Risou no Himo Seikatsu Vol 2 Chapter 6

Chapter 06: A fierce Conflict in Form of Negotiations

A certain day a few months later.

Right now was the coolest season of the year in the Carpa Kingdom. The balmy sunlight, not getting hotter than twenty degrees during the day, shone in through the open windows and comfortably lightened up the room.

“As you can see, I am pregnant. Forgive my sloppy attire.”

The envoy from the Twin Kingdom replied with formal words to the utterance of the Queen and bowed respectfully.

And in fact, he retained his unruffled composure so far, even in the face of the Queen of a major power.

When Aura, as the Queen of a country, repeatedly met a mere diplomatic messenger, even if the emissary was from a major power like the Twin Kingdom of Sharrow and Jilbell, in a one-on-one conversation, then others would speculate that “something serious has happened”.

“I am sure you know this already, but I cannot spare much time for you. Let us keep it brief and get started. Your Twin Kingdom sent us their blessing when my husband and I got married. You do not mean to take these words back, I take it?”

“Why, of course not. My country has sincerely expressed their congratulations on your marriage. These words were by no means a deception.”

They had no intention to withdraw their congratulations on the wedding of Aura and Zenjirou. In other words, the Twin Kingdom expressed that they didn’t plan to intervene in regards to the child between them.

However, the emissary didn’t give her any time to rejoice and hacked at Aura with polite words.

“…Certainly. It is not like I cannot relate to it.”

At this point, Zenjirou had been accepted as the Prince Consort of the Carpa Kingdom by the countries on the Continent, so the Twin Kingdom originally had absolutely no legitimacy to meddle with Zenjirou’s bloodline now.

Considering the worst possibility, an outburst of war, Aura couldn’t afford to push on completely aggressively.

Aura softly rested her crossed arms on her stomach and suggested with an intentional lowered tone.

As the Carpa Kingdom currently only had two successors to the bloodline magic, it was a generous compromise when they intentionally restricted the spreading of their bloodline. Aura had no intention concede any further.

“I extremely appreciated that. However, the marriages of royalty are often beyond one’s control. What would you do when Zenjirou-sama is forced to take a concubine due to some inevitable circumstances and their child awakens to the ‘Bestowal Magic’?”

The man was actually right. There was no guarantee that the promise of a royalty not taking any concubines would be kept for all eternity. Secret arrangements without penal regulations for breaking it basically didn’t exist.

She honestly hadn’t expected him to give her such a frank warning. The man had courage at least.

“You are speaking no more than hypothetical here, are you not? I cannot see any reason in the current situation that would oblige me to answer that.”

“However, it would not be all that strange when this hypothesis becomes reality, or not? I believe it would be wiser to consider possible difficulties in advance.”

Discerning that, Aura changed her approach a bit.

“Hmm…”

Aura had attacked that very weakness.

It was in a roundabout way, but she was saying “your argument and mine should be treated simultaneously”. The simultaneously made the suggestion sound impartial, but it was actually not.

“…Understood. I will consult with my country at once.”
In the end, the man couldn’t get any more results on that day.

Around the same time. Zenjirou attended a ceremony in the reception hall of the palace, clad in the formal attire of the Carpa Kingdom with the main colour red that still didn’t seem to suit him all too much.

Normally, it was common sense that the throne for the ruler differed from the chair for the consort next to it through an easily visible distinction in size or decoration, but the chair Zenjirou was currently sitting on was nearly identical with the throne in size, decoration and quality of the stones used for it.

(The Prince Consort can’t outdo the Queen, but as a woman, the Queen can’t outdo her husband. Aura really has been put in a tight spot)

To be honest, the evaluating gazes of the nobles were a great burden on his shoulder, but this hardship wasn’t worth mentioning when he thought about how the pregnant Aura had taken this work on her own shoulders.

In principle, the ceremonies he attended in Aura’s stead were all of the kind, where a person with a “royal” title only had to be present.

(I just have to wait silently and well-mannered for it to end)

His only role was to greet the nobles with a wave of his hand when the civil official, leading this ceremony, called his name.

Listening to the clear words of the civil official, Zenjirou started to mentally prepare himself. At that moment.

Zenjirou was so surprised by the unexpected words from the master of ceremonies that he unconsciously let the air get stuck in his throat.

Originally, his task was only to silently wave his right hand now. He had no guarantee that acting here at his own discretion would be absolutely correct, but he could only muster his courage and proceed now that the situation called for an action.

“Correction! I am not here as a ‘representative of the Carpa Family’. I am here to ‘substitute for Her Highness Aura’, the one and only absolute ruler of the Carpa Kingdom!”

However, by “putting his hand onto his sword”, he signalized that “he was prepared to bestow punishment depending on the circumstances”. As the young civil official had no way to read Zenjirou’s thoughts, it was too much for him.

“M- My deepest apologies! Let me amend it. You are in the very presence of Her Highness Aura’s husband Zenjirou-sama, acting as a ’proxy for Her Highness’!”

In fact, an outsider not in the know might outrage that a social superior was bullying a social inferior for a small mistake when hearing this.

However, this mistake was something Zenjirou could never overlook in his position.

On the other hand, being here as a “representative for the royal family” would imply that Zenjirou attended by the direct request of the organizer of this ceremony “without consulting with Aura”.

(Not good. I had anticipated it to some extent, but they already started to recognize me as royalty more than I had thought)
Zenjirou deliberately averted his eyes from the noisy nobles and stifled his inner impatience.

It was common that a banquet hosted by the organizer would follow after the ceremony.

Hence, he had swapped the second formal attire for the slightly more casual third formal attire and walked around the reception hall, where the banquet was held, in midday.

Those of lower rank were not supposed to casually call out to someone of higher rank. Due to that etiquette, Zenjirou himself had no choice but to go around, calling out to people, when he wanted to accomplish his goal.

“Oh, who have we got here? Count Bologna, I have heard your name from my dear wife, saying that you are a capable civil official and a cultured person that embodies elegance.”

Zenjirou indiscriminately called out to the nobles in the banquet hall, whose faces he could match with a name.

“Oh, don’t mention it. It was a direct order from my beloved wife, Her Highness Aura after all. As her subject and her husband, doing a service like this is only natural.”

“If you say so. However, you yourself started to leave the inner palace more often lately, did you not? As a retainer, I am truly pleased about that. I guess the desire to spread your wings by yourself prevailed.”

“No, it’s nothing like spreading my wings. I feel like a candle without its fire when my dear wife is away from the inner palace due to her duties, so I merely do it to distract me from the loneliness.”

(Will this do? I hope he understands now that I’m head over heels for Aura)

“Hahaha, oh my. You truly have a deep affection for Her Highness.”

As shameful as it is, it even affects my work in a bad way. Good grief, it’s really troublesome.”

Thanks to that, the looks directed at him from all directions started to fill with disappointment and contempt one by one.

Around dusk, Aura finished her meeting with the messenger from the Twin Kingdom and returned to the inner palace, only to see that her beloved husband wasn’t back yet.

“Come to think of it, he is attending a ceremony in my stead today.”

She covered her stomach with the towel, as she had untied some straps of the dress there.

She was choosing loose-fitting dresses during her pregnancy, but as a Queen, she had to dress appropriately when she appeared in public.

As Aura slovenly sat back in the couch, she suddenly felt thirsty and raised a voice.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Still leaning against the couch, Aura just directed her eyes at the young maid standing at attention and ordered her.

“Yes, very well.”

“I will see about the snacks now. Do you have any requests?”

“Hmm… Something sweet, I guess. Oh, nothing fruity. And no need to hurry.”

The waiting maid bowed, then left the room.

The chilled, sweet and bitter drink refreshed her throat and she sighed satisfied.

Previously, Aura had refrained from calling the waiting maids into this room or the bedroom too often, in consideration to Zenjirou, who hated it when others intruded onto his private space, but ever since she became pregnant, Zenjirou was the considerate one instead and allowed the waiting maids to usually stay on alert near by.

Of course she was ready to comply if he were to say “I can’t get used to it after all. Make them leave.”, but it surely was okay to exploit the good-will of her husband while she was pregnant.

For a moment, she thought the waiting maid had already returned with her snack, but a maid would knock before entering the door without fail. There was only one person, who would open the door to this room without a knock or naming oneself.
Aura turned around on the couch and the face she expected greeted her.

“I’m home, Aura. How’re you?”

As he had attended an event as a substitute for Aura, Zenjirou was dressed in the formal attire for males in the Carpa Kingdom, a red vest over a white shirt embroidered with golden threads and wide trousers, and stood at the entrance of the room.

When Aura beheld the face of her returning husband— of Zenjirou, her mouth naturally formed a smile and she said with a bright voice.

“Glad to hear.”

After lightening himself by taking off the red vest and hanging it on the hook, he sat down next to Aura on the couch while fetching his own glass and a silver jar with fruit juice from the refrigerator on the way.

The temperature wasn’t all too hot, but as he was exhausted from the unfamiliar event, his body was sweating all over. He stretched his collar as wide as a finger and fanned air into it.

“How did it go on your end? You attended the ceremony, right? Did anything bother you?”

However, today Zenjirou suddenly frowned and gave an answer different from usual with a serious expression.

“Mh…?”

“Actually, I was called a ‘representative for the royal family’ during the ceremony today. Instead of ‘your substitute’, you see.”

“That… is indeed a bit problematic.”

It had been a couple of months, since Zenjirou had started to attend ceremonies or evening parties in her stead.

Needless to say, Aura appeared in public more often than him, even now that she was pregnant. Zenjirou was only substituting for her in a few events that weren’t all that important and didn’t require decisions on the spot.

Aura and Zenjirou looked at each other and opened their mouth nearly at the same time.

“If that wasn’t intentionally, it’ll be a problem.”

“…Huh?”

The silence was broken by Zenjirou first.

“Well, think about it. Mistaking it on purpose means that he obviously intends to sow discord between us. How can that not be problematic? Why did you think that it would be problematic the other way round?”

On the other hand, Zenjirou, too, properly put his thoughts into words, albeit not as distinct as Aura.

Even if she was the Queen and he her consort, the patriarchic society of the Carpa Kingdom didn’t appreciate it when the man was subjected to the woman. So far, it had only been overlooked, since Aura had achieved actual results and Zenjirou had a dubious origin of a different world.

And even more troublesome was the fact that the people, who tried to dismiss Aura and install Zenjirou, actually had valid reason to do so at the present time.

However, the current royal family of the Carpa Kingdom only consisted of two people: Aura and Zenjirou. Inevitably, it was desirable that the two of them made as much children as possible. But in that case, the mother aka Aura would repeat pregnancies and deliveries over a long period of time.

That certainly made sense. Although only when Zenjirou’s capacity to govern was on par with Aura’s.

She leaned her pregnant body against the backrest of the couch and sighed deeply.

“Yeah. At least I think so. Well, in my opinion, it was only a matter of time anyway, now that I went outside.”

“Certainly. Then let us carefully exchange information from now on as a countermeasure, so that we do not fall victim to rumours or schemes to alienate us.”

Zenjirou was already taking the blame for the concubine matter and now he casually declared that he would take the blame himself again.

Aura unconsciously made a bitter face, but she found it hard to object, since she realized that doing as he said was the most beneficial for the royal family.

Joined together it became “a lazy fellow that didn’t work and was smitten by a woman”. Well, considering that he ran away to a different world to break away from his salaryman life after falling in love with Aura at first sight, that evaluation might be surprisingly fitting.

“On my way back here, I consulted Secretary Fabio about it and he, too, said that it would be ‘acceptable‘.”

In the end, Aura nodded while making a sigh.

Zenjirou quickly averted his eyes upon the unexpected topic change and answered murmuring while looking the other way.

Aura unconsciously smiled in response to her husband’s obvious sullen face.

At first, Aura started with a playful tone, but in the end she practically spit the words out. Apparently she had accumulated more retorts about the blunt way of speaking from her loyal retainer, than she had thought.

“Right. One of him is enough.”

“Okay. I’ll get along with him ‘as well as possible’.”

Chapter end