Risou no Himo Seikatsu - Volume 10 - Chapter 5

Chapter 5 — Reconciliation and Return

His life in the Twin Kingdoms changed very little after that. Each day, he’d send a single person to Capua, and other than that, he was relatively free.

Once he had sent Freya, Skaji, the three maids, Natalio, and Talajeh’s nominees, the calendar marked the transition from the blazing season to the active season. At that point, teleportation was no longer the sole method of long-distance travel.

That morning, Lucretia had been accompanied on her usual visit by Margarita. The former was the first to speak.

“Your Majesty, I have served as an attendant for you until today but regret to inform you that I will need to withdraw from this position due to personal reasons. I beg your forgiveness. The duties will now be carried out by Princess Margarita here.”

That prompted the princess in question to continue. “I am Margarita Sharou, of the same family. Though the time I spend as your attendant may be short, I shall carry out the role to the best of my ability. If there is anything you require, please inform me.”

For whatever reason, Lucretia was no longer going to be his attendant. Zenjirou understood the reason and was not particularly surprised. He simply gave his thanks.

“You need not apologize. You have been a great boon for the time you have spent in the role. After all, you have been entrusted with acting as the Broglie family’s representative to transport a magic tool over land to our own lands, I hear. It is a significant duty, and you should be allowed to fulfill it.”

Lucretia lifted her head quickly enough to send her blonde hair bouncing.

“Thank you, Your Majesty. I hope to see you again in Capua.”

Zenjirou couldn’t suppress a somewhat rueful smile at her sparkling expression. “Indeed. I can make no promises, but I would be happy to talk for a while as thanks for your aid here—should our schedules align.”

It could hardly be called a friendly response, but it was much closer to one than his behavior thus far had been, so Lucretia’s face broke into a smile.

“Thank you.”

His softening could have been due to finding out the reason for her desperation, or else knowing that there was a likelihood he’d need to reconcile with the upper echelons of the country. Whatever the case, Lucretia noticed but didn’t have the time to capitalize on it just then.

“I shall have to excuse myself,” she said instead. “I look forward to meeting again.”

“Indeed. Good health to you,” Zenjirou replied.

She reluctantly left. Once she had done so, he turned to the princess in the room.

“Our time together may be short, but I look forward to working with you, Princess Margarita. I have heard of how you aided Princess Freya as well.”

“It is an honor to hear it, Your Majesty,” she replied with a carefree smile. “As you can see, I may not be the most fashionable of women but I will do my utmost to assist you.”

Indeed, while she was clad in the colors of the Sharou family, the dress was relatively plain. It was a bare minimum of compromise due to being out in public. It rather reminded Zenjirou of the princess’s apprentice, Bona.

“I must admit that I feel somewhat guilty about taking up a famed enchanter’s time.”

She shrugged in response. “Do not be concerned. My agreement with my uncle means I am already spending all of my mana on magic tools for water purification. I would be unable to create anything else regardless.”

Apparently, said creation was something she could do figuratively one-handed in her off time. However, with it requiring most of her mana, she would be unable to progress with her research any further.

That more or less followed, but she could still continue her craft in smithing. That would not require mana, so she was likely just waving off his concern.

“I see. Then I will be relying on you for the next three days.”

“Of course, Your Majesty.”

Zenjirou’s quota had entirely fixed itself at sending one person each day. Today, he would be sending Talajeh of the Elementacatto family.

When he had sent her porter the day before—a man practically as broad as he was tall—the fellow had been carrying luggage large enough to easily be mistaken as a dresser. However, Talajeh was also carrying a ridiculously large burden on her back.

“Talajeh, what are you taking with you?” he asked.

In answer, she threw out her bountiful chest and smiled sweetly. “The tools of the trade.”

“And what was your man carrying before?”

“Stock and money,” she answered easily.

“I see...”

It seemed there was no exaggeration to her claims of going to Capua for business; it was one hundred percent the truth.

“I suppose being able to both buy and sell is the hallmark of a good businessperson. I hope you find yourself well acquitted.”

“My thanks,” Talajeh replied with a bow.

Zenjirou had nothing more to discuss with her. “I will be sending you now. Are you ready?”

“I am, whenever you wish.” She closed her eyes as she spoke. She had a fairly full figure and her dress’s neckline was rather low, so Zenjirou wasn’t entirely sure where to put his hand.

Stay with it, he told himself, doing his best to act natural as he put his right hand on her shoulder and spoke the incantation.

His recent practice meant that as long as the stone room in Capua’s palace was the destination, he had been able to cast the spell in a single attempt on most occasions, even without using the camera.

“Send all things in the space that I envision to the place that I desire. As compensation, I offer—”

However, it took three attempts to send Talajeh.

Once he had managed to fulfill his quota for the day, Zenjirou returned to his room. He felt somehow uncomfortable where he was.

“It makes sense, but I’m getting lonelier and lonelier here.”

The only familiar face in the vicinity from his seat on the sofa was Ines. The various people who had spent time in this country with him—even the three maids from the inner palace and Natalio—had already been dispatched back to Capua. Even Francesco, who had constantly pushed his presence onto Zenjirou, and Zenjirou’s all but concubine Freya (and her guard, Skaji) were now back in Capua.

The soldiers headed by Eladio were still here, barring Natalio, so the actual number of people around him was much the same. However, the number of people aware of his disposition had plummeted, making him much more uncomfortable.

He shifted pointlessly in his seat until his second attendant, Margarita, arrived.

“It is almost time, Your Majesty. Are you ready?”

Her question reminded him of the duties he would rather forget. He had a lunch scheduled with King Bruno and Prince Josep. There were the final pleasantries that needed exchanging before he fully left, but Zenjirou would rather have fulfilled that during the banquet that would be held on his penultimate day here.

Of course, even his position didn’t allow him to refuse an invitation from the king and the crown prince with impunity.

“I am. If you could lead the way?” he asked, suppressing the sigh as he slowly stood from his seat.

The lunch was held in a rather small room meant for royalty. Bruno sat at the head of the long table with Josep to his right. Opposite the prince was Zenjirou. He was the third and final person seated at the table.

The servers and various guards were all back along the wall, but such people fundamentally didn’t count in terms of attendance. This was a three-person lunch.

Zenjirou ate somewhat mechanically, following the manners required for the situation as he ferried the soup from a silver bowl to his mouth. He couldn’t really taste it. Considering the sweat that had sprung up on his brow despite the cooling magic tools, it was likely a spicy soup. But following his relatively hasty grounding in etiquette was the most he could do—he couldn’t spare the mental effort to savor the dishes.

Whether they realized that or not, the king and prince waited until the fruits for dessert were finished and all three of them had used the finger bowls to wash their hands before speaking.

“To think that you will be returning home the day after tomorrow. It feels simultaneously like a lifetime and mere days,” the king said.

“You have been a great deal of help,” Zenjirou said. His face was hard, and it was almost like he was reading out the set phrases required. “Thanks to your assistance, I have managed to accomplish my goals here, and I cannot thank you enough.”

The wily old king showed no hint of a flinch at his attitude, simply smiling. “Truly, you need not thank me. I simply hope we can continue our friendly relationship into the future.”

Zenjirou pulled the corners of his lips up into a smile as he answered. “It would be an honor. I could ask for no more than a long and fruitful relationship between our nations,” he replied, purposefully shifting the focus of the response.

“True. I suppose friendly relations with my son would be more worthwhile to our countries than with me, considering my retirement.”

“Indeed. Prince Largo has been an incredible help.”

Zenjirou purposefully dragging the conversation from any friendliness between those currently present to one between the families as a whole and bringing up Largo—who wasn’t even present—was stopping the conversation from progressing. Perhaps finally losing patience with his stubbornness, the prince spoke up rather than his father.

“Now that I think of it, Your Majesty, I recall that your protection detail is to remain in our lands. Can we assume that you intend to visit us again via teleportation?”

Zenjirou remained silent for a moment. He would have preferred to deny them, but his discussion with Aura regarding her future goals meant that lying here would cause a larger issue down the line.

“Indeed,” he said eventually. “I am unsure of any definite timeline, but I believe that will be the case.”

The king and prince alike both gave purposeful smiles at that.

“That is good to hear.”

“Indeed. Perhaps the best news all year.”

Of course, neither of them was lying about their happiness with that outcome. Having one of very few people who could use teleportation in their lands was a shockingly helpful boon. That was particularly true now, when they had many people going to and from Capua. In addition, Zenjirou’s presence meant that there would be more chances to persuade him.

“Father, what would you say to maintaining the annex His Majesty is currently using for his next visit?”

“Hm, a good idea. That will allow us to welcome His Majesty whenever he wishes.”

Zenjirou recoiled and searched for a way out of the father and son forcing part of the royal palace on him. “I am honored to hear it, but that is not a decision I can make alone. If you truly wish to do this then please do so via Her Majesty in Capua.”

Accepting space within another country’s palace without consulting Aura would lead to a multitude of rumors and “his” territory moving from the Capuan palace to the Twin Kingdoms. He was genuinely somewhat admiring of the father and son’s zeal in pursuing any opening he left.

“Practically, however, you will likely visit our lands once more. Going through the process each time will be more work.”

“In that case, father, what about a two-year lease rather than a full transferral? We could add an auto-renewal unless His Majesty specifically requests that it cease.”

“Ah, a good suggestion.”

The pair were treating part of their palace like a phone contract. A two-year auto-renewing lease rather than an indefinite loan would limit how it could be canceled. It was possible that the only way to do so would be when the contract came up for renewal. This was somewhat bothersome but Aura would almost certainly be sending him to the Twin Kingdoms again. It was effectively necessary to secure a place for him to stay within the country. This was something he could not just refuse.

“If I may,” Bruno continued, “I would suggest payment be in the form of a set number of teleportation requests for our benefit.”

“I agree, father. Francesco and Bona are not the only citizens in Capua at present. Talajeh and Fiqriya of the Elementacatto and Animeeum families are also there. Lucretia of the Broglie family should be joining them in a month as well. A rapid, safe path between our two nations should it be required would be immensely valuable.”

Calling them back could be done by asking Aura to send them, but if they wanted to return again, Aura would be unable to do so given her ties to the throne. Zenjirou would need to come and send them instead.

Frankly, it was a rather irritating agreement, but a valid one to tighten ties between the two countries. At the very least, it wasn’t something he could reject here and now.

“I hear and understand your suggestions. I will convey them to Her Majesty once I return to Capua.”

He stuck to being unable to agree to international engagements on his own. With his answer essentially cementing his stubbornness, the father and son exchanged glances before seeming to shrug in surrender.

“If you will excuse me, then. Thank you for your hospitality today.”

“Not at all; I only wish it could have been a better spread,” the king replied.

“We would happily welcome you to such a meal again, Your Majesty.”

Once the smiles and farewells were all exchanged, Zenjirou left the room. As soon as the door thudded closed, Josep let out a sigh containing all the disappointment he had felt over the last five hours.

“I expected some difficulties, but His Majesty was far more intractable than I had predicted.”

The king nodded in agreement. “Indeed. In all my years, I have never come across someone as hard to reconcile with. No matter how hard I look, there seems to be nothing to pique his interest. Not money, status, fame, influence, or women. Placating someone who wants for nothing is all but impossible. His Majesty is satisfied with the current state of things and we are impinging on that state. It is inevitable he would shy away from that. There seems to be nothing we have that can better the situation either.” The king raised his hands in surrender.

Josep shrugged slightly at his father’s response. “We will have to keep on pushing. At least from what Largo has said, the direct cause of His Majesty’s animosity was us attempting to use Prince Carlos. Apparently, his expression was quite the sight. Therefore, I believe that we should divert slightly and tackle the situation through Prince Carlos as well.”

The king simply lifted an eyebrow at the somewhat disquieting statement. “By involving him again? All I can see that accomplishing is turning His Majesty into an enemy in truth.”

Josep shook his head at the concern. “Quite the opposite. If Largo’s reports are to be believed, His Majesty dotes on Prince Carlos despite him only being an infant. In that case, we should provide something for the prince, not His Majesty himself, in order to win his favor.”

The king considered his son’s proposal. “That certainly sounds effective. However, the prince is not even two years old yet, is he? A gift for a nursing infant is rather difficult. Perhaps we should turn our attention to Queen Aura? While His Majesty does adore his son, he has similar feelings for his wife as well.”

The middle-aged prince considered the rebuttal in turn before shaking his head. “I am not too sure about that. How can I put it? His Majesty is exceptionally protective and fond of his son but seems to respect Her Majesty as a superior as well. I doubt it would be as effective at the very least.”

It wasn’t about the difference in the amount of love he held for either of them, but rather the type. Carlos Zenkichi was simply Zenjirou’s child to him. Aura, on the other hand, was his wife but also an independent woman in her own right. Therefore, if someone gave the prince an incredible gift, Zenjirou would give his thanks in his son’s stead.

On the other hand, he respected Aura as a person. While he would express pleasure for a gift, he would consider the actual thanks to be from Aura personally. Of course, he would be more pleasantly disposed to someone giving his wife gifts of that ilk, but not as directly as he would with his son.

“True. That makes sense.” The king nodded with a deep furrow in his brow.

Zenjirou was a man who could marry a queen and simultaneously see her as a superior and beloved wife. From the perspective of the Southern Continent’s ruling classes, it was an extremely warped perspective. Josep’s understanding—albeit an imperfect facsimile—of Zenjirou’s emotional state was proof of his flexible way of thinking and keen insight.

“So we act ideally for His Majesty, and failing that, for Prince Carlos, to build up whatever rapport we can.”

“Indeed, father. However, we should still continue our negotiations with Queen Aura. A discussion of costs and benefits works with her, so they will progress much more smoothly. She will be the center of any international cooperation as well.”

“True. Valuable though His Majesty is, we cannot focus entirely on him.”

Aura could not move away from the throne, so closer ties with Capua required Zenjirou’s cooperation. Additionally, Aura had said that, as a rule, she would agree with her husband’s words and actions. Therefore, harming relations with him was a fatal mistake.

However, the fact remained that the most powerful person in Capua was Aura, not Zenjirou. No matter how good a relationship they built with Zenjirou, if Aura didn’t agree, they would gain no help from Capua.

The king stared off into the distance as he murmured, “It was a true windfall that Princess Freya decided to visit our country. Without the information from her, we might not have made it in time.”

She had been in the country for a dozen or so days. During that time, multiple people had talked with her across the various dinners, balls, and negotiations. The culmination of those conversations and analyzing the information therein allowed an insight into the rough state of the Northern Continent.

“The Northern Continent has progressed technologically by leaps and bounds over only a few decades. If four-masted ships such as the Glasir’s Leaf become commonplace, politicians, tradesmen and the church will no longer be unconcerned with the world of the Southern Continent. If we don’t advance to the same level, we will be nothing more than ripened crops for the Northern Continent’s scythes.”

They needed to develop to the same level as the Northern Continent. They could not do so by imitation, however. After all, their cultures had diverged wildly. The Northern Continent didn’t place anywhere near the same level of importance on magic as the Southern Continent did. Especially with their recent advancements in technology, more and more people saw magic as a destabilizing influence that increased individual power.

In contrast, the Southern Continent still placed a great deal of importance on magic. Only those with lineal magic could reign as royalty. Even a commoner with superlative magic skill could gain just as high a position—if not higher—as nobility.

If the Southern Continent tried to emulate the advancements of the Northern Continent despite that disparity—attempting to focus on technology over magic—there was little chance it would go well.

It would take time to change people’s feelings and values in that way. In that interim, the Northern Continent would continue developing.

They were starting from a worse position, and running after them with that extra weight wouldn’t let them catch up. Therefore, it made sense to focus on developing their magic.

Fortunately, the Sharou family’s lineal magic was enchantment. There was nothing better suited to a magic renaissance. Magic’s downfall was in the number of casters available. There were exceedingly few truly skilled mages. So when considered in terms of national power, there was too much of a gap between the different countries, which would never stabilize.

Take the archmage Espiridion of Capua, for example. If he wished, he could create a campground for an entire army in a single day, even providing water if there was no source for it. However, there were no mages on a similar level among the Capuan youth. In other words, the tactics that relied on his existence could not be passed down to the next generation.

This was far from a welcome thing for an army, which might need to make a show of power at any time. However, if those characteristic problems were turned into magic tools via enchantment, things became much more stable.

If an individual mage’s strength was needed for a hundred consecutive days, the mage would have to remain in place for that entire period. But with a magic tool, the burden could be shared and rotated between several people. Magic tools coupled the ability of magic to wield immense power with the offer of the added practical benefit of enabling anyone to use them.

Bruno’s mouth twisted as he spat his next words. “We therefore must push through periodic purchases of those jewels once they enter production.”

“Indeed. We need more magic tools to stand against the technological advancements of the Northern Continent. Our current production levels are not enough,” Josep agreed firmly.

“In the worst case, we may need to acknowledge a ‘Twin Kingdom’ to match our own ‘Twin Kingdoms.’ Assuming we are repaid with either space-time magic or the method for mass-producing those jewels, of course.”

Space-time magic and jewel—or marble—production.

“Either way, His Majesty will be the key.”

“Indeed. Whatever else, I want him as part of our plans.”

“We have provided both Bona and Lucretia with Dual Burn Parchment this time rather than just Francesco. I want to keep as close an eye as we can on the Capuan royal family. We can wait for any additional information from them for now.”

The king was nodding along with his son’s words before he suddenly stopped in realization. “We will need to be upfront with Her Majesty. Josep, I will be handing you the throne within a year. Once domestic matters have calmed down, I may visit Capua with His Majesty’s aid. The situation may lead to that changing, but be prepared for it.”

Josep’s face showed shock for a moment, but it was the most rational response, he realized. Once he took the throne, Bruno would be the former king. Nothing other than another royal in title. With Aura unable to leave the throne in Capua, someone from the Twin Kingdoms would need to go to her if they wanted to speak to her directly.

The issue was that, official positions aside, Bruno had served as king for over fifty years and was one of the most influential people on the continent. His visit would cause tremors across the entirety of Randlion. If they were careless, they could see baseless rumors of Capua and the Twin Kingdoms joining forces to rule over the continent as a whole.

Regardless, they still needed to establish some type of collaborative relationship with Capua as soon as possible given the current state of the Northern Continent.

“Very well. I shall await that.”

The son trusted Bruno both as his father and as his king, so his only response was a nod and agreement.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

The last two days passed in the blink of an eye. Zenjirou had sent the final person—Fiqriya of the Animeeum family—safely to Capua that morning and it was now his last night in the country.

Tonight’s banquet was doubling as a send-off party for Zenjirou, so it was a lavish event. It was being held in the banquet hall of the Purple Egg Palace, but there weren’t only purple-clad members of the Sharou family—there were also several white-clad Gilbelles.

Freya had already left along with Lucretia, so his partner was his current attendant: Princess Margarita. She was already married and hadn’t shown any real interest in Zenjirou. Actually, it was more pleasant than sharing the evening with Lucretia, or even Freya, in fact.

He faltered slightly when Margarita introduced him to her husband, but the man was a jolly, pleasant fellow, so the conversation actually flowed freely. As for other attendees that left an impression on him, Prince Vittore would be the first to come to mind. He was the spitting image of his father but rather different in appearance than his older brother, Francesco. He acquitted himself well for being only seven, giving a proper greeting and a short amount of conversation. Zenjirou saw him as an intelligent young man.

Zenjirou’s explanation of the Glasir’s Leaf had made the boy’s eyes sparkle as he declared he wanted to go sailing for adventure in the future. It was rather adorable and more appropriate for his age.

His wet nurse—now nanny—had scolded him for that, however, and he had calmed down immediately, showing how well he’d been brought up.

Finally, Bruno and Benedict—both of whom often used their busyness as a reason to avoid these meetings—had appeared, and Zenjirou had exchanged official farewells with them to round the night out.

It was now the next morning and he had prepared everything before heading to the teleportation room with Ines under the protection of Eladio and his men. The only people from the Twin Kingdoms who were accompanying him were Margarita—having taken on the role from Lucretia—and her own attendants.

He would be sending Ines first and then himself. That would finally mark the end of his stay in the country.

The active season had now begun. Thinking about it, Zenjirou realized he had traveled to the Twin Kingdoms once the blazing season had started and spent more than half of the three months making up the season in the Twin Kingdoms this year.

“I will be waiting for you in Capua, Sir Zenjirou,” Ines said, shouldering her luggage and holding the cooling magic tools in her hands.

Zenjirou was carrying the now much lighter rucksack that had held the payment for the tools and two letters in his pocket. They were the replies from Bruno and Benedict for the letters Aura had initially sent.

“I will be following right away. Are you ready?” he asked.

“I am,” she replied in her usual calm tone. Zenjirou put his hand on her and then began to recite the familiar incantation.

“Here we go, then. Send all things in the space that I envision to the place that I desire. As compensation, I offer—”

All his practice meant that the spell had exactly the effect he wanted. With Ines having vanished from in front of him, Zenjirou felt the strongest sense of loss he had felt since arriving in the country. He felt even less at ease than when he had sent the three young maids and less safe than when he had sent Natalio. In some respects, Ines had been with him even more than Aura was when he was within the inner palace.

It was time for him to head back as well. With that thought in mind, Zenjirou turned to offer his farewells to Margarita.

“Well then, Princess Margarita, this is goodbye. The Twin Kingdoms as a whole—including both the Sharou and Gilbelle families—have been of great help to me. You have my thanks.”

The princess gave an easy smile in response. “It is an honor to hear it, Your Majesty. The annex will be kept as it is, so you may feel free to visit whenever you wish. The Twin Kingdoms is always willing to welcome you.” As if to underscore her words, Margarita’s retinue all bowed as one.

“Thank you,” Zenjirou said shortly, intending to head right back to Capua.

Before he could, however, Margarita acted. “This, however, is me acting as an individual. It may not be much, but it may be of assistance in your future endeavors. I hope you will accept it.” As she spoke, she offered a plain iron bangle to him.

Zenjirou had awakened his sight to see mana, so he could tell at a glance that it was no mere accessory. It was a magic tool. One created by Margarita, a famed enchanter.

Zenjirou couldn’t help but be taken aback by receiving such an offer at the last minute.

“I could not possibly accept this,” he responded.

Margarita had an intent look on her face as she answered him. “Please reconsider. This is called the Windhammer. You place the hand it is on in front of you and say ‘shun’ in the language of magic to activate it. The effect is an instantaneous tempest. It is strong enough to push back even a mounted knight.”

The more he heard, the stronger it sounded. It was likely a unique artifact the woman had created. He couldn’t just take it, considering his fear of the implications.

However, Margarita seemed to understand his reluctance as she continued to explain. “Please forgive my rudeness, but your physical abilities are on par with women and children, Your Majesty. Despite that, you are one of only two users of teleportation magic on the continent. I would wager that you will have far more opportunities to travel to distant lands with only a few companions in the same way you traveled here. I hope that this Windhammer can protect you.”

“Hm...”

He had little room to refute her there. If it functioned as she had explained, it would certainly be useful for self-defense.

Having never pitted his life against another person, Zenjirou would be unable to even properly intimidate someone if he held a sword or spear. However, blowing his enemies away needed no real technique. It wouldn’t create any physical or more visceral feedback either, so he could use it without stress. His position meant that his guards could rush over in the interim after he had defended himself.

“Still...” Despite all of that, he didn’t want to indebt himself to Margarita personally.

The princess offered a smile to dispel those concerns. “Perhaps you could consider being there for my sister as payment?”

A wary light came to life in his eyes at that. There was only one person Margarita would call “sister” in this context—Lucretia.

Before Zenjirou could refuse her, she continued.

“I would not demand that you surrender your heart to her desires. I simply hope for you to give her opportunities even there. Let’s say three. Meet with her three times without refusing her invitations. Anything else would depend on her efforts and your feelings.”

It was a concrete, limited promise. That might be acceptable.

Regardless of anything else, arguing the point here would only delay his return. He had specified an exact time he would return and Ines had already preceded him.

“Very well. I will happily accept this kindness from you,” he replied, pocketing the bangle. He certainly didn’t feel like putting it on then and there.

“Thank you. I look forward to seeing you again.” She bowed and stepped back, allowing some of the tension in the air to dissolve.

Staying any longer would tie him up in even more nuisances, and he would gladly avoid that.

“Farewell, then. My thanks once again, Princess Margarita. Eladio, I leave the rest here to you.” He finished up his farewells so that he could finally flee.

“Likewise, Your Majesty.”

“Of course, Sir Zenjirou.”

Once they had both responded, Zenjirou closed his eyes and began his enchantment for the last time. “Send all things in the space that I envision to the place that I desire. As compensation, I offer—”

When he opened his eyes, he was greeted by the familiar room in Capua. Along with...

“Welcome home, Zenjirou.”

...his wife, having pushed her pregnant body to see him return. Ines was waiting behind her, still carrying the luggage.

The final bit of chaos had likely made her restless. There was a slight but visible—to Zenjirou, at least—hint of relief on her face.

“I am pleased to be back, Your Majesty,” he replied, keeping his tone formal for their initial greetings since other people were present.