Risou no Himo Seikatsu - Volume 15 - Chapter Pr

Prologue — Those Left Behind

The blazing season had now passed, and it was an afternoon in the active season. Aura was taking her lunch in her bedroom within the inner palace, having received a request for her time over lunch—specifically within the inner palace, at that.

There were only two people who could ask for such a meeting both alone with the queen and in the inner palace. Zenjirou was one of them, but he wouldn’t need to put in an official request for such a thing. In fact, he wasn’t even currently in the country due to his work.

That narrowed down the candidates to only one. Seated opposite Aura at a small table with a smile was Zenjirou’s other wife.

“Freya,” Aura said.

“Yes? What is it, Your Majesty?” The silver-haired princess’s voice was completely relaxed as she answered her red-haired counterpart.

Aura’s eyes—brown bordering on red—narrowed. “This discussion is at your request, is it not? What did you wish to speak of?”

The forceful tone of her voice made even Skaji want to shrink into herself. But the princess opposite her didn’t even bat an eyelash, simply letting the cool breeze of the air conditioning blow over her.

“What did I... Hmm...I apologize, but I can’t seem to recall. Still, we have plenty of time, so I’m sure I’ll remember eventually.”

Aura glared flatly at her, but Freya still didn’t react, not even to straighten from her lounging position. Her request for a meeting hadn’t been for any important topic, but rather to be in this air-conditioned room of the main building where such topics were discussed. Although it was the active season now, seasonal distinctions were based on the perspectives of natives of the Southern Continent. For Freya, who was born in the northernmost region of the Northern Continent, the regularly thirty-plus-degree temperatures had left her longing for cooler air.

Aura realized that continuing to glare would do nothing to chastise the silver-haired woman in front of her and would instead only discomfit the tall warrior standing on the sidelines. With a small shrug to herself, she stopped brandishing her glare like a weapon.

“For the love of... Fine. Actions painting a closeness between the two of us will aid our husband.”

There was a thread of logic to her words. Frequent meetings like this between them would be demonstrative of a good relationship. And an impression of general positivity to their relationship would be a boon to both Zenjirou and the women present.

Of course, there would likely be people who took less sanguine views of the situation, claiming that Aura was haranguing Freya or that Freya was looking for leverage over the queen. Still, the majority should see it positively. It ought to at least be better than if they didn’t meet, or if they met very infrequently.

The two of them did have a good relationship, in fact. If one considered they were wife and concubine sharing the same man, one could even say that their relationship was exceptionally good.

“Quite right. Therefore, I will do all that I can to demonstrate a good relationship with you like this.”

There was a beat as Aura gave Freya an unimpressed look and a reluctant quirk of her lips. “My thanks for your cooperation. Perhaps you would also like to join me for lunch tomorrow? In the main palace, of course.”

Freya played the fool, letting her gaze drift away from Aura. “Ah, I’m afraid not. I do believe I have plans tomorrow.”

“Oh? What plans would those be?”

“I cannot give any details. However, I will be unable to set foot in the main palace. Oh! But if you change your plans and will be eating here, then I will be able to join you, so please inform me should that happen.”

Aura let out a sigh. “You grow more brazen by the day.”

Despite that, she didn’t offer a rebuke. After all, she knew that Freya understood when such behavior was appropriate. She only acted like this with Aura, and only in private settings. In an official capacity, she was more reserved and sensible. Moreover, when she was alone with Zenjirou, she showed an admirable amount of restraint.

Freya knew who could be counted upon to indulge her, who would be able to indulge her, and who would indulge her but shouldn’t. In that respect, Aura was very easy for the princess to deal with. If Freya kept this kind of behavior limited to private settings, Aura would scold her for anything too rude but wouldn’t do more than simply turn down her cheeky requests, not getting emotionally involved. That meant that she could enjoy conversations like this without any real risk.

This was not the case with Zenjirou, though. He would do all he could to accommodate her and take her pleas as they were spoken. It meant that Freya couldn’t really make joking requests or simply ask for something with the knowledge that it would be refused. It was somewhat ironic that she had a familial—at least what she saw as familial—relationship with her sister-wife before her husband, but it was perhaps fortunate considering the broader picture.

Royal and noble relations with a single husband and multiple wives had vastly different levels of harmony within the household. The difference was much more strongly linked with the relationships between the wives than those between the husband and wives. Additionally, in the case of the Capuan royal family, Zenjirou was nothing more than a prince consort, not the core of the family. That role fell to Aura, the queen.

Still, while that might not have been the case from the royal perspective, Zenjirou remained the center of the household.

“I wonder what Sir Zenjirou is doing,” Freya mused after a moment.

“If things went according to plan, he should be reaching Utgard soon.”

Conversation between the two of them always cycled back to Zenjirou, especially since right now, he was setting foot on completely unknown ground. The heady mix of anticipation, concern, and—in Freya’s case, at least—envy was uncontainable. She let out a gusty sigh.

“I wanted to go.”

“Have you not dropped that yet?” Aura replied in exasperation at the longing words and equally longing emotions behind them.

“I know that saying it won’t change anything, but at least let me vent.”

“It matters little in the inner palace, but refrain when you are outside,” Aura told her before following the order up with a question. “Did you want to go that much?”

She couldn’t quite understand the feeling. She had been on many international excursions to make her teleportation powers more useful. The war had also required several long campaigns, both domestic and international. All of it had merely been part of her duty, though. She hadn’t felt a shred of pleasure in traveling.

Of course, in a more peaceful era, she would enjoy a honeymoon like Zenjirou had described, but she truly couldn’t understand the attraction of stepping out into the unknown on official business.

“I did,” Freya replied honestly.

Aura offered her some consolation. “If you absolutely must go, there are likely to be chances in the future. Now that he has been once, he can come and go via teleportation. Of course, that does assume we receive permission to do so.”

Zenjirou had naturally taken his camera with him to Utgard. He could take pictures that would allow him to teleport there at will. However, Aura was correct that it would require permission from Utgard. It wasn’t a matter of law and ethics, but such excursions simply would not be possible without their approval.

Casting magic required intense concentration. Because of that, trying to teleport to somewhere you were aware was forbidden would result in part of your mind focusing on that fact. Someone of Zenjirou’s skill and focus would almost certainly be unable to successfully cast the spell, although Aura could manage it.

Freya shook her short silver-blue hair at that. “That wasn’t what I meant, Your Majesty. I want to step out into the unknown with my own feet, see it with my own eyes. Teleportation is extremely convenient, but it spoils the charm a little.”

“Safety ought to be more important than charm. Are you saying you would not be interested in visiting Utgard via teleportation?”

“I didn’t say that. If I get the chance, I shall grab it with both hands,” she responded with a giggle, puffing up her chest.

“Somehow, every time I speak with you, I feel less like you are another wife of my husband and more like a handful of a daughter.” While her tone was exasperated and the phrasing was little better, her expression gave the impression of feeling even closer to the other woman than before.

“Oh? That means I should be useful as a rehearsal for Lady Juana.”

“Juana will most certainly not be as much of a disaster as you.”

Despite the queen’s rather pitiful estimation of her, Freya couldn’t really refute it. “As it happens, my mother used a combination of both affection and strict discipline to raise me into the fine example of a princess you see before you.”

However firmly a parent brought up their children, there was no guarantee they would turn out how they wanted. Aura scowled at Freya as she puffed herself up even more.

“I could have done without hearing that.” The reason Aura left it at a simple scowl and a single comment was because she was rather similar to Freya in some ways. She had combat abilities similar to an average knight and had led the army herself, so she was far from a “normal” woman of the royal family.

If she hadn’t taken the throne as queen, she likely would have found it even harder than Freya to find a husband. Then again, in Aura’s case, part of that was due to her foster parents—the Laras—being rather lenient, so it was hard to say it was merely her nature.

Despite all that, she had been blessed with a loving marriage that was practically unheard of for a royal, in addition to two children. She had fulfilled her duties as the sole survivor of the family, while at the same time relishing the pleasure of the situation. All of that was due to her beloved husband.

“I want to see him again soon,” Freya remarked.

The comment perhaps came from all her thoughts about him and the situation, and Aura simply responded with an instinctive nod and agreement.