SIGDYL 120 (SESSS 01)

Special Side Story: The Unfinished Tale (1)

“Your Majesty the Queen, they say all the luggage has been loaded onto the carriage. You can depart anytime.”

“Yes, Adel. Once Michaela and Melvin are ready, we’ll leave immediately. Make sure you assist His Majesty Mikrok well so he isn’t inconvenienced while I’m gone.”

“Oh dear, I’ll do my best, but I can’t guarantee it will go as planned,” said Adel, the head lady-in-waiting, honestly, with a troubled expression. I let out a quiet chuckle at her candidness.

Since this trip was only for the children and me, our King Mikrok of Fritan was in a decidedly bad mood.

From the moment I first arrived in the Kingdom of Fritan, Adel and Sophie had faithfully assisted me. They already looked intimidated by how unpleasant their own king could be when he was in a foul mood.

There had even been several suggestions from the noble council that attendants for the Queen’s palace should be chosen from noble families.

But Mikrok, at my request, granted the two former commoner maids the rank of Baroness, which allowed them to be promoted to ladies-in-waiting.

It certainly helped that noblewomen were rare in the Kingdom of Fritan, but more than that, I trusted them without reservation, regardless of their background.

Just looking at the effort they had put into making me comfortable and elegant for a long journey made it clear their skills were extraordinary.

Seeing my reflection and my clearly satisfied expression, Adel and Sophie relaxed.

“His Majesty Mikrok just returned from the battlefield not long ago, so naturally he must be upset about having to be apart again,” said Sophie.

“I’m upset too, Adel. If it weren’t for the provocations of the Omora tribe, His Majesty Mikrok would have come with us,” I replied.

“Oh dear, I thought things would settle down once the Harun Empire fell, but now the demons are acting up. Your Majesty went through so much at that time,” Sophie said, and bitter memories came flooding back.

Being imprisoned in the underground dungeon of the imperial palace due to the schemes of Emperor Harun, pretending to be an heiress to buy time while extracting money from nobles, and Mik, my husband, releasing the Dark Dragons into the palace sky to save me…

After the Harun Emperor lost his life to Mik’s spear, the empire collapsed in less than a year.

Even after the massive territory was divided into fragments, the princes fought over rights, and eventually the fifth prince claimed victory.

But even then, they only held onto the edges of the former empire’s capital, barely maintaining the kingdom’s existence.

Yet, they still caused occasional conflicts along Fritan’s borders.

Duke William Clamence and Marquis Ralph Sorrone were even more enraged than my husband, the king.

“His Majesty Mikrok, why not take this opportunity to erase the name ‘Harun’ from the map entirely?”

“Even if given the chance, they wouldn’t understand, so what can we do? Just give the orders, Your Majesty.”

“We’ll have to deal with it someday, but now is not the time. There are more urgent matters, aren’t there?”

Indeed, the biggest trouble for the Kingdom of Fritan wasn’t Harun at the moment.

“The Omora tribe was caught trying to steal Dark Dragon eggs in the Wind Gorge, right?”

The rage of Marquis Ralph, responsible for training the Dark Dragons, had spread as gossip throughout the palace. It was natural that he now had a reason to depart, being newlywed.

“They attempted to artificially hatch the dragon eggs,” Sophie added.

“Are they sane? Even if they succeeded in artificial incubation, how would they possibly tame the newborn Dark Dragons?”

“They’d just leave them to wreak havoc on the world,” I said.

So Mikrok planned to lead the Fritan army himself to punish the Omora tribe.

Three months ago, I had completely forgotten an invitation from the Kingdom of Malau.

It was an invitation to celebrate the first tooth of Princess Vivian, the precious daughter of that country.

Vivian was my niece, born to my cousin Shine, the King of Malau, and Julmon Gong.

Since I had been too busy to visit when Vivian was born, I couldn’t back out now after promising to attend.

“I suppose there’s no choice, Mik. This time I’ll take the children.”

“What? You’re really leaving me behind?”

His face, quivering at my decision, is still vivid in my mind.

But I couldn’t let myself waver here.

“I’m not going because I want to. What choice do we have in this situation?”

Though I said that, honestly, I wanted to throw everything aside and just stay here.

But considering our relations with the Kingdom of Malau, I had to go, even alone.

Currently, King Shine of Malau was one of Fritan’s strongest allies—and he had a notoriously foul temper.

“If you don’t attend again, Shine said he’ll nullify all agreements between the two countries,” Mik said, resigned, knowing her character well.

So today, I had to depart for Malau with the children, and I felt completely flustered.

“All the luggage is packed, Vivian’s gift is ready… now we can really leave, right?”

Suppressing a creeping anxiety that something had been forgotten, I stepped into the parlor—and immediately frowned.

One of the children I had promised would wait obediently was nowhere to be seen.

I asked my daughter, who was reading on a small chair in front of the fireplace.

“Michaela, where’s Melvin?”

“They went to the greenhouse a little while ago with Ben and Arthur,” she replied.

“What? Those little rascals!”

I frowned, though a small smile slipped out.

Ben and Arthur, sons of Duke William and Milly, were famous pranksters in the kingdom.

To be precise, Arthur caused the trouble and Ben cleaned it up.

Even on days their parents, the Clamences, weren’t visiting the palace, the boys would bring the family’s knights and come play at the palace.

Unlike Michaela, who enjoyed reading and swordsmanship, Melvin loved playing with the Clamence brothers, having grown up together.

Just then, Milly hurried into the parlor.

“Your Majesty the Queen!”

“Welcome, Duchess Clamence,” I said politely.

Milly, wearing a troubled expression, began to explain.

“I’m sorry. I thought it might be chaotic today, so I told the children absolutely not to come to the palace—but it seems these little troublemakers insisted on coming.”

“It can’t be helped. The boys inherited their mother’s stubbornness,” I said.

“Oh, Your Majesty!” Milly, flustered, couldn’t deny it—and rightly so.

“Sophie, send the maids to the rose greenhouse to fetch Prince Melvin. Also bring the Clamence boys,” I instructed.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Sophie replied.

I had been planning to wait for the children and have tea with Milly, but Michaela, who hadn’t looked up from her book, quietly spoke.

“Mother, wouldn’t it be faster if you went to find them yourself?”

“What?”

“Since you’re playing tag, you’re obviously ‘it.’”

Milly sighed even more loudly, looking exasperated.

With so much time lost, I decided to go myself, just as my daughter suggested.

“I’ll fetch Melvin from the greenhouse and we’ll depart immediately. Michaela, put your book down and come with me.”

At that moment, a tiny crack appeared and disappeared on my daughter’s forehead, perfectly sculpted like her father’s.

Was she upset about being interrupted from reading?

“Michaela, is something bothering you?”

“It’s nothing,” she said, composed, and took the lead in walking ahead.

“Michaela, where are you going? That’s not toward the rose greenhouse.”

“To the winter garden. Melvin and Arthur love sledding on ice, so I think they’ll be there.”

“But didn’t you say they went to the greenhouse?”

“I realized the winter garden has more hiding spots. If they’re playing tag, they’ll definitely be there.”

It sounded a bit far-fetched, but I followed her to the winter garden.

As expected, there was no sign of the children there.

“Maybe they hid really well knowing you were coming?”

No. Melvin, like me, was sensitive to the cold. He wouldn’t hide long in a place with such icy winds.

“Let’s go to the rose greenhouse,” I said, taking the lead.

As we entered, the warm scent of roses enveloped us.

This greenhouse contained the rarest rose varieties from across the continent, and both Melvin and Michaela had loved it since childhood.

“Melvin, come out. We’re leaving now.”

I called loudly, but, of course, there was no answer.

Milly, anxiously watching, raised her voice too.

“Ben, Arthur! Where are you? Mom’s here! Bring Prince Melvin out!”

Then I noticed movement under the fence of golden roses—a shimmer of hair like gold dust.

“That’s Melvin’s hair!”

I smiled and moved closer, but Michaela grabbed my hand.

“Mother, I think Melvin is hiding behind the blue rose pillar over there.”

“Really?”

I pretended to scold my daughter with a smile, bent down, and reached under the golden rose fence.

“Ah!”

I had finally caught the mischievous boy by the nape of his neck.