Within the guest chamber used for having audiences with the imperial consorts just outside the inner palace, a woman gently lowered her head until her gaze was level with Jill’s.  Her hair was like Frieda’s, soft-looking and flowing down to her shoulders.

“I am Fien, the Eighth Imperial Consort.  I’ve heard about your circumstances from Frieda.  You seem to require hands for the Dragon Flower Crown Festival you shall be hosting.”
“Yes, would you be willing to help?”

Jill straightened her back as much as she could as she nervously asked her question.  The woman, whose delicate features made believing she had an adult child hard, responded with a gentle smile.

“Please leave it to me.  The Dragon Flower Crown Festival is an important event for the inner palace.  We shall undoubtably make this a success.”

Fien swiftly and efficiently drew up plans for the festival on the spot.  Jill held her chest as she sighed out.  She had apparently been overly wary after having been repeatedly warned by Natalie and Frieda not to underestimate the inner palace.  Sieg and Camilla, having accompanied her as her dragon knights, also gave signs of relaxing some.

I’m relieved, she seems like a kind woman.

The preparations for the festival were wide-ranging.  While the Dragon Flower Crown Festival wasn’t something so grand as to invite honored guests other countries, it did include a parade that went around an Imperial Capital lined with street stalls and a ritual derived from myth, one where the one playing as the role of Dragon Maiden had a flower crown placed on her by the one playing the role of Dragon Emperor.  Permits were required for the stalls, arrangements needed to be made for the choir and dancers participating in the parade, flower crowns and costumes needed to be prepared, various security measures needed to be seen to, prior arrangements needed to be addressed— there would be no end to it all that needed to be done were listed down.  The cooperation of the inner palace, which possessed the know-how and connections from hosting it up until the previous time, was indispensable.

Furthermore, this was a “genuine” Dragon Flower Crown Festival, one being hosted by the Dragon Consort for the first time in three hundred years.  Even considering that it hadn’t been held the previous year, the expectations the people held must have surely risen.  Jill had heard that applications for stall permits flooded in after the announcement of the festival’s holding.  A failure here would undoubtedly drop the Dragon Consort’s reputation to the ground.

That in turn would mean dragging Hades down.  That absolutely could not be allowed.

Furthermore, Jill also currently had the troubling circumstances of receiving suspicious letter being addressed as, “Her beloved Highness the Dragon Consort.”  Only letters had been arriving so far, and both Seig and Camillia have also been keeping watch, but due to the comings and goings of people having increased with the festival, finding the sender had, conversely, increased in difficulty.  The contents of the letters hadn’t changed, but one ended up tucked into her bookshelf without her noticing.  This morning as well, she had discovered a folded card mixed into the documents compiling the list of stalls and their placements on a map of the Imperial Capital.  She ended up having to hastily shove it into her pocket.

Something would have to be done eventually.  She knew that.

—However, in truth, I didn’t think preparing for the festival would be this difficult.

“Jill-cha—n, I got the parade and venue security details from General South~”
“Leave it there, Camillia.  I’ll look at it after Seig comes back.”
“Please do not move, Your Highness the Dragon Consort.”
“So-sorry!”
“Her Highness the Dragon Consort is changing clothes. Gentlemen, please step outside.”

Not just Jill, but even Camilla who was on the other side of the folding screen was told off by the lady-in-waiting.  She replied, “Yees,” while Camillia immediately stepped out.  Jill regretted not being able to give her following instructions, they would probably have to wait until the next opportunity came.  As there was no mirror, she didn’t know what her current condition was either.  The dressmaker and lady attendants silently fitting her into the basting dress were strangers dispatched from the inner palace, leaving her hesitant over speaking with them.

After this I’ll be doing the costume fitting with His Majesty, then I’ll be meeting the girls who’ll be carrying the train, and I will probably be checking the flower crown designs around that time too.

The flower crowns for the Dragon Flower Crown Festival weren’t only designed by the Dragon Consort, but by the empress as well.  Each would design flower crowns under their own names and place them on sale.  This, apparently, had also been done three hundred years ago.  Jill based her prototypes on the materials Fien had shown her.

For Jill, this was a festival she had never seen before.  There was a mountain of things to remember and to prepare.  Her head felt like it was about to get tangled up.

“Even though it’s the same Flower Crown Festival, it’s quite different from Kratos…”

Jill felt as those who had been tending to her stiffened.  While Jill was taken aback, a person neatly set down her shoes before her and then raised her face.  The dress maker who designed my dress.  Their eyes met for the first time.

“Kratos has one as well?  A Flower Crown Festival?”
“Ah, yes.  That said, it has nothing to do with the Dragon Consort over there, and rather than a festival, it’s a coming-of-age day for girls who have turned fourteen.  They also choose their own flower crowns, and then go to receive their baptism.  Once the baptism is finished, they are given wine and a basket of fruit.  Fires are kept burning the whole time in every town and the festival continues through the night, so only on that day, even if a daughter is late in returning home due to being with her lover, it is overlooked.  That said, it is winter, so spending time outside until morning takes quite a lot of grit.”

Jill gave a mischievous smile as she remembers her own experience from when she had been fourteen.  The war had already begun, but the conflict within Rave had grown larger at that time and a truce was in effect, allowing Jill to return home.  Regardless, so that could deploy at any moment should she be needed, she had received her baptism at the Saber House rather than the royal capital.

…Gerald-sama did at least show his face, although he immediately left!

Moreover, it came with the unnecessary remark, “Because Faris said I should come.”

As soft, dark laughter escaped Jill, the dressmaker, who had been helping her put on her shoes, gave a cheerful reply.

“As expected of the country of love.  You’ve been holding quite the free-spirited festival.”

“Mn,” before Jill could chew over her sense of discomfort, a mirror was brought in.

“Please, have a look.”

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