Chapter 35
“……Mm, right.”
Come to think of it, Benjamin might have said something like that on the way back from Osman.
When I asked him about Lea.
He said we used to be close, that the originally scheduled time was once a week, but that sometimes we entered more often than that.
“Lady Lea is… ah. I think she’s coming in now.”
Maria pointed toward the entrance with her fingertip.
People began to murmur.
“They say Lady Lea has arrived.”
“Oh, that person?”
“I’ve heard so many rumors—I’ve been dying to see her.”
The attendants bustled about, and the gazes of the nobles who had been chatting all turned toward the entrance.
The doors were thrown wide open, and someone had clearly arrived, but from where I stood, I couldn’t see who it was.
A servant cleared his throat several times and called out in a loud voice.
“Lady Lea is entering.”
Leaving Maria, who was looking at me oddly, behind, I pushed through the crowd of nobles and walked forward—forward—almost as if I were possessed.
I don’t even know what state of mind I was in when I got there.
Please, no. Let it not be. It can’t be.
I think I kept repeating that to myself.
Even when I got closer to the entrance, I still couldn’t see “Lea.” It was only when I reached the very front that I finally did.
“No way…….”
I didn’t know how to accept what I was seeing with my own eyes.
I thought it would all become clear once I saw “Lea.”
But she was walking toward the dais where the Emperor stood, escorted by Prince Miles.
The nobles who had been blocking the way parted down the middle, opening a path on both sides.
“How could she be so adorable?”
The nobles watching them with warm eyes added comment after comment.
“I hear His Majesty dotes on her—no wonder.”
“Aren’t they the future and hope of our great Rundel Empire?”
“Indeed, Baron Renfram. Hahaha, this truly puts my heart at ease.”
“The Empire’s future is so bright.”
Among all those satisfied smiles, I was the only one who couldn’t breathe.
“That child is Lady Lea?”
At my near-soliloquy, the young lady standing beside me looked at me in surprise.
“Oh my, Lady Count’s Daughter. I suppose you hadn’t heard yet?”
“……”
“I couldn’t have imagined it either. I thought she’d be a venerable old man with a long beard.”
Seeing me at a loss for words, she smiled as if she understood.
I couldn’t bring myself to smile back and kept my eyes fixed on Lea.
Prince Miles and Lea had reached the dais and were offering their greetings to the Emperor.
The Emperor, who was usually stiff and businesslike, seemed noticeably softened.
“Many of you may be seeing Lea for the first time today, but I believe you’ve heard of her.”
The Emperor formally introduced Lea.
The nobles burst into applause once again.
Though so many eyes were fixed on her, the child showed no sign of nervousness at all.
Her fair, chubby cheeks were pleasantly flushed with color, and her jet-black hair was tied high into a single ponytail, giving her a lively, cheerful look.
Dressed in a yellow gown, Lea walked while stretching out her plump little arm and tightly gripping Prince Miles’s finger.
No matter how you looked at her, she was brimming with a child’s natural loveliness.
I screamed inwardly.
He said “older sister.”
That enormous creature had called her “older sister” at the end of every sentence.
And more than that—he was a dragon.
A dragon that even the gods, pouring all their strength into it, had failed to kill.
A dragon that had once tried to destroy Rodea—and might try again.
And he said she was a sage!
While I stood there with my hand clamped over my mouth, the banquet hall was utterly enchanted by Lea’s charm.
“H-hello, I’m Lea.”
At the Emperor’s nod, Lea neatly grasped the edges of her dress and lifted them.
Then, instead of lifting one foot back as imperial etiquette dictated, she bent and straightened her knees once, greeting the adults who were all watching her.
At the sight of her cuteness, smiles bloomed across the nobles’ faces.
Every single one of them seemed taken with Lea.
“Lady Lea is so adorable.”
“How old are you?”
“Can you really use magic?”
“Have you been able to use magic since birth?”
The storm of questions abruptly stopped when the child began to fidget her fingers.
Only the orchestra’s gentle music filled the hall, and all the nobles were staring at her hands.
After wriggling her fingers for a moment, the child awkwardly held up three of them.
“I’m thwee yeaws old.”
Laughter broke out everywhere at the adorable sight of her holding up three fingers.
The hall was filled with a soft, warm atmosphere, utterly charmed by the lovely child.
But not everyone looked pleased.
“Why don’t you relax your face a bit?”
“Maria?”
Startled by the voice behind me, I turned around. It was Maria.
She shot an irritated look toward the tables set up on the left side of the hall.
Representatives from the temple in cardinal robes, along with several nobles wearing grim expressions, sat there looking displeased.
To be honest, from my perspective, they were easier to understand.
“Why is everyone being so favorable?”
Even setting aside the matter of dragons, it was strange for a three-year-old child to be called a “sage.”
Maria turned her gaze back to me and grinned as if she understood my confusion.
“She may look like that, but she’s an incredible person. At present, she’s the only mage, and the recent rapid advances in magitech are all thanks to her.”
“……”
“Don’t pretend otherwise. I know you like her too. There’s been so much talk about how gentle she is in every lesson.”
Maria’s smile was sly but not unpleasant, and her eyes were unusually kind.
“When Lady Lea first came to the castle, there was an awful lot of chatter. You helped quiet things down, too.”
“I did?”
“You praised her endlessly, calling her brilliant and wise.”
I didn’t know when she’d started living in the castle, but they said Lea hadn’t been born in the imperial palace.
One day, the Empress had appeared holding a child—that child was Lea.
Because of that, there were rumors that she might actually be the Emperor’s child.
Since the Emperor had never been seen with a pregnant consort, those rumors quickly died down.
The tension drained from my tightly drawn shoulders.
Was that child really a dragon?
Half dazed, I stared blankly at Lea and forced myself to pull myself together.
What if the Gens tribe is pulling a scam?
Maybe they’d wished for the dragon to awaken so fervently that they’d convinced themselves it already had.
The Emperor, smiling gently, asked Lea,
“Do you know what today signifies, Lea?”
“It’s the day celebrating the fortieth year since Your Majesty began ruling the nation so kindly!”
Lea answered firmly, then once again performed the greeting she’d shown the nobles—this time for the Emperor.
“Your Majesty, please stay healthy.”
Smiling contentedly, the Emperor ruffled Lea’s hair.
The nobles applauded with pleased expressions.
Turning to face them, the Emperor spoke in his usual solemn, dignified voice.
“Today, this young mage has prepared a celebratory performance for the glory and prosperity of the Empire. I hope you all enjoy it.”
Cheers erupted here and there.
From those pushing forward through the crowd to those craning their necks, anticipation was palpable.
“Your Majesty, will we be able to see magic?”
At one noblewoman’s question, the nobles stirred with excitement.
“Until now, we postponed it due to the sage’s tender age, but……”
“……”
“She insisted on presenting it for my fortieth anniversary.”
At a noble’s impassioned remark, the Emperor smiled confidently and looked one by one at the stiff-faced attendants, starting with the High Priest.
Those who met his gaze coughed awkwardly or hurriedly looked away.
“May I ask you now, Lea?”
“Yes! I’m weady!”
Rolling up her short sleeves, Lea smacked her lips and looked around at the nobles.
“Um, will someone help me? I need an assistant.”
At Lea’s request, several nobles raised their hands—only to quickly lower them when my voice rang out loudly.
“I’ll do it.”
“Well then, Lady Derman, you wanted to see it up close as well.”
“After all, it’s not often we get to see a mage.”
They seemed to be scrambling to justify it, but embarrassment could wait.
Right now, confirming Lea’s magic was more important.
Maria’s laughter rang in my ears, and she belatedly covered her mouth, leaning toward me to whisper.
“What’s gotten into you, stepping forward like this?”
“I just thought… maybe it’s time for a change.”
“Good thinking. You live such a boring life.”
“……”
“No parties, no socializing—you’re always holed up in your mansion. What do you even live for?”
At her blunt honesty, I looked at her, but Maria just smiled sweetly as if nothing were wrong.
She didn’t seem to mean any harm…
Or wait—was that it? Did I just get smilingly roasted?
“Pwease bwing a gwass of wine.”
Standing on her tiptoes and craning her neck to look for me, Lea raised her hand and urged me on.
Passing Maria, who was as consistent as ever, I picked up a wine glass from a tray and climbed onto the dais.
“Stand next to Lea, pwease.”
Facing her at a distance close enough to touch, it became even clearer—she was a small, delicate-skinned child.
Standing before me, Lea stretched out her hand.
As I handed her the wine glass, our hands brushed—short, warm fingers.
Lea placed the wine glass between us.
Though she was careful, her childish lack of delicacy made the red sangria inside slosh heavily, though it didn’t spill.
I still couldn’t make sense of it.
Is she really a dragon?
Her soft-looking body, her chubby little legs.
No matter how I looked, she seemed nothing more than a Rodean child.
Her round, red eyes sparkled as she smiled brightly—she was incredibly cute.
“Thank you for hewping.”
“……You’re welcome. Shall I just stand here like this?”
“Yes! Pwease hewp Lea one more time later.”
Lea spoke firmly despite her childish lisp, then spread both arms over the glass, letting her hands dangle above it.
“I’ll stawt now.
