara had been busy preparing for the banquet all morning. She left her room wearing a long black dress. The lining of her dress was thick and glossy and the outer appearance was light and see-through. Hundreds of glass beads were decorated like jewels in between the lining and the outer fabric. When she stood under the light, the dress glistened mysteriously like the night sky.
“Wow..”
Konny scanned through Lara from behind and sincerely admired her.
“This must be the best discernment of the Empire.”
“What?”
“Since the clothes were made by the people sent by the Emperor, wouldn’t it reflect his judgment of you?”
“I don’t think someone busy like the Emperor would have personally chosen my dress. The designers must have been skillful.”
“I heard Madam Isadora is wearing an ordinary ceremonial dress. I have recommended her to wear the same dress as yours several times… But she just smiled.”
“Because she’s busy.”
“What about Lady Eunice and Lady Ximena?”
“They said they would go with mother first. It would be rude if the delegation entered later than His Imperial Majesty.”
“Since you’re the main character, you’ll be the last one to appear?”
Konny shouted excitedly. Lara just laughed at the innocent maid’s words. The reason Lara appeared later than the Emperor was to match the timing for the halo produced by the sorcerers. If she did not stand in the appointed place at the appointed time, the wrong person might become the saintess.
When she opened the door and went outside, Demian was already waiting for her. Leaning against the wall, he was wearing a black formal suit and a white shirt lightly tinted blue.
The one who would be the talk of the town at the banquet was Lara, the saintess, but Demian and the Barbarians would definitely get everyone’s attention before her identity was revealed. This was because the Emperor invited the Barbarians to the banquet.
Of course, very few Barbarians attended. Demian volunteered to escort Lara and the sociable Oscar and some older Barbarians decided to go to the banquet as the Emperor’s guests.
When she saw Demian dressed up in a wonderful outfit, Lara sighed. She said,
“If you usually dress like that, every woman will line up for you.”
“Do you want me to become famous?”
“No. I want you to look only at me, talk only to me, and follow only me all day long.”
“That’s what I want.”
Demain smiled and reached out his hand. Lara held his hand and went to ride the carriage.
“Sigh I just got goosebumps.”
Konny stepped two steps back after hearing the mischievous conversation between the two. She crossed her arms and rubbed her shoulders.
Numerous nobles of Dandelion took carriages to the street to attend the banquet to pray for victory. The carriages that looked similar yet slightly different lined up and headed to the Imperial Palace. Every year the banquet to pray for victory was held, the nobles of Dandelion chatted about the tale of Acerus’ heroism and his splendid history with women. Because of the Emperor’s fussy personality, they did not think that he would let the Crown Prince choose his bride. They were very curious about which family’s young lady would capture that fussy Emperor’s heart.
Besides that, some people paid more attention to political and diplomatic issues. They insisted on keeping a close eye on the three countries’ alliance that was against the Empire and insisted that a large army be sent to the North to isolate the East. and among them, those with the fastest information and calculation were most curious about what information should be leaked to whom and what should be moved to make money.
At the entrance to the huge hall where the banquet was held, a nobleman muttered.
“It’s the Thousand Gold Isadora.”
The surrounding group of nobles all turned their heads toward the direction where the nobleman looked.
Isadora, wearing a dark green top, a dark blue skirt, and a silver fur leather cape on top of it, was surrounded by the Barbarians.
“That’s the delegate from the King of Hautean, right?”
“There was a rebellion in that country not long ago. The Prince disappeared and the remaining daughter became the successor.”
“It seems that even a rebellion can happen in that country the size of a fingernail. Quite interesting.”
“I think in exchange for including Hautean into Tarragon’s kingdom, it seems that she came to negotiate to take the Princess as Crown Prince Acerus’ wife.”
“But I heard the Princess is young.”
“How young is she?”
They did not even know how old the Princess of Hautean, Sonnet, was. Compared to Tarragon, Hautean was such a small country, so small that there was no reason to pay attention to that faraway royal family.
At that time, Eunice and Ximena approached Isadora who had just arrived. They just happened to listen to them and walked with strength on their eyebrows and jaws.
“Geez… So shitty. Is there any law stating that the future dream of a small country’s Princess needs to be a Crown Princess? What’s wrong with them? They don’t know how smart our dear Princess Sonnet is. Being a Crown Princess does not suit her at all.”
As Eunice grumbled, Ximena nodded violently.
“If Lara had heard that, she would have made the evilest face in the world with her fierce eyes. Like this.”
Ximena said that and imitated Lara. She raised one eyebrow up, with her eyes looking down and the corner of her mouth raised to the opposite side of her eyebrow.
“Even though she’s a saintess, she has a cool yet evil face. She’s so awesome, I tell you.”
