208: The Battle Maiden is at the Crossroads of Marriage (25)
Rufus shrugged his shoulders as he looked around the lake.
“I can’t seem to get privacy whenever I talk with the Dragon Princess.”
“Jill, stand back.”
Her father came out onto the terrace. Jill’s mother gently grabbed her shoulder and pulled her aside. Jill withdrew along with Lawrence and Camila.
“Hello, it’s been a while, Count Saber. You seem to be doing well. Nice to see you again.”
“No blades in our house can be pointed at His Majesty. Does Your Majesty need something at this hour? As far as I recall, Your Majesty hasn’t made any prior arrangements.”
“Be careful with what you say. Why does it matter where I appear in this kingdom?”
Undaunted by the feral, glaring obsidian eyes, Jill’s father placed a hand on his chest and bowed his head.
“—You’re right. My apologies.”
“It’s okay. I don’t want to pester my son, either. Right, Geraldo?”
Geraldo, who was running with Natalie from across the lake, looked at his father and his expression turned grim.
“…What did you come here for?”
“To retrieve this.”
Rufus extended his arm. Something made of gold shined from his palm.
What is that…?
At the same time, Rick and Andy rushed out from inside the house, screaming.
“Father, the hall we’ll be using tomorrow has been ruined!”
“All of the barriers are also going berserk. Sister Jill’s engagement will have to be postponed…”
Upon spotting the king, the twins gasped.
Lawrence clicked his tongue.
“—The national seal?”
Jill’s eyes went wide as Rufus burst out laughing.
“So, I heard that Dragon Emperor-kun and Dragon Princess-chan need this for their marriage to be approved? Don’t exclude me from such a fun event!?”
“It has already been decided that Lady Jill Saber will marry the Emperor of Rave.”
Hearing Geraldo’s stern voice, Rufus gave him a sidelong glance while twirling the golden National Seal.
“Heh, you’re going to allow the Dragon Emperor to steal the Dragon Princess from right under your nose? Are you throwing in the towel? I never knew my son was this lame!”
“Better than letting her be targeted by you.”
In shock, Jill turned to look at Geraldo. Those words resonated in her heart more than anything else she had ever heard.
Rufus scoffed at his son’s sincere cry.
“I see—but I’m the king.”
“…!”
“If you have any complaints, just come and take the National Seal back. I’ll always welcome you with open arms.”
Suddenly, all traces of a smile vanished from Rufus’ face.
With a roar, a silver storm descended from above, engulfing all the noise. Rufus spun around, leapt, and landed on the edge of the lake.
A pair of golden eyes shone bright like stars.
“Your Majesty!”
He must’ve noticed the commotion. Zeke also raced over from the other direction.
“This whole farce is over.”
Looking at Hades’ frosty gaze, Rufus smirked.
“Dragon Emperor-kun, hm? I’ll be back. I got what I came for.”
Rufus stood up, clutching the National Seal. At the same time, magical power rose from beneath his feet. He was going to teleport.
No, he can’t take the National Seal…!
Jill was about to climb the railing when she spotted a silhouette running towards Rufus, a shadow that went unnoticed because the person in question had no magical power or anything.
“Then, I look forward to the day we meet again—”
“—Natalie!”
Hades shouted. Rufus was also taken aback, but his teleportation spell had begun. Natalie, who was clinging to Rufus’ arm, was swallowed by the vortex of magical power. Hades reached out for her. She was still within reach—
—But in the next moment, Natalie turned around and stared at Hadith.
She smiled.
“I believe in you, Brother Hades.”
Hades froze for a split second, as if having second thoughts.
Then, in the blink of an eye, Natalie and Rufus simply vanished.
All that was left was the calm after the storm.
“—Your Highness, Natalie…”
Jill mumbled in a daze, then quickly regained her senses.
“—Lawrence, the Southern King still lives there, right!?”
“Y-yes, on the Agelle Peninsula…”
“I’m going to rescue Her Highness Natalie right away! Meanwhile, I’ll be sure to retrieve the National Seal.”
“That will be unnecessary.”
A quiet voice rang out from a distance.
Jill did a double take. She thought she had misheard, but everyone turned in the same direction. Jill asked the owner of the voice.
“…Your Majesty?”
Is it because we had a fight?
Hades, who landed on the spot where Natalie and Rufus had disappeared, looked like a different person.
Jill had an ominous feeling.
Hades slowly turned to Jill and smiled softly. His movement was subtle, as if he were straining his neck.
“Jill, come.”
“…Huh?”
“What?”
“Let’s go home—to the Rave Empire.”
“Huh!? What are you talking about!? Her Highness Natalie was kidnapped! The National Seal is gone! At this rate, our engagement will be canceled!”
“Indeed. The king rejected my engagement to you and took Natalie hostage. This is Kratos’ declaration of war.”
Jill, who was about to stand up, gasped. It was her father who reacted from the side.
“Please wait, Your Majesty the Emperor. That’s too hasty a judgment.”
“Who gave you the permission to speak?”
Hades spoke ruthlessly, like a dragon.
“Zeke, Camila, prepare to return home.”
Without waiting for a reply from Zeke, who was frowning, Hades approached Jill. Geraldo called out from behind.
“Emperor. If this is a joke, it’s in bad taste. Are you forsaking the princess?”
“Of course not. I’ll be sure to save her.”
“Then why are you heading home? Certainly, the king’s action is akin to a declaration of war, so if you want me to apologize, I will! But this is just unreasonable—”
—Halfway through, Geraldo seemed to have noticed something and stopped. Hades, on the other hand, never stopped walking.
“Was this your intention from the start?”
Hades walked straight to pick up Jill.
“Are you planning to use your sister as a reason to start a war!? Answer me, Dragon Emperor!”
“Jill.”
As if he couldn’t hear the commotion breaking out behind him, Hades arrived in front of Jill and extended his hand.
***T/N: This is the arc where instead of preventing sth from happening, they are actively trying to make it happen HAHAHA
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