“I see, the schedule for your departure to the Kingdom of Kratos has finally been decided.”

“That’s right!”

“…By the way, Lady Jill, what’s with the way you’re holding your cup? It’s caught on your index finger.”

“Ah—”

Reminded by her tutor, Jill hastily imitated the role model in front of her. The handle of the cup was supposed to be held between the index finger and the thumb while being supported by the middle finger. However, due to relaxing, Jill simply used her index finger instead.

Raelm, the imperial capital of the Rave Empire, was located at a high altitude—apt for being called the city in the sky. The imperial castle, in particular, was built on a hill overlooking the imperial capital. Even with the current summer-like temperature, once the window was opened, a refreshing, cool, breeze would enter.

There, in the back of the inner court where government affairs were held, one of the palaces where the emperor lived was given to Jill.

Under normal circumstances, Jill would have entered the inner palace as the Dragon Empress or lived in a section of the palace for guests as Hadith’s fiancée. However, not only was she 11-years-old, she also hailed from Kratos—the enemy country. Although, the same could be said about the palace of the emperor, Hadith, the supreme man of the Rave Empire. Well, Jill’s position was complicated, anyway…

Above all, due to an ongoing internal conflict, Hadith’s personal affairs were complicated.

Hadith’s older brother, Listeard Theos Rave, lamented the lack of finance, manpower, etc. That said, another brother of Hadith’s—Vissel Theos Rave—who was also the crown prince had stepped into the scene. Upon defrauding influential nobles for money and manpower, the situation had improved considerably. However, the fact that Hadith took control of the imperial army in both name and reality was probably the milestone. It happened during the civil war that recently took place in the Radea territory.

Afterwards, his older sister, Elynsia Theos Rave, temporarily assumed the rank of general within the imperial army. She was an influential person who led the Rave Empire’s foremost Dragon Knights.

With the help of his older brother and sister, Hadith had just gotten his feet on the ground.

As for Jill herself, there wasn’t much she could do.

Jill, who made a name for herself as the daughter of the god of war, was proficient at combat. The fact remained even after she had regressed from the age of 16 to 10 and restarted her life all over again. However, that role of hers was taken away by the imperial army.

As for her current task at hand, it was bridal training. She had to receive education in etiquette, embroidery, and poetry. As the imperial capital had finally accepted her, she had also been provided with a tutor.

“Recently, you’ve learned to spot your mistakes quickly.”

“It’s all thanks to you, Lady Sufia.”

Sufia smiled at Jill as she set her cup down. Her refined manners made her the poster girl of a noble lady. That said, Sufia was indeed a noble lady. She was the daughter of a marquis, and a woman who also served as a tea companion for Emperor Hadith. As of the present, she was Jill’s tutor.

Her lecture today consisted of having tea with Sufia. However, that alone had proven to be a challenge. Jill’s etiquette always left something to be desired— the same applied to her selection of tea, sweets, and even the utensils.

But how can a strawberry shortcake be lacking?

Moreover, it was said that in the future, Jill would need to oversee everything—be it from sending invitations to hosting small tea parties.

…Lady Sufia is surprisingly strict.

But when asked about inviting the emperor to partake in the exam, Jill became strangely motivated. It had to be the magical power of love. Since Jill was 11-years-old and Hadith 19-years-old, she sometimes wanted to surprise him by showing her mature side.

“So, when are you leaving?”

“We’re leaving next week.”

“Oh my, then we don’t have much time. Preparations, contacting the other party—…”

“Apparently, everything has been arranged. First, we’ll head for the Leirzatz territory by dragon to greet His Highness Listeard’s grandfather. From there, we’ll enter the port of the Saber family by ship. By the end of the month, we’ll be in Kratos.”

“Is that so? That’s—”

Sufia glanced sideways at the sofa by the window. There she spotted teddy bear and a fine chicken grooming herself. Furthermore, there was a small black dragon with a blanket over his head. His butt was sticking out for some reason.

“Rho, you’re sulking, aren’t you?”

“He is. Dragons can’t eat the plants of Kratos, so…”

“Ukyuuu—!”

Rho let out a low cry. Apparently, he stuck his butt out as a display of discontent. Jill put down her cup and sighed.

“How long are you going to keep this up, Rho? You promised to stay home with Saute and Haddy…”

“Kkyun!”

“If you want to go that much, then persuade Rea and the other dragons.”

“Kyu…”

Rho’s voice vanished.

Before Jill could even consider taking Rho, Rea—the black dragon—flew up and protested vehemently. The dragons in the imperial capital were also adamantly against it and stopped listening to all orders. When that happened, people were thrown into confusion. Rho tried his best to persuade Rea to let him go, to which she declared, “Over my dead body.” Shaken by his wife’s intensity, Rho agreed to stay.

Even now, he was wagging his tail in dissatisfaction. But of course, he wouldn’t dare do so when Rea flew by. Rea had cut her vacation short and solidified the surroundings of the imperial capital with other dragons. Out of fear, the Dragon Knights were on watch. They were absolutely ready to prevent Rho from going to Kratos. The fact that they didn’t believe in Rho at all was very reliable.

“Will Camilla and Zeke go as well?””

“Yes, they’re the knights of the Dragon Princess. It seems that they’ll accompany us from here. Once we entered Kratos, they’ll travel with the cargo being transported to the Saber family—of course, with the people we’ve arranged. After all, we don’t want anything to happen.”

Sufia suddenly made a thoughtful gesture. Jill took a cream puff. The good thing about the lecture was that she could eat delicious sweets as long as she followed proper etiquette.

“Then, this is it for today’s lecture.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I’ll bring you a souvenir!”

“Thank you. Then, I’ll have to come up with homework for while you’re traveling. Then, how about embroidery?”

“Eh… but will I have time for it—”

“Lady Jill, you have cream on your mouth.”

“Ah.”

“For now, let’s just learn how to sew Lord Hadith’s name as soon as possible.”

When Jill was distracted by the cream puff, her homework had been decided…

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***T/N: Aw Sufia! I love this cameo!

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