I Became a Dark Knight the Empress Is Obsessed With

195 – Side Story: Afternoon in Freesia – (4)

“… … Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeum.”

Flickering candles.

Inside a luxurious room.

A woman with platinum hair sits in a rocking armchair, her eyes tightly shut, and her body tilts back and forth.

Although he has shed his youthful appearance a long time ago, his small stature makes it difficult to say that he is mature, even in vain.

An elegant face, a sharp nose, and softly curved lips.

Moreover, with the addition of luxurious lifestyle clothes over her transparent skin, the woman’s appearance could not have been more orphaned.

“Ugh… … .”

however.

Empress Lincia Airn of the Empire, who seemed to be adorned with nobility, groaned softly for some reason and kept shaking her upper body.

The tightly shut eyes seemed to be looking at something invisible.

No, what I was actually seeing was correct.

A technique that only high-level spirit masters can use, sense sharing. Lincia was practicing it.

“Did Your Majesty have an accident again?”

Lucy, the maid who had been reluctantly staying by her side, spoke up.

Only then did Lincia open her eyes.

“No, it’s not like that. I’m just… …a little worried.”

“Nervous? Did something happen?”

Through her experience, Lucy could not help but admit that Empress Lincia Airn’s love for Fried was one of the best not only on the continent but also across all dimensions.

It got even worse after she got married. On the surface, she was the upright Empress Lincia, but in front of Fried, she was like a child.

Whether working, sleeping, or eating, I couldn’t do anything without Fried by my side.

“Milia.”

“yes?”

“There was Milia Liantour.”

“… … .”

Lucy swallowed hard.

Milia Liantour.

That lovely sound.

Weren’t they so close that there were even rumors that they had a passionate love affair with Fried?

“So, what happened… … ?”

“There hasn’t been anything like that yet. Sir Millia and Fried were meeting and talking in the solitary cell.”

“……omg.”

Lucy covered her mouth.

Of course, it was an exaggerated gesture.

“I even tried to tell Fried something. It must have been something serious.”

“… … Hmm.”

In fact, it had been less than a week since Fried announced his intention to leave for Eisenward.

One evening at dinner, the topic was brought up out of the blue.

Of course, Lincia was shocked and opposed it, and even went so far as to say that she would accompany him herself, but the imperial government, which had already come into its own, did not give freedom to its ruler.

So this is a situation where I’m just stamping my feet.

Even the knight Millia Liantur, who had once been a subject of gossip with Fried, attended Eisenward’s event.

Of course, Lincia couldn’t help but feel anxious.

“… … Well, it doesn’t matter, right?”

But Lucy spoke calmly.

Lincia glared at him, but he ignored her and continued speaking.

“Do you really think that Prince Iscoval, whom you love so much, would betray you?”

“… … That’s not it… … But still, Fried has a criminal record… … .”

“I’m saying I don’t believe that. Just a while ago, I nominated that seed, Cora, as a candidate for the knighthood. I’m just trying to keep it away from Lord Iscoval.”

“Ugh.”

“What else? The Archmage strongly opposed the entry of the Imperial Palace. The Master of the Information Guild is the same. Sir Aina Agathon also finds it so burdensome that he rarely comes to the inner castle these days.”

“… … That, that’s enough. I knew it. Because I was wrong.”

Lincia puffed out her cheeks as if she was full of tears.

Although she had just become an adult, Lincia was still a young princess in Lucy’s eyes.

“Well, I don’t think it’s strange to be worried. But Your Majesty has already achieved victory. You’re married.”

“marriage.”

Lincia mumbled softly, as if she still didn’t quite get it.

Half a year ago, when the wedding ceremony took place, the empire was in an uproar.

Lucy said, driving a wedge into the conversation.

“More than anything, we slept together.”

“Mwah!”

At those words, Lincia’s face turned bright red and she let out a shrill scream.

Then he quickly looked around to see if anyone had passed by outside the office.

“Why? No?”

“Ah, no… … It’s true that it’s not that!”

The affirmation of the negation of the negation.

In other words, it was positive.

“Well, but if I hear it from other people, it’s a little… … .”

“What is there to be ashamed of? Everyone in the palace will know anyway.”

“What, what?!”

Lincia let out another gasp.

“… … Really?”

“Yes, really. How can I sleep with such a loud noise… … .”

“Eww! I don’t know! Stop talking!”

Lucy giggled as she watched Lincia wildly waving her sword through the air.

After a while of commotion, Lucy spoke to Lincia, who was still anxious and had one eye closed, sharing her feelings from time to time.

“Well, even if he is Lord Iscoval, I think he would be caught up in it if a beautiful woman like Milia Liantour came rushing in. I know it’s weird to say this, but Milia is incredibly pretty and has a great body.”

“Lucy, are you comforting or sowing discord?”

“I’m just telling you the truth. Men are creatures who tend to get swept up in the atmosphere. Isn’t that right?”

“… … .”

Lincia closed her eyes and thought.

Men are creatures who are swept away by the atmosphere.

Let’s substitute it into Fried.

Sure, he’s gentle at times, but when they come into contact with each other’s bodies, he becomes passionate and aggressive…

The moment she thought about that, Lincia’s eyes widened.

“Ah, ahhh! What on earth are you imagining!”

“ha ha ha!”

Lucy bursts into laughter.

Lincia tried to grind her teeth and blow a fuse, but her body wouldn’t move as she wanted because of the mana she had wasted from sensory sharing.

In the end, I just sighed and gave up.

“Lucy, how many years do you think your lifespan was shortened because of you?”

“Hahaha. Well, I think I’ll be okay.”

Lucy shrugged.

“Perhaps the reason why Lord Iscoval went to Eisenward this time was to save Manwolhwa.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

A legendary flower that blooms only once every hundreds of years.

If it were Fred Iscoval, he would probably have set out to rescue that Manwolhwa.

“You must be wondering?”

“What, what is it?”

“Why would Prince Iscoval want to get the Manwolhwa?”

“……huh?”

Lucy let out a small sigh as she looked at Lincia, who was tilting her head.

“Didn’t you notice? I was going to give this to Your Majesty as a gift.”

“……ah.”

“A truly precious flower! And a wife more beautiful than a flower! Only by understanding the inner feelings of a devoted husband can she become a queen, no, an empress of the housework!”

At Lucy’s words, Lincia swallowed hard.

Fried obtains the precious full moon flower and gives it to himself as a gift.

The sound of each and every sentence soon became the sound of my heart.

“Uh, uh. I guess so.”

If Fried returns to the palace proudly holding the full moon flower, what kind of expression should he make when welcoming him?

No, this wasn’t the time.

“Uh, uhm! Yeah. Right! I noticed!”

“……ha.”

“Hey, let’s get ready first! What, what clothes should I wear? Should I wear heavy makeup? Oh, and where should we go… …”

Lincia quickly stood up from her seat as if she had been thinking about it for a while.

A smile naturally appeared on Lucy’s lips as she watched from afar.

What a timeless face this is.

Lucy smiled happily at the thought.

*

Eisenward is a land in the extreme north of the continent.

And the Manwolhwa was a species native to the northernmost Beast Land, the most barren of the North. If you ask why the place is called Beast Land.

“Are you saying that demons live there?”

“Yes, that’s quite a lot.”

The snow elf administrator in front of me said that without changing his expression.

The land of beasts where demons live.

It was Eisenward’s annual ritual to fend off waves of demons that came down from the north each winter in search of warm habitat.

The new Grand Duke of Eisenward, Saellar, must have been holding this event with the intention of using the legendary flower, the full moon flower, as bait to gather the strong and reduce the number of demons even a little.

“Above all, this year is the winter when the full moon flowers bloom, so the concentration of mana in the land of beasts will be beyond imagination.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that the current land of beasts is no different from the realm of the human world.”

“… … .”

Millia bit her lip as she listened to the story.

The Demonic Realm. I had already gotten lost and suffered when I was in the Iscobal Territory of Lumenel, but this land of beasts was dozens of times larger. Above all, the weather was so cold that I could almost freeze to death, so even if I lit a fire, it would go out quickly.

This meant that we could not burn down entire forests as we had done before.

I had no experience of it, but I could intuitively tell how difficult it was to find a single tiny flower in such a place.

“… … Okay, bring it here. Yeah. Over there.”

Looking around, I saw many participants, led by Hilda, unloading their equipment from the wagons they had prepared.

In Hilda’s case, it seemed that she had mobilized the Information Guild’s manpower and financial resources to bring in equipment with astronomical prices, and the Black Tower Lord, who had also been invited, seemed to be planning to track down the general location by casting a joint spell with his subordinate magicians.

Besides that, each of them was putting in their best efforts in different directions.

In other words, they are all competitors for the Manwolhwa.

“… … Ugh.”

If I had known this would happen, I would have at least gotten support from my family.

Milia turned her head with inward regret. There, Merta was smiling bashfully and hugging her cane tightly.

“Why, why? Is there something wrong with me?”

“no.”

Milia smiled bitterly.

“Still, it’s fortunate that we have Assistant Professor Merta.”

Even though she was an assistant professor, Merta was an exceptional spirit master. Even if a demon appeared, she would be able to defeat it on her own.

You can feel a little bit relieved.

“… … .”

Milia carefully felt her lower abdomen.

The feeling of emptiness in my danjeon never got used to me no matter how much time passed.

If I hadn’t been injured, I wouldn’t have had to fear the devil.

Those regrets were buried long ago, but… … .

“Ah, Milia. You’re here.”

In this way, whenever Fried catches sight, he cannot help but naturally float to the surface.

Milia turned her head, trying to remain calm.

And I felt puzzled when I saw Fried packing his bags so carelessly.

All Fried had was a small bundle and a sword. That was all.

“Isn’t there a separate attendant?”

“Oh, well… … that’s right.”

“Why?”

If we borrow the royal family’s wealth, we could conquer not only the Beast Lands but all of Eisenward.

It was a question posed with such doubt, but Fried shrugged his shoulders awkwardly.

“I thought it wouldn’t be meaningful if I did it alone.”

“… … I guess so.”

Milia nodded, inwardly convinced.

Certainly, given the personality of Fried that Millia knows, he would want to get it on his own since it was something to give as a gift to his wife.

“Well, it was a hasty decision, so I didn’t have time to prepare separately.”

Fried said so and shrugged his shoulders.

“That, Millia.”

“yes.”

“Since we have the same goal anyway, do you want to do it like this?”

“… … What does that mean?”

“What should I say… … . Let’s have a party.”

“party?”

“There is something like that. Let’s go on a trip together.”

At Fried’s words, Milia kept her mouth shut.

Fried Iscoval. Having defeated the arrogant Apostle Cleta Iscoval, he is without a doubt the best knight in the Empire at this point.

In that sense, cooperation was better than competition.

Of course, there are two people aiming for it, while there is only one full moon flower.

This would ultimately lead to a split, but to catch up with other competitors, the help of an outstanding figure like Fried was essential.

“… …Milia?”

Fried asked cautiously, and Milia shook her head.

Yeah, everything is good.

Everything was good though.

“that is…….”

Milia looked around.

I followed the wind spirit that might be attached to a tree somewhere, but I couldn’t see anything.

Realizing that Millia had noticed, he might have prepared other surveillance measures.

“Umm… … .”

Milia sniffled.

Weighed the pros and cons.

What consequences would come from being with Fried here, would he be more precious than the full moon, and what kind of reprimand would he receive if he were to be caught?

“……I am.”

The moment I finally finished my thoughts and opened my mouth, a loud voice rang out from behind me.

“great!”

It’s not your own voice.

Milia looked back.

“Let’s do our best together!”

There, Assistant Professor Merta was jumping around, laughing brightly.

Fried also looked at Millia, bewildered by the unexpected reply.

Wink.

“… … Useless things.”

Milia sighed at Merta’s wink.

There was no way it could have turned out like this.

She raised her head and met Fried’s eyes.

The height difference was so great that I found myself looking up at him unintentionally.

“Okay. But, after finding the full moon, we split up.”

“Let’s do that.”

“Then please take care of it.”

“This way.”

Fried chuckled.

Milia also smiled back.

How long has it been since I felt this way?

Milia smelled a nostalgic scent.