Chapter 68
The Imperial delegation was waiting at the entrance to the royal capital.
“My lord!”
“You have arrived.”
The escort knights who had greeted the king earlier were also mounted and waiting for Liana.
Instead of boarding a carriage, Ian Hart and Liana each mounted their own horses.
Curiously, Ian Hart’s steed was no smaller than Rune, even in comparison.
“…Your Majesty, your horse is huge! I’ve never seen one bigger than Rune before.”
Hearing that from behind Liana, Ail thought quietly to himself:
‘Well, Rune isn’t exactly an ordinary horse…’
Prrrhh—
Hearing his name mentioned, Rune stiffened his neck and stared at Ian Hart’s horse as if to show off.
However, Ian Hart’s white stallion only glanced elegantly at Rune before turning its head away.
“This one isn’t ordinary either.”
…Come to think of it, Liana had heard rumors that the Empire had “spirit beasts,” creatures born from shards of divine beasts.
“Well, true. Since there’s Kkamangi, there could be spirit beasts too.”
“You like animals?”
“Me? Of course. They’re cute.”
Saying she liked them because they were cute, Liana patted the crestfallen Rune, who had just been completely ignored by Ian Hart’s horse.
Pffhh…
Feeling his master’s touch, Rune scraped the ground with his front hoof, looking dejected.
‘…See? I told you to tone down that attitude.’
Liana knew that, despite being calm in front of her, Rune’s real personality was not exactly gentle.
“Rune, if you want to make friends, you’ve got to look at them with pretty eyes.”
She scolded Rune lightly.
“Dex, she’s probably the only horse besides your sister you can get along with,” Ian Hart remarked to his horse, which he called Dex.
Dex only gave Rune a sideways glance before looking straight ahead.
It remained to be seen how those two would get along.
“Huh, I didn’t notice it when we arrived, but going together like this makes the procession look really grand.”
Technically, only Liana and her guards had been added, but when they arrived earlier, they had come straight to the palace entrance via a teleportation circle.
Now, they were planning to ride through the central square in full display.
At Liana’s half-grimace, Ian Hart chuckled.
“Showing off matters too.”
Originally, they had intended to use the palace’s teleportation circle to leave immediately — a neat and efficient method with no hassle.
The idea to ride on horseback through the capital instead had come from Duke Delcaron and his father.
“It would be best to make it clear that Her Highness the Princess and His Majesty the Emperor are to be wed.”
“If possible, we should leave an impression on both the Empire and Roen. So when you depart Roen and enter the Imperial Capital, I suggest you do not use teleportation but show yourselves directly. Would that be alright?”
“I’m fine with it… Your Majesty?”
“I don’t mind either.”
“Then let’s do as you suggest… But will that really help?”
Duke Delcaron nodded.
“Yes, more than enough. In your case, things are moving rather quickly, so making a deep impression like this is important.”
“The fortunate thing is that Your Highness is well-liked in both Roen and the Empire.”
“…Me?”
“A magic swordsman is always an object of admiration. And you defended the Death Forest’s border for four years, did you not?”
“That’s true, but… I defended Roen. Would that have any positive effect in the Empire?”
“Haha, that depends on how well we handle it. The groundwork has already begun, so there’s no need to worry.”
And so it was decided: during their journey to the Empire, they would make public appearances along the way.
Aside from a bit of inconvenience, Liana and Ian Hart had no reason to refuse — after all, it would ultimately benefit her.
Holding Rune’s reins to set off, Liana glanced back at the royal palace.
It looked as if she were either committing the sight to memory before leaving… or looking for someone.
‘…Guess they couldn’t make it after all.’
It was the latter — she didn’t spot the person she wanted to see and was about to turn her head when…
She caught sight of a head of bright orange hair.
“…There you are.”
Meeting that person’s gaze, Liana smiled softly.
‘Take care.’
The other person, noticing the faint movement of her lips, returned a small farewell smile.
Only then did Liana turn back with a more relaxed expression.
“Let’s go, then.”
“…Alright.”
Ian Hart’s eyes lingered briefly where her smile had been directed, then he stretched his hand out to signal departure.
“Move out!”
Keon bellowed the order in response.
The delegation reached the Imperial Capital on the third day after leaving Roen.
On the first day, they stayed at the Empire’s border fortress, which Count Tilto had prepared perfectly.
The next day, they lodged at a luxury hotel in a marquisate famous for tourism.
Part of the second day’s itinerary had been for show, but…
After such a relaxed schedule, Liana’s face upon arrival in the capital looked… slightly overwhelmed.
“…You’re saying we have to go through all that?”
Ian Hart followed her gaze and nodded.
“That’s right.”
“…Haa…”
A sigh escaped her lips.
The streets were packed solid with citizens all the way to the palace gates.
They had gathered to see the Emperor and the neighboring kingdom’s magic swordswoman princess he was said to love dearly.
And Liana had to ride straight through them.
“I told you there’d be a lot of people.”
“…I didn’t think it’d be this many…”
Even without exaggeration, the crowd was so dense that the ground could barely be seen.
“It’s like a national victory parade for a returning war hero…”
At her mutter, Ian Hart gave her an incredulous look.
“…In the Empire, I am a war hero, Princess.”
He held the title of youngest Sword Master and had brought the Empire’s long era of conquest — ongoing since the previous emperor — to an end.
To the nobles who had to face him directly, he might be a tyrant, but to the people, he was a wise and just ruler.
He had never lost a war, never imposed forced conscription, and always paid fair wages for work.
Unlike the previous emperor, who had been obsessed with war to the point of neglecting governance, Ian Hart managed the state well.
“…Ah.”
Liana’s vague reaction made him give up on explaining further. Her expression suggested she had just remembered exactly what Ian Hart represented in the Empire.
From the start, he had noticed that Liana treated him… rather casually.
In fact, she seemed to regard Keon Laviel with more awe than she did him.
With Keon, her manner was that of acknowledging a worthy man; with Ian Hart, it was more like treating a comfortable partner.
“…Unbelievable.”
“No, it’s not that I forget how amazing you are… It’s just that, well, when I’m close with someone, I tend to be more casual with them…”
Sensing his faint irritation, Liana moved Rune closer to Dex and explained in a sheepish tone.
Ian Hart’s brows drew together.
So, to her, that meant she considered him a “close” person?
Feeling a strange emotion, he asked slowly:
“Am I… comfortable to you?”
“…Honestly?”
“I prefer honesty.”
With a sigh, she leaned in and whispered like she was sharing a secret:
“You’re so comfortable it’s worrying. What if people start saying I’m too informal with the Emperor?”
Her tone was deadly serious.
For a rare moment, Ian Hart found himself at a loss for words.
It felt strange — not only to hear someone worry about rumors of treating him too lightly, but also to see that Liana truly saw him as that easy to be around.
Sure enough, she treated him far more casually now than before — speaking freely instead of weighing every word.
Of course, it wasn’t bad that the person he would likely spend the rest of his life with felt at ease with him…
But…
‘…Isn’t she a bit too comfortable?’
It was starting to feel less like husband and wife and more like… friends.
He couldn’t quite name the feeling, but there was a strange discomfort growing inside him.
It was ridiculous — Liana was worried he was too comfortable, while he was feeling uneasy about that very comfort.
The more he thought about it, the more it seemed… the Empire and Roen simply didn’t match well.
