Chapter 11: Return Home
Ruri returned to the Nation of the Dragon King, back to the castle she had missed so much, which filled her with a sense of nostalgia.
“It feels like I’ve been away for a whole year. Don’t you feel the same, Jade-sama?” she asked.
“Yes. Quite a lot happened in the Imperial Nation,” Jade started, looking somewhat pensive. “I can only assume the nation will fall into disarray.”
“Over who will become the emperor out of the first and third prince?”
“Indeed. For Adularia’s sake, I hope they figure out a successor without conflict, but if the nobles are butting heads with one another already, then I’m afraid not even the imperial princes can stop them.”
While Jade was in the empire, he had asked Kotaro to keep him informed about the Imperial Nation’s nobles. They had formed two opposing factions, and one wrong move could spark a civil war.
“Adularia should have named her successor earlier. That point alone may tarnish her legacy, putting her in the history books as a foolish emperor whose actions sparked a war. That would be dreadful,” Jade lamented, knowing how good of a ruler Adularia was.
As Jade sadly reflected on recent events, Ruri held his hand, unsure of what else she could do in this situation.
“The Imperial Nation’s future does fill me with concern,” Jade continued, “but as the Dragon King, I can’t interfere in the matter. If I did, it would only lead to unnecessary strife. I’ll just place my faith in Corundum and the imperial princes. They are Adularia’s sons. I want to believe they’ll handle this in a civil manner.”
“Yes, me too,” Ruri agreed.
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
As Jade predicted, the war for succession intensified. Deciding who would be the next emperor was not an easy process, but after dragging many nobles into the conflict, the first prince’s faction stood victorious, giving rise to Emperor Roy.
It took many years for this to happen, though, which left the empire’s government in shambles. The new emperor began his reign by attempting to rebuild it, but he favored the old nobles and their ways and often ignored the burgeoning nobles. The third prince acted as a go-between for the emperor and those nobles, and while they repeated a few past mistakes along the way, the two brothers managed to rebuild the empire. Unfortunately, some distance developed between them and the nobles as a result, and as time passed and Emperor Roy passed the throne to the next generation, the barely functioning semblance of balance ended up collapsing.
Roy’s son, now the new emperor, lacked the power needed to coordinate and lead the nobles. The government became corrupt, and the people’s sentiments deteriorated. After that, the imperial prince, Roy’s grandson, became the next emperor, saving the nation. Also a Beloved, he purged the corrupt nobles from the government and brought the nation back to its rightful status—but that is a story for another time.
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
Ruri went to Euclase’s office, and as soon as she stepped inside, Gibeon’s face lit up, and he happily ran toward her. If he had a tail like Kotaro, it would be wagging.
“My sweet Ruri~!” he shouted, his arms open wide.
Jade, who was standing next to Ruri, swung his sword, but the barrier around Gibeon deflected it.
“Tch.” Jade clicked his tongue, looking genuinely disappointed. Gibeon, on the other hand, stood frozen in fear from almost being cut in half.
“Yeek! What are you doing, Mr. Dragon King?! Trying to cut me down as soon as you see me?! Are you some kind of psychopath?! Why don’t you just change your name from ‘Dragon King’ to ‘Drake the Ripper’?!”
“I’m keeping you away from my Ruri, you ignoramus,” Jade asserted.
Jade’s face always turned a little surly when dealing with Gibeon. It made perfect sense, though; Gibeon was trying to hit on his mate, which made him an enemy in Jade’s eyes. For those familiar with dragonkin, it was a miracle that Gibeon was still in one piece. If he wasn’t blessed by the Spirit of Light, his head would have long since been estranged from his body.
Euclase, who was watching the two cause a commotion outside of their office, heaved a heavy sigh. “Gibeon, that’s enough merrymaking with His Majesty. I need to discuss business.”
“Right-o!” Gibeon trilled and took off.
“In any case, welcome back, Your Majesty. You had quite the long stay.”
“Yes. I never would have thought that matters with Adularia would become such a huge fiasco,” Jade remarked.
“We can discuss the future of the Imperial Nation with the rest of the court little by little, but in the meantime...” Euclase placed a mountain of papers in front of Jade. “You’ve amassed quite a number of documents that require your approval, so I hope you see to them quickly.”
It wasn’t only Gibeon; Euclase was also pretty rough with Jade.
“All of these?” Jade asked, a frown forming on his face.
“Indeed. And until these are done, you are prohibited from any hanky-panky with Ruri.”
“Euclase... I’ll remind you in case you’ve forgotten, but we are newlyweds.”
“Oh, I’m quite aware. Which means you should hurry and handle your business so you can get back to your honeymoon shenanigans,” Euclase said, smiling sweetly. With that winning smile, Euclase was a beauty who could enchant anyone.
As Jade slumped and slunk to his office, Ruri went to go check on someone she had been curious about during her entire stay in the Imperial Nation—Sango. Some time had passed since she’d started working in the castle. It would be the first time Ruri met her in person since Sango launched her accusations at her.
At the time, Rutile had asked to take care of Sango and walked her away, but Ruri had no idea what had happened after that incident. According to Euclase, it was safe to see her again. Maybe she had some sort of change of heart, but Ruri wouldn’t know how Sango had changed without meeting her in person.
As Ruri walked toward the training grounds in Sector Five in order to search for Rutile, she spotted someone walking toward her from the opposite direction. It was none other than Sango. It seemed that she’d earned everyone’s trust in the time Ruri was away, because she was now allowed in Sector Five. Of course, she hadn’t been given entry all the way to Sector One, the sector reserved for royalty and Beloveds, but by being allowed to enter a place where Ruri often visited, the training grounds in Sector Five, it meant that Sango was no longer deemed a dangerous individual.
Sango gasped, noticing Ruri as well. Ruri walked closer, nervously hoping that Sango wouldn’t be belligerent, but Sango made a beeline straight to Ruri. Ruri started to panic when she noticed that the spirits around her were taking fighting stances because of Sango’s previous offense, but Sango came right up to her and squeezed both of Ruri’s hands.
“Thank you. I have you to thank for everything,” Sango exclaimed.
“Huh?” Ruri gasped, puzzled as to why Sango was thanking her.
Sango, with stars in her eyes, said, “I’m sorry for everything I did. I felt I needed to apologize to you the next time I saw you. After all, that’s what milady said I should do.”
“Milady?”
“Yes, that’s right. Milady, the one who dashingly came to my rescue. Aah... I can’t believe what a wonderful individual she is. I thought I came to this world in order to become a Beloved, but after coming to this castle and meeting milady, I have been hit with a bolt of revelation. It told me that I’ve come to this world to worship milady and tell the people of this world of her splendor!”
“U-Uh, right...” Ruri listlessly replied. She couldn’t keep up with Sango’s story. Who was this “milady” in the first place?
“I’m so sorry,” Sango added. “I’m not jealous of you anymore. I’ve got something even more incredible than the title of Beloved.”
“Oh, that’s nice...”
“I wanted to come to Sector Five in order to see milady, but I was told that I couldn’t because I could possibly try to hurt you. But the lady that is friends with milady said that they would allow me if I apologize to you, so I’ve changed my ways. I will not do anything to you anymore. After all, milady said that you are her mistress and she’s sworn to protect you. And if you’re her mistress, then you’re my master. Please let me call you ‘mistress’ from now on!”
“Huh? Um, I don’t think so...” Ruri uttered. She was already weirded out enough by being called “Lady Beloved,” and she wasn’t keen on someone younger than her calling her “mistress.”
“Oh my, really? Then what should I call you?” Sango asked.
“Just Ruri is fine.”
Sango smiled sweetly and squeezed Ruri’s hands. “Okay, Ruri-sama, then. You can call me Sango. We’re from the same world, so let’s be friends.”
As Ruri stood staring at Sango in shock, a voice from out of sight asked, “What are you doing?”
They both turned to face the familiar voice. Just as expected, there was Rutile, clad in her military outfit.
Sango let go of Ruri’s hands and let out a shrill cry. “Eeek! Milady!”
Sango was so excited that she resembled a puppy who had been waiting for their master to come home. This was probably the same kind of overjoyed reaction Ewan would give Finn upon his return.
“Sango, you haven’t been trying to pull anything funny on Ruri, have you?” Rutile questioned.
“Of course not, milady! I have apologized for what I’ve done just as I should. You scolded me enough that I wouldn’t dare do otherwise!” she said with an oddly braggadocian air. Her comment wasn’t something to brag about, but she appeared to be very serious about what she said.
“Really?” Rutile asked Ruri.
“Yes,” Ruri confirmed with a nod. “She apologized.” She at least appeared to be sorry for what she did, so Ruri decided not to interject with anything else.
“I see. I’m proud that you were able to apologize.” Rutile smiled and gently patted the girl on the head for a job well done.
“Aah... You pet my head. I will never wash my hair again,” Sango said, entranced and blushing.
Ruri wanted to warn her not to do that, but she was reluctant after seeing the truly elated look on Sango’s face. She was talking like a fan who had shaken hands with an idol. Never in Ruri’s wildest dreams did she imagine that Sango would become so infatuated with Rutile. Now she understood what Jade meant when he’d said that Rutile was a flirt. If she was able to change a person to this extent, it might be better to call her an enchantress.
Ruri was curious about what kind of conversation had transpired between the two in order to come to this point. She wanted to ask, but at the same time, she didn’t want to. Either way, it was clear that Sango wasn’t going to be picking fights with Ruri anymore.
“I’m relieved to see that Sango is on good terms with you now, Ruri. After the incident, she realized the error of her ways and repented for her actions,” Rutile explained.
“Yes, but that is because you sat with me and kindly listened to my woes, milady,” Sango added.
“You’ve started to take your work seriously, and you’re on friendly terms with your coworkers.”
“All because you give me praise when I put forth effort. And I’ve become friends with my coworkers because we all share a common interest—you, milady.”
Sango’s cheeks turned red whenever Rutile praised her.
A badge sewn on Sango’s uniform caught Ruri’s eyes. “What’s that?”
“Oh this? It’s a badge that members of the Milady Fan Club have,” Sango answered.
“Fan Club?”
“That’s right. It’s a club for people who know how wonderful milady is. We’re currently recruiting new members, but we can’t keep up with making these badges. Word has been going from person to person, and over half of the girls in the castle are asking to join. That’s milady for you. Oh, by the way, I’m president and, of course, I’m number one. I won’t give this seat up to anyone.”
“Hmmm. Well, for better or worse, you certainly took a turn in an unexpected direction,” Ruri remarked.
Sango seemed the type to get along with Ewan. Well, perhaps not. Ewan loved Finn, and Sango loved Rutile. They were like oil and water, in a sense, so mixing them might be dangerous.
“Ruri-sama, do you want to join the fan club? Tee hee hee hee. Just in case, I made sure to save the number two badge just for you to prove that we’ve buried the hatchet,” Sango said, holding out the badge to Ruri.
Ruri gratefully accepted it.
“I can’t give up the role of president, not even to you, so you’ll be the vice president. Let’s grow our numbers together!” Sango exclaimed.
Ruri nodded, and the two exchanged a firm handshake.
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