Hades noticed Jill wasn’t anywhere to be seen the moment he entered the bedroom.  Only after calling her name twice did he realize where she was.  The chair at the desk was slightly off, and so pulled it aside.

“…What are you doing in a place like this, Jill?”
“Sorry, I just couldn’t bring myself to come out.”

Jill, hugging her knees under the desk, answered with a straight face.  Hades had a towel draped over his head as he looked under the desk.

“This isn’t… you wanting to play hind-and-seek or anything like that, right?”
“I am merely reflecting.  Ultimately, this is reflection.”
“Ultimately?”
“Yes, it’s just that the path to reaching this conclusion is difficult to swallow, over which I’m agonizing.”

Hades, perhaps sensing something from Jill’s lifeless tone, crouched down before her.

“…Does this… have to do with the conversation of neglecting me for two months.”
“Greatly.  Right now, I am once again realizing the cost to ignoring His Majesty, and I am in despair.”
“Th-that much?  What happened all of a sudden?”

In the end, the two were sitting on the floor facing each other.  However, as Hades had properly cleaned the house, neither of them were likely to get dirty.  No, there’s a possibility that Hades wasn’t the one who did the cleaning.

At that thought, a thorn entered Jill’s tone despite her trying to remain as calm as possible.

“Isn’t it fine?  The one who wanted me to reflect was you, Your Majesty.”
“I-I do, but… your eyes and tone are a bit scary…  Hey, Rave, don’t run away.”
“I have greatly reflected.  Your Majesty should have been locked up in a cage or something.”

Hades, who had been holding Rave, froze.  During that moment, the Dragon God silently slipped out of the bedroom window.

“…Excuse me, I misspoke just now.”
“Th-that’s right!?  You must have misspoken, it surprised me.”
“You should have been returned to the Rave Empire.  Then, at least His Highness Vissel or someone could have kept watch… No, that wouldn’t have worked either.  That’s just the kind of person you are, Your Majesty.”
“Eehm… are we talking about Laica?  Something feels a bit off.”
“Hey, Your Majesty, just what the heck should I have done?”

Hades was smiling, but he was clearly frightened.

“Should I have tied Your Majesty up and carried you around?  Except, that would have been troublesome.  Too heavy and bulky.  Or maybe I should have locked you up in a cage after all and come by everyday to take care of you?  I’m not very confident in my ability to care for living things, though.”
“Wait, what exactly are you talking about!?”
“Your story.”

A small, “Hii,” escaped Hades’ throat as he dropped down on his rear.  At his behavior, Jill’s anger, which had been suppressed once, quietly flared up again.

“Don’t you understand?  Your story.  Two months, what you did.”
“Wh-what do you mean?  I… was gathering intelligence in the revolutionary army.”
“I don’t care about that.”

Unfolding the knees she had been holding, Jill stepped out from underneath the desk.  Hades, while still in the posture of having fallen onto his bottom, scooted backward.

“These past two months, who’d you bring to this house, how many?  Talk.”
“Br-bring to… I didn’t do anything like that!?”
“Don’t play dumb!  Did you think I wouldn’t notice!?”

Jill seized Hades by his collar with both hands.  She lifted him, fully holding up her arms, yet despite that his posture became no different than kneeling.  Still, Jill’s bloodlust was genuine.

“What’s with those cushions, the soap in the bath, and the lace cloth!?  Even the blankets are suspicious!  Explain them!  Who are they from!?”
“Ji-Jill, calm down.  There’s—”
“It’s a woman!  It’s a woman or a man with ulterior motives!  Just because I wasn’t here, you—!”

Right, it was because I wasn’t here.

Strength drained from her arms as the sudden realization struck.  Hades once more fell to the floor with a thud.  She, however, disregarded that and crawled back under the desk where she hugged her knees.

“…This all happened because I neglected you.  I am reflecting.”

Hades gave a solemn nod.

“I-I see, you meant that sort of reflection…”
“That’s right.  It’s because I neglected Your Majesty for two months.  Your Majesty dislikes people, but despite that is also good natured and so charmed all sorts.  The landlord, some cute girl from the neighborhood, or an onee-san must have given you presents and fussed over you.  I don’t even need to ask, I already know.  They probably brought you treats, and you enjoyed yourself.  Your Majesty is cute, after all, giving off that feeling where you shouldn’t be left alone.  And then there’s me, I can’t cook or even sow.  So, it’s all my fault.  I won’t leave from here until my reflection is finished.  That’s all.”

Jill squeezed her knees tighter.

Hades blinked rapidly, but straightened his posture before long and once again moved to his knees before Jill where he could look at her.

“…Um, the cushion indeed is something I was given, but…”
“Stand straight right there!  I’m going to blow a hole clean through your stomach!”
“The one you used during dinner, that one I embroidered my myself.”

Jill, who was about to emerge from under the desk, froze mid-movement.  She felt as though something important had been said, yet the Hades and his smile irritated her.

“Some treats were brought over, and we had tea in the living room, but we only stayed in the living room.  I’ve never once let anyone into the bedroom.”
“Either way!  You still let someone into the house, didn’t you!?”

He isn’t even making a proper excuse, Jill felt like she was being mocked.  Outraged, she reached out with her arm and hand, but Hades let it slide past, slipped his arm around Jill’s waist, and stood up.  Jill, with her waist seized from behind, felt her feet leave the ground.

“Right, looks like you’re not getting it.”
“What are you laughing for!  Let me go!”

She flailed both arms and legs, but the arm locked around her waist didn’t budge in the slightest.

“Be good.  It’s already late, so time for bed.”

Hades, hanging his towel over a chair’s back, made for the bed while still holding Jill in his arms.

“Le—t me— go—!  I decided that I would spend the night reflecting under the desk!”
“You’re not reflecting, you’re just jealous.”

She knew that.  However, hearing it pointed out by the person in question sent anger and shame boiling up all at once from her feet like steam.

“There is nothing to hide.  I will properly explain everything, so come to bed.  You’ll catch a cold down there.”

Of all times, he’s choosing now to act mature.  Hades held Jill by wrapping his arms around Jill’s waist and shoulders, and he whispered to her with his special voice.

“The one I’ve been waiting for these past two months was only you.  And you— Ow!  Did you just bite my arm!?”
“Shut up!  Your Majesty is an i—diot, i—diot, i—diot!”

Jill poured all of her still-unsettled emotions into the act and bit his arm once again.  Hades’ legs got tangled with her own in the fluster and they both tumbled onto the bed.  She tried to slip away during that moment but was immediately caught.

“I’ll bite you again!?”
“What’s with that recent biting habit of yours!?  Woah, you even left teeth marks… What will others say if they see it?”
“Not like it matters?  You wear long sleeves.”
“That’s true, but still.”

Hades began to chuckle softly, as if something were amusing.

“My cute bride, what do I need to do so that you will sleep together with me?”

He lifted Jill onto his lap and asked.  Her lips tightened.

“It’s not that I don’t want to sleep with Your Majesty, I just want to reflect.”
“I’m reflecting as well.  I should have told you from the start that I got to know many people over the past two months.  I also kept quiet about being married.”
“In that case, please sleep alone.”
“But isn’t this a draw?  You’re the one who hid her ring first, and the one who claimed to be my younger sister.”

His words made sense and were convincing.  Jill was about to sulk, but then thought of a good solution.  She brought her lips to his ear and made her request.

Hades’ eyes widened and then he laughed, saying, “That’s a good idea.”

“Well then, can we consider this our reconciliation?”
“Yes, all that’s left is our discussion about our work-home balance.”
“That’s important too, but there’s something else before that.”

Hades cleared his throat, separated from Jill who was clinging to him, and set her down on the bed.  He brought their faces close together, almost touching his forehead with her own, matching their eye level.

“Welcome home, Jill.”

Jill blinked and then reached out with both her arms.

“I’m home, Your Majesty!”

—The next day, The Dragon Emperor couple appeared at the reconstruction site with signs hanging from their neck.  They read, “I have a husband” and “I have a wife.”  Some gave wry chuckles, some were confused, and some pretended not to notice.  Everyone held their breaths so as to avoid provoking them. Only one person stood before them.

“Are you idiots?”

With those words, Lutiya proved that he would without a doubt become a fine grand duke, or so everyone claimed.  Whether they actually placed that expectation on him or not was another matter.

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