Risou no Himo Seikatsu - Volume 11 - Chapter 1.2

It went without saying for the queen, but even Zenjirou—now both prince consort and duke—was very busy within the palace. The time the couple spent together each night was a valuable period of relaxation for both husband and wife.

However, the fell influence of their work was not completely shut out of even the inner palace. They had just taken their usual bath and changed into loungewear and were now sitting on opposite sofas to talk.

Being on opposite sofas meant that it was a serious discussion. Zenjirou was the first to speak.

“You look fine, but I want to check just in case. Are you doing okay?” he asked, leaning forward to take in his wife while wearing his blue-striped pajamas from Japan.

Aura was clad in a thin nightdress. Her stomach was visibly bulging but she looked the same as ever outside of that. Her reply only served to affirm his hopes.

“Indeed, thanks to you. Princess Isabella’s healing is superb. In fact, I almost feel too well and fear I might forget my pregnancy.”

The answer prompted all the tension to drain from his shoulders. He asked the question almost every night, but he couldn’t help his worrywart ways.

“Right. That’s great. I suppose having both Doctor Michel and Isabella makes it almost certain.”

“As I said earlier, I feel much the same as before I fell pregnant. I have therefore been able to get a significant amount of work done. Although with that play from Pujol, I can hardly call it smooth.”

Aura’s nose flared as she scowled and Zenjirou offered a weak smile back.

“Well, he’s always the same. Things are going about as we expected for me. I think I’ve managed to deal pretty well with the nobles trying to get in with ‘Duke Bilbo.’ Lady Talajeh is the problem. She practically breathes business.”

Aura let out a hum. “I would like to hear about that in more detail.”

Thus, husband and wife went through their usual nightly ritual of sharing the information they had gathered throughout the day.

Once they’d spent all the time they needed to ensure they were on the same page, Zenjirou let out a long sigh.

“The only thing I can really say is that the general hasn’t changed since becoming a marshal.”

“He has not, but his environment has changed significantly. The position of marshal is one such thing, but his marriage is also a large part of it.”

“Right...Lucinda. She seemed pretty reserved and intelligent,” Zenjirou commented as he thought back on the woman he had met in the Gaziel march.

She wasn’t ugly by any means, but she seemed rather plain. However, her actions during the face-off between general Pujol and his Nabaran counterpart—coupled with how she had dealt with Pujol trying to take the knight commander hostage—changed things for the better and truly demonstrated her intelligence.

“Indeed. My concern is not just her intelligence and insight. This impression is only based on an external view, but she seems to be directing him.”

There was a bitter scowl on her lips at that. While Pujol had thus far been ambitious, he had a clumsiness to him, only seeming to know how to pursue his goals with everything he had.

It was almost charming, like someone accelerating into a curve and bashing into the wall to turn, but losing time instead. Lucinda’s intelligence could add a brake to that and let him coast along the curve and lose as little time as possible. It wasn’t something the queen was particularly happy about.

“Hmm, it might be a bit optimistic of me, but is it really that bad? Someone managing to control the general...oops, marshal, I mean, can’t only be a bad thing.”

While understanding his—as he had said—optimistic view, Aura shook her head. “You are partially correct. As a matter of fact, the number of times I have had to rebuke him has noticeably dropped since his marriage. His current behavior would normally be welcome, but that is only the case if his position as marshal has satisfied his ambition. If he aims for even more power over the army and Lucinda supports him, ‘troublesome’ would not even begin to cover it.”

“That’s a good point...” Zenjirou admitted.

Pujol’s current position was definitely a grand accomplishment for him, but that wasn’t necessarily his ultimate goal. Anyone who was even passingly familiar with the man would question whether he would ever have a final goal. He seemed to always be aiming higher, with bottomless determination.

“Do you think he might move towards eventually attempting to usurp the throne?” Zenjirou asked hesitantly.

Aura didn’t seem to know what to say to that and pondered the question with a blank expression for a while. It took a good half-minute or so, a rather long time for how insightful she usually was, but eventually, she understood what he was getting at and shook her head as a reluctantly amused smile forced its way onto her lips.

“Ah. You are not from this world. I suppose this is one way our views differ. To sum things up, that is impossible. At least on the Southern Continent, one without lineal magic will never be accepted as king. In a certain way, you could consider it the equalizer for royalty. Somewhat, at least.”

As she spoke, her smile did indeed take on a cynical edge. What she was saying was entirely true, though. Not even the war had seen such an example. The various countries’ royals had sometimes utterly wiped each other out through their differences, but the general view that lineal magic was a requirement for being royalty remained common between them.

Therefore, on the Southern Continent, a person could become influential within the country but would be unable to represent that country unless they also had lineal magic.

“Pujol understands that. The absolute worst case would be puppeteering the royal family while he holds the real power. Even then, though, he would be unable to supplant us.”

“I see.”

Zenjirou could only nod with a slightly awed feeling at how a world with magic worked. They then pivoted to discussing the blonde he had met earlier.

“That reminds me, the ducal families like Talajeh’s have existed longer than the country itself. The four tribes—now four duchies—had followed the culture and traditions of the Southern Continent but never managed to gain recognition as royalty. Then along came the Sharou and Gilbelle families, and they did, despite looking and acting as differently as they did. Guess that shows just how big magic is.”

“Well, that is true. Speaking of Lady Talajeh, she has been rather active.”

Zenjirou smiled as he nodded in agreement. “Yeah. It’s sorta like she’s a merchant through and through, despite her looks. The moment she opens her mouth, it’s likely to be business talk.”

“The rumors I have heard say much the same. Despite that, the nobility seem rather well-disposed to her. With her figure and dress sense, you could easily see her garnering favor from the men while simultaneously earning resentment from the women. However, she is almost shockingly well-liked by the women as well.”

Aura’s busy schedule and pregnancy meant that she hadn’t recently been involved in any of those social events, but the rumors she’d gathered claimed that Talajeh had managed to become even more popular with the women.

Zenjirou agreed. “Yeah, that’s what makes her such a saleswoman. She’s very careful not to alienate people while currying favor. I’m sure the clothes she wears are the source of her popularity with the men, but it looks like how she treats herself as a living mannequin makes the women struggle to resent her. Also, all that jewelry—the gold—is a big part of it, I’d say. It’s really popular with the noblewomen, and they sell like hotcakes despite how much she charges.”

“The first thing that comes to mind with regard to her family would be their gold. They used to solely be a conduit to the metal but have built up their craft over the years and now deal in goldcraft and coin alike. The assistance of magic is there, so they cannot measure up to the Sharou family craftsmen, but they are at the peak outside of that. I may find myself having to purchase something if it were recommended.”

She rolled her neck in exasperation. Of course, Talajeh had offered the queen a suitably lavish example, but with the products being so popular within the palace, even Aura might have found the need to loosen her purse strings to buy one.

It was less a hobby and more an instance of diplomacy. While Aura was as fond of pretty ornamentation as any woman, buying such items was more trouble than enjoyable.

Zenjirou had a sudden realization at that and spoke up. “Oh? Then maybe I should buy one? You know, as a present for you.”

Until very recently, he had been a royal with no money of his own. Such thoughts would therefore have been pointless. Now, though, he had money as “Duke Bilbo,” albeit a small amount, relatively speaking. Would it not, therefore, be socially risky to not buy his wife a gift?

The queen considered his words for a moment before agreeing. “Indeed. It sits poorly with me to outright say so myself, but you are correct. For royalty, the couple simply knowing their relationship is good is not enough. It is safer to continually demonstrate to the public that that is true. However, in this case, you would buy two, not one.”

A brief moment of thought on Zenjirou’s part helped him arrive at the answer. “Ah, Princess Freya.”

“Correct. Her Highness is already practically a concubine. Gifting something to me and only me will lead to rumors of your discontent with Princess Freya. However, there needs to be a distinct difference in the gifts, as is appropriate for giving gifts to both a queen such as myself and a concubine-to-be such as Princess Freya. That said, she is a princess. Too clear a distinction would also be rude.”

“Blehhhh... Such a pain.” He couldn’t help but whine, looking up at the ceiling. Still, he managed to rally and sit back up before questioning his wife further. “Okay, got it. Would having Talajeh deal with the fine details be an issue?”

“That should be acceptable. In fact, if she is of the caliber you have intimated, I believe she will be able to prepare things perfectly suited for both Princess Freya and myself.”

“Yeah, that seems likely.” He couldn’t help but let his lips quirk into a grin as he imagined Talajeh smiling and saying, “Thank you for your patronage” as she swiftly handed over two specially ordered sets of jewelry.

“That will lead to a lot of money flowing from our coffers to the Twin Kingdoms. It irks me to go with their suggestion, but accepting her commission would offset that,” Aura added.

“Right. That is her main goal here.”

Talajeh’s family had gold mines that supported their lands. However, they were in soft, sandy soil. That meant that even with wind and earth magic tools, they lost multiple people to cave-ins every year.

The wages carried a commensurate addition in light of that danger, so the job was fairly attractive and they could make up for the yearly loss of labor. Still, decreasing the number of casualties would be better.

“So we’ll be making the isolation barrier. Who takes the lead on that? Me? Or you?”

It was the first spell he had learned. Zenjirou could currently use three spells: the barrier, a retrieval spell, and teleportation. Therefore, making a magic tool could—for those three spells, at least—be done with his cooperation rather than Aura’s.

She considered his question at length, looking up at the ceiling in thought.

“That will be my role. The actual enchanting will be done by either Prince Francesco or Princess Bona. We do not know which, but either will carry it out in the palace proper. Therefore, it would be easier for me to do as I am constantly there.”

The job being Aura’s responsibility due to her always being in the palace could apply in the reverse as well: Zenjirou was not necessarily in the palace, so it was not his job.

The unspoken implication made him remember their earlier plans, and his face twisted into an uncharacteristic scowl.

“So I can pretty much take it that I’m heading to the Northern Continent?”

The queen straightened slightly at that, a serious expression on her face. “You can. Truthfully, it is the best path I can see, all things considered. My only regret is the burden it will place on you.”

Freya and her retinue would be departing for Uppasala on the Glasir’s Leaf come the new year. Aura’s suggestion was that Zenjirou accompany them.

There were significant benefits to his doing so. The first was to ensure that the process of Freya becoming his concubine went smoothly. While Capua and Freya herself were already treating it as a done deal, it would be shocking news for the Uppasalans.

On top of that, Zenjirou was not the king. No, he was the prince consort—nothing but the queen’s spouse. There was unlikely to be a single royal who wouldn’t object to the first princess of their nation becoming the concubine of a mere consort. To have it easily accepted would give the impression of Uppasala being a vassal state of Capua.

However, if Zenjirou—the man who wanted her—was to spend nearly a hundred days crossing the sea all the way to the Northern Continent to ask for her hand, they would be much more amenable to the idea.

Secondly, it was an opportunity for Aura to directly get eyes on the Northern Continent from someone she could trust without question. This was half intuition, but their interactions with the Twin Kingdoms had raised her suspicions. Why had the Sharou family conceded so easily to their demands without even pretending to negotiate?

Equally odd to her was their wholehearted welcome of—and concern for—Freya. It would help to see whether the Twin Kingdoms considered the Northern Continent’s trends a threat.

After all, Zenjirou had a camera, a phone, and a dictaphone, all allowing him to record video, images, and sound. The ability to personally witness a person and their speech rather than hearing an observer’s impression would vastly increase the amount of information she could obtain.

Lastly—and this was the clincher—Zenjirou could use teleportation. It would naturally require Uppasala’s permission, but if they could get something akin to an embassy established within the Northern palace or capital, it would allow at least limited instantaneous movement between the two countries, which meant that even if Freya emigrated to Capua, she could easily visit her home.

Despite the preliminary nature of such matters, having someone who could cast the spell making that initial visit meant that a representative could be brought back with him. Freya’s father would be rather difficult to invite, what with him currently reigning, but other royals visiting Capua would enable Aura to negotiate directly with them.

In every respect, the only conclusion she could draw as queen was that having Zenjirou aboard the Glasir’s Leaf was the best possible move. Zenjirou could understand the logic to it, but unlike his trips to Valentia, the Gaziel march, and the Twin Kingdoms, it was not such a simple decision.

“Hrmm. I get what you want to say. Really, I do. Honestly, I’m scared, though.”

That was his completely truthful opinion. It was perhaps slightly embarrassing to fear what his concubine-to-be was doing, but that was the truth.

“Spending around a hundred days on a wooden ship making an international crossing honestly seems insane to me. It’s something even normal merchants don’t do, let alone normal people. It’s a gamble that adventurers and daring merchants make, risking their lives.”

“Is that so?” Aura asked, struggling to understand his feelings. She was far better versed in the general norms of this world than Zenjirou, but sailing was something she was less familiar with.

This was due to the general apathy on the Southern Continent towards the idea of crossing the ocean, so it was not her fault. Because of that, though, she could not truly understand the dangers lurking on such long sea voyages.

“Yeah. It’s a literally life-risking act...to say nothing of how Princess Freya came from the very far north of the Northern Continent to the middle of the Southern Continent. She might not make her way into textbooks in my world, but she’d definitely be in somewhat specialized history books.”

“I see.” Aura nodded as Zenjirou earnestly praised his concubine-to-be.

It certainly held up to scrutiny. Now that she considered it, Zenjirou had respected the woman right from the start. In fact, it might have been that respect rather than any feelings of attraction that had allowed her assault to work.

Zenjirou crossed his arms in thought. “Still, I know you’re right when you think about the country as a whole. I should accept it as much as possible, but however much of a disgrace of a royal it makes me, I don’t have the guts to put my life on the line like that even for my country.”

The queen smiled at the blunt statement from her husband. “That is nothing to be ashamed of, though I will admit that those royals who are willing to put their lives on the line are well regarded. However, it is a matter of degree. Being ashamed of such hesitation dulls one to the risks to their life. In the extreme, it can also lead to something irrevocable...”

Zenjirou was briefly lost for words as she seemed to stare off into the distance. The royal family had been wiped out during the war, leaving only Aura behind. One of those people must have been similar to what she was describing now.

The couple were family, but whomever person she was remembering might as well have been a stranger to him despite being a beloved family member to her. Any words of sympathy or consolation from him felt like they’d be superficial at best, so none left his lips.

While he remained silent, not knowing how to react, Aura shook off her memories and continued as if nothing had happened. “Regardless, there is nothing wrong with your reaction. Still, I do want to send you to the Northern Continent for the nation’s benefit. Therefore, I want to do all I can so that you are willing to accept it. First is the provision of magic tools, including those for water purification and the Lulled Sea, the latter of which is practically a national treasure. Of course, it is traveling by land, so it will arrive later. According to Her Highness, however, it makes the intercontinental trip immeasurably safer. What are your thoughts?”

Zenjirou’s face matched her own serious look as he considered it deeply. “Right. Well, not having to worry about water while at sea is a big thing. Apparently, the princess herself can cast the spell version, so they can carry less water and therefore more food. That makes it safer as well. If the Lulled Sea works as well as they’ve said, it will lower the possibility of any accidents,” he agreed.

However, the seas in this world were home to aquatic drakes. When you found out some were bigger than blue whales on Earth, and vastly more aggressive, you could hardly call the trip safe, even if the actual sailing portion was tractable.

“Then what of having Prince Francesco create a teleportation magic tool? While you can cast the spell yourself, that would hardly be the case in an emergency. So the tool would be simple—you could hold it and speak a word in the magic language to be transported to a set location, regardless of your own visualization. That would make it possible for you to escape if the situation called for it.”

That would be tantamount to abandoning his shipmates, including Freya and his knights, but even Zenjirou didn’t feel the need to pursue that line of thought. In an emergency, he was the only one Capua absolutely wanted to return.

There was a long pause before he spoke, confirming things just in case. “I remember the royal family saw teleportation as a treasure to such an extent that it would not permit a magic tool of any kind to be made for it. Do you think this is beneficial enough to ignore that choice?”

“This” of course referred to Zenjirou going to the Northern Continent. His objection to the trip was that he couldn’t be sure of his safety. Making a teleportation tool would ensure his well-being. The value of him taking this trip was highlighted simply by Aura’s willingness to commit what had previously been considered a taboo.

Indeed, the queen nodded. “I do. My opinion as your wife need not even be said, but you are irreplaceable to me even as the queen. Additionally, your presence on the Northern Continent will be of such benefit that I wish to do all I can to make it a reality. I must ensure your safety even as I send you into danger. Even commissioning a magic tool for teleportation is but a small concern to accomplish those contradictory goals.”

Zenjirou hummed in consideration, slightly dissatisfied with the main thrust being her views as the queen. Still, her statement about her thoughts as his wife had his lips quirking up.

A magic tool that could be used in an emergency to teleport him out regardless of the mental state he was in would certainly cause the risk to him to plummet. As far as he was concerned, with that in place, the risk to him felt even lower than boarding a plane.

Then, the queen seemed to have another idea. “Oh, I know. Another form of protection could be a tool akin to the barrier that Lady Talajeh desires. While not to the same degree as teleportation, it would be somewhat helpful in protecting you.”

Zenjirou couldn’t hide his shock at that. “What? You mean being able to deploy the isolation barrier on the ship?” In a certain way, that would be even more powerful than the Lulled Sea.

The queen smiled as he jolted forward in excitement. “No, it would be for after you arrive. If something happens then, you could temporarily ‘turtle’ with it and recover your faculties.”

“I see...” He nodded in understanding but was imagining a completely different way of using it.

“Zenjirou?” Aura asked quizzically.

After a brief period of further thought, Zenjirou articulated his idea. “Say, Aura? I can use the spell as well, so I know it doesn’t have the widest area of effect, right? Maybe half the living room at most. Is it possible to make it bigger, though? More specifically, big enough for the Glasir’s Leaf to fit in?”

That was enough to make her understand what he was getting at. The queen laughed slightly at that.

“That would make a tool for it work much the same as the Lulled Sea. ‘It is theoretically possible but not practical’ would be my answer. Improving magic is an awfully troublesome endeavor. With elemental magic, it could be possible with Espiridion and Pasquala aiding us. However, the barrier is space-time magic. You and I are the only ones capable of using it.”

She shrugged as she finished. Zenjirou sighed.

“Yeah, so that’s not happening.”

It went without saying that he wasn’t particularly skilled with magic, but neither was Aura. Of course, unlike him, she could cast the hereditary magic passed down to the royal family, but that was merely by memorizing the incantations as a whole, not understanding it. There were royals who had been dedicated to research before the war, but neither Zenjirou nor Aura had their capability.

“Okay, then. It’s not a high priority for me, but I’ll take it if we can get it done. The barrier tool too.”

She understood the implication of that, and her eyes widened before a smile blossomed on her face. “You will go?”

If he’d “take it,” that meant he was working under the assumption he would be going. He met her gaze head-on and nodded.

“Yeah. With that many precautions, the risk to my life is as low as possible. With all that, I would have been willing to go anyway.”

Of course, more selfishly, he wouldn’t want to go even if it was safe. He was a normal man at heart, and he was essentially going up to a king and asking for his daughter’s hand in marriage—while in fact already being married. He’d like nothing more than to run from that.

Still, however things had happened, he was the one who had accepted the arrangement, so he felt it was his duty to personally ask for her father’s permission.

“Thank you, Zenjirou. I truly do not know how to repay your devotion.” She smiled.

He shifted awkwardly before answering. “Well, yeah. As long as things in the inner palace stay as they are, I’d take that as plenty of payment.”

“I will remember that,” she replied gravely, taking his embarrassed statement on board.

He felt slightly taken aback at the unexpected way she had reacted but decided to ask another question that the conversation prompted.

“I just remembered. What about our other guest? Fiqriya from the Animeeum family? She came here to discuss magic with Espiridion, but that hasn’t happened yet, right?”

“Unlike Lady Talajeh, Lady Fiqriya has participated in only the bare minimum of social engagements. It seems her sole purpose is indeed to deepen her knowledge of magic.” Her lips quirked in amusement at something.

“So she hasn’t spoken with him yet?”

“No. He is servicing the roads, so he has traveled via my teleportation magic but will be returning via carriage. He will need to rest for a while as well, considering his age.”

There was a sour look on her face at that. The rainy season damaging the roads was practically a yearly affair in Capua at this point, but with the additional issue that Nilda Gaziel had exposed with the nobles’ register, things were much more urgent than usual.

Those with vast mana reserves were usually poor at fine control, but the head court mage was an exception to that. He had an amount of mana on par with royalty but excelled at precise spells. His abilities and knowledge were both superlative, so he had learned spells across all four of the elements. That made him perfect for the role of maintaining the roads.

“We handed over the documents she brought before he left. Has he managed to read them yet?” Zenjirou asked, thinking back to them.

The bundle was of a considerable size, he seemed to remember. While each sheet of drake parchment was far thicker than a sheet of copy paper like those he’d brought from home—so it was hard to compare them directly—it probably wasn’t something one could go through with any great speed.

The queen quelled his concerns, though. “He did so before leaving, yes. He said it was crude and incomplete thinking but had several novel developments. He was rather excited as well.”

“So does it look promising?” Zenjirou had only been hired to cast the teleportation spell, so any meeting between Lady Fiqriya and Espiridion had no real bearing on him, but he would still rather see her achieve what she had set out to do.

“It does. I imagine he will send her an invitation before long. Can I bother you to also be present for their first meeting to verify what happens?”

He nodded cheerily in answer.

“Got it. It’d definitely be best to see how that goes. Espiridion would probably be fine, though. Lady Fiqriya seems like a rather rational person.”

“Of course; it is just to be certain.”

At that point, the tension between the two seemed to snap.

“So, that’s it for the annoying stuff?” Zenjirou asked.

“That should do for today, yes.”

He stood up and moved over to the other sofa to sit next to his wife. They pressed into each other.

“Do you mind?” he asked, lifting his hand.

“No,” she replied, prompting him to softly put it on her swollen stomach.

“This one is really quiet. Oh, did it just move?”

“It did. Both Doctor Michel and Princess Isabella say things are going well, though. The doctor said this is down to individual differences between pregnancies.”

The conversation between the two of them was calm as they showed their affection.

“It’s a bit trite, but maybe it’s a girl? Are we naming this one the same way, one name each?”

“We should, yes. I have already decided on both possibilities.”

“Man, you beat me to it. What should I do? I’d like to use one of the characters from my name like we did for Zenkichi, but I can’t think of another name with the same reading. The language here is phonetic, so a single character having multiple ways it can be pronounced won’t make sense to most people.”

“In that case, you should teach them your language once they have learned the local one. A certain degree of familiarity will serve them well with manipulating the tools you brought with you, so it would not be a waste.”

“That might be a good idea, yeah.”

The two of them spoke of the child to come, and the future in general—a future they would make bright.