Episode 52 – blood

Both of them face each other and look dull. There is a brief silence, but the tension does not seem to be easing.

“Cyrus,…… do you understand why I came here?”

A bewitching face, but with a dignity in its expression that does not let others in.

“Yeah. I can’t drag this out any longer,……, it hurts my heart to burden Eric.”
“I understand,……. Then, your blood on this proof of Gaia.”
“……”

Queen Esther approached him to give him the proof of Gaia in the form of a cup. It had been a long time since they had met. And a nostalgic smell. For a moment, they both recall the past, and their cheeks flush red.

“!”

Cyrus bit his thumb. And the blood that comes out goes into the cup he received. After a few seconds, this cup, called the proof of Gaia, begins to glow red.

Queen Esther, a few steps away, asked him

“You swore in the name of Gaia that you would love me forever. Is that a lie?”

Her eyes are so moist that Queen Esther is afraid that tears will flow at any moment. By his words, and by the reaction of this cup, his fate will be decided.

“…… mother.”

Luvia, peering through the gap, also looks sad.

In the midst of the tension, King Cyrus finally opens his mouth.

“I love …… I love …… you forever. This heart has never changed!”

“!”

Queen Esther’s eyes fluttered open at the unexpected response.

Then, the proof of Gaia, the most important proof of all,

It emitted a blue light.

It was proof that his words were true.

“I can’t believe …… why ……”

Queen Esther did the same. He is the worst person to have taken her virginity and then abandoned her.

And yet ……

Gaia’s testimony says his heart is not false.

“I …… have abandoned you. To gain power,…… I was deceived and provoked by those around me,……”
“……”
“But I’ve come to realize. All the people around me are liars and thieves, and they are the ones who are trying to take away my power with a tiger’s eye. ……They are jealous of our relationship and have worsened the relationship between our country and the Henesys Kingdom. So much so that we cannot recover.”
“……”
“On top of that, my brothers and relatives began to threaten me with their lives. I became even more stubborn to hide my failures, and I established a reign of terror, killing any of my brothers or relatives who tried to take away my claim to the throne.”

Raising his head slightly and smiling to himself, King Cyrus continues.

“But what remains is a feeling of emptiness. To make this feeling go away, I put in place more oppressive regimes and …… repeated this over and over again.”
“Cyrus ……”
“I have inflicted too many wounds on you. So, with that sword in your hand, you can do what you want with me. …… It doesn’t matter, the throne will be taken by Eric.”

With a resigned look on his face, King Cyrus sighed and looked up at Queen Esther.

Then Queen Esther…

“Cyrus….Cyrus…Cyrus!!”

She calls out his name and runs to his heart, aiming the dagger at his heart.

“Cyrus!!!”

And,

The sword passes through the skin of King Cyrus.

“Esther…….”

“It’s not fair,…… I can’t kill you if you say such a thing,……
“……”
“For the humiliation and disgrace I have suffered,…… you must atone.”
“I am a wretched man who does not deserve to atone.”

The sword only grazed King Cyrus a little on the side, a bloody but not fatal wound.

“I do not remember giving my virginity to a wretched man.”
“Esther ……”

Queen Esther and King Cyrus are staring at each other at close range. They did not exchange words, but this king and queen exchanged inexpressible feelings.

And then, Cyrus embraces Queen Esther tenderly,

Queen Esther in a gentle embrace.

She drops her sword and surrenders herself to this nostalgic warmth.

“I don’t detect any scent of woman in you at all.”
“Oh …… because ever since my wife died, every time I have tried to …… do so, I could picture your grieving face. ……”
“I have been treated terribly by that dead man for a long time. So I have never …… but I remember, since then. The gentle warmth you gave me when I was a virgin. ……”
“Esther ……”
“You ……”

Chuu!

X　X　X

Luvia Side.

I’ve never seen my mother’s expression like that before.

When she was queen, mother always had a sad expression on her face. After she became queen, she gave up all the emotions a human being can have and acted like a calm and ruthless person. These two impressions had a strong influence on me, and I was secretly taught that a woman should be like that.

But that figure was ……

“……”

The image of Mother, who fiercely desired someone, delighted in them, and exposed every bit of her weakness, was both fragile and beautiful.

The man named Cyrus who made Mother like that must be the one who can make her happy.

Because when I see her like that, I feel like an idiot for daring to deny it.

Mother is a queen, she is a woman,

A woman.

X　X　X

Eric Side

The sunlight shone on me. Alone, I would never have been able to sleep. However, I have an important person in my life.

“Eric shamaa…..”
“Eric……intense……”
“Nn……yes yes….. Eric…… I will take it all in. ……”

Three girls sleeping in my bed. I am truly a blessed man …… to be able to continue to see this lovely sight.

So I have to accept the reality.

After reminding myself of this, I got off the bed and opened the door so as not to wake the three girls.

Then

“Luvia!?”

Luvia, dressed in a nightgown, was standing in front of me.

Moist red eyes, bewitching face, and a body that was trembling. She seemed to be desperately trying to hold something back, and I asked her.

“The two of them?”

　

She replied.

“IIiiiiiiiiiiiiIt was so hot …….”
“Eh? What do you mean?”

Unable to understand Luvia’s words, I hurriedly went to my father’s room.

“Father!!! Are you all right?”

I was so worried about him that I went in without asking permission,

“Eric!?”
“Dauphin Eric!?”

Then the two of them in bed, wearing only their underwear, look at me and are surprised to see me.

My father is safe. ……

“Father!!!”

I jumped into Father.

“Eric,…… I’m safe.”
“Thank goodness…… I’m so glad!”
“Fufufu, I knew you were kind, Dauphin Eric. I am sure that Luvia will be happy with you. Please take good care of my daughter from now on.”
“Queen Esther……”
“She is a possessive child, so if you don’t take good care of her, you might end up in a lot of trouble. After all, she is the most beautiful girl on the Orient continent.”
“Haha ……”

After the conversation was over, Father and Queen Esther hugged me tenderly. My eyes unconsciously fell upon the bed sheets. There was a small amount of blood on them. It was just like old times.

“It looks like it went well! Eric-sama looks so happy. ……”
“Yes. There is still a lot of work to be done, but soon our wish will be fulfilled.”
“Eric,…… while you’re at it, let’s get some energetic food,…… Hmm? Luvia? Why are you looking so red?”
“…… it’s nothing.”

And four girls in nightgowns looking at this scene with a very smiling face.