While Jill was sitting on the carpet, gazing at the flames in the fireplace, hot milk was offered to her.

“Here you go, Jill.  You worked hard today as well.  It has chocolate.”
“Thank you very much…”

She meekly received it.

On nights where she had time, she would end the day in Hades’ private room while drinking hot milk.  This habit formed due to Jill recently becoming able to make hot milk, and during those times, even Rave restrained himself and left the two alone.  Tonight was Hades’ turn.

“E—tto… are you still feeling down?”

Jill gripped the cup with both hands at the cautious question.

“…I didn’t know.  That I was being called something like the Gluttonous Dragon Consort— if that’s how it is, then I should have just eaten until the food storehouse was empty!”
“Ehh!?  Tha-that’s…”
“That’s right!  I still haven’t eaten all the meals in the Imperial Castle yet!”
“I… I’d like you to stay at ‘not yet’ forever…”
“…Even though, as Your Majesty’s bride, I’ve been restraining myself in various ways.”

Jill was aware that her age and position of being from Kratos were factors that did nothing more than hinder Hades.  She was barely average with her social skills, etiquette, and ladylike behavior, or possibly less.  The only things she could boast about were the level of her magical power and the strength of her arms.  She was the exact opposite of what was generally considered “consort-like.”

Therefore, so as to at the very least not be a hinderance, as refrained from acting publicly.  And yet even that ended up backfiring.

If they were to force the wedding as the circumstances were, she would certainly drag down Hades.  The Three Dukes who stand opposed to it are properly thinking of Hades.  Vissel didn’t strongly reject holding the festival either, so they probably had a sound argument.

Still, what should I do?  As Jill sighed another of her innumerable sighs, her cheek was poked.

“What is it?”
“No matter who says what, you are the most wonderful in the world, my bride.”

Jill paused at the sweet smile softened by the flames of the fireplace, but just for a moment.  She immediately sighed an exaggerated, “Ahh,” and turned away.

“It’s no use if only Your Majesty says that…”
“Isn’t that reaction too cold!?”
“Even if you didn’t say that, I won’t lose!  I’ll show them!”

She turned around, crawled a bit, and placed her cup atop the low, cabriole-legged table behind her.  In its place, she returned with a floor plan of the inner palace and spread it across the floor before the fireplace.  Hades blinked.

“Why the floor plan?”
“It’s necessary.  The inner palace is completely surrounded by walls and has been completely partitioned.  Entry and departures are at the main gate while a back gate can serve as a back door, guards are keeping watch at both…”
“Wait, Jill, why are you investigating something like that?  You aren’t planning an assault, are you!?”
“I’m just confirming what is where.  If it’s me, I could just break the walls.”
“Ah, that’s true.  If it’s you, you could suppress them on your own… eh, is this supposed to reassure me?”
“Your Majesty, how familiar are you with the inner palace?”
“Not at all.  It’s the former emperor’s inner palace, after all.”

The answer came so easily that it felt suspicious, or maybe not.  As Jill’s eyes narrowed, Hades took her with both arms and placed her on his lap.

“So then, what’s your inner palace capture strategy?”
“Etto— in order to prevent information leaks, it’s a secret!”

The letter had briefly crossed her mind.  Besides that, the pretext for entering the inner palace had already been arranged.

“Ehh, it’s a secret even to me?  That worries me.”
“Instead of me, it should be Your Majesty.  You mustn’t let the Three Dukes take advantage of you, okay?  Please properly conduct yourself as a cool emperor.  You sulking on your own again while I’m at work is no good!”
“Un—derstood.”

It was a reply she couldn’t quite feel confident about.  As her eyes narrowed, Hades pinched the locks at the side of her face.

“Either way, be careful, Jill.”
“That’s also my line.  I heard… that Your Majesty’s father is in the inner palace.”
“Yeah… although, I don’t think he can do anything.  Otherwise, he wouldn’t have pressed his head to the floor and beg me for his life without a single act of resistance.”

Hades is speaking about his father, but his tone is flat.  She cannot hear any emotion at all.  Actually, considering how he has been raised by the Dragon God Rave, his “father” probably isn’t the previous emperor.  Still, Jill knew.

This person returned to the Imperial Capital from a remote land wishing for the emotional ties of family.  She didn’t want to hurt him any further.

“Nevertheless, I suppose being too negligent isn’t any good either.  The Three Dukes seem to be on guard about something.  Are you aware?  They launched a surprise attack on the royal capital of Kratos some twenty years ago.  That was when the former emperor was secretly speaking with Kratos to—”
“Your Majesty.”

Hades closed his mouth at Jill’s quiet tone.  She then wrapped his hands, which were around her stomach, with both of her own.

“I will protect you, so you must not separate from me.”

After a brief silence, Hades, just as expected, suddenly separated from her.  With a sigh, Jill caught the cup he dropped.  Right after I said not to separate from me, this happens.

“…A-again, you’re… saying things like that, so casually…!”
“Because I’m overflowing with spirit.  I am performing the duties of the Dragon Consort, for the first time!”

The Dragon Flower Crown Festival was, without a doubt, an official duty of the Dragon Consort.  Jill understood this wasn’t a situation to rejoice about without reservation.  Still, she felt as though she could finally see Hades’ back, one which was ascending the stairs of the Dragon Emperor.

“It seems that various things are being said, but if I make this a success, then everyone will recognize me as Her Highness the Dragon Consort.  Yes, I’m concerned about the poor harvest, but with Princess Faris becoming queen, I won’t lose!  That’s why, please support me as well, Your Majesty!”

She placed the cup on the table, brough her face close to his, and smiled.  Then, a chuckle came from Hades’ throat as he began to laugh.

“…I, really, cannot win against you.”
“?  Has Your Majesty ever been able to win against me?”

Naturally, there had been individual quarrels where she hadn’t won, but they had generally been overwhelming victories for her

“…No, wait, let’s deliberate on that on a later day.  My dignity as a husband is at stake.”
“So it was still alive?  Your dignity… is quite persistent.”
“Don’t kill it!  Anyway, I understand that you are briming with spirit, but you need to rest properly.”
“But I’m not sleepy in the slightest.  Ah, it’ll be bad if Your Majesty doesn’t sleep—”

Lightly, a finger covered her lips.  When she realized, she was once more before the fireplace and her body laid down.  Her head was resting atop of Hades’ knees.  It was a lap pillow.

“You’ll be able to sleep if we do this.”
“Eh~ …I can’t sleep like this.  It’s not like I’m a child.”
“Then, just count to ten.  Close your eyes.”

Tap, tap, gently, Hades patted Jill’s shoulders.

Jill thought it pointless, but just ten seconds is fine.  Reluctantly, she closed her eyes.

“Good night, Jill.”

Despite claiming she wouldn’t fall asleep, she started to count.

One, two, three…

“I love you.  –I am depending on you, my bride.”

Ah, but hearing the sound of Hades’ voice with my eyes closed is very pleasant—

Six… seven…—

Jill slowly sat up and absentmindedly looked around.

She was atop a soft and fluffy bed.  The time was five minutes before the alarm would ring.  Nearby was her stuffed bear.  In a basket beside a large pillow were Sauté who was curled up into a ball and Rho whose stomach was on display.  The two were asleep, tangled in a blanket.

The sunlight streaming though a gap in the curtains stung her eyes.

“Morning…”

Naturally, Hades wasn’t there.  This was Jill’s room no matter how anyone might look at it.

“What a blunder…!”

Jill gnashed her teeth upon realizing she had slept soundly.  She understood what had happened without needing to even ask.  Hades had carried her there after completely falling asleep atop of his lap pillow.  Regardless, she couldn’t dawdle.  She threw off her blankets and went to open the curtains while doing her stretches, when she blinked.

It was the vase by the window.  As she had been given her own room, the servants of the Imperial Castle had been arranging seasonal flowers in it whenever they cleaned.  That vase.

Under that vase, a letter had been wedged.

Her eyes woke up instantly. 

Carefully, so as to not knock over the vase, Jill pulled out the letter.  Her hunch had proven correct.

—Her beloved Highness the Dragon Consort. 

The opening remained unchanged, weaving a poetic love.  That, however, didn’t matter.  The issue is that this letter is here. 

The sender had the ability to sneak letters into the Dragon Consort’s private chamber.

With a sigh, Jill crushed the letter.

---

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