Jill checked her appearance in the mirror, and then steeled herself with a determined, “Alright.”  Beside her, a magnificent gamecock was also looking into the mirror as though checking its own appearance.

“Sauté, I’m counting on you to look after Her Highness Natalie and Her Highness Freida.”
“Kokee!”

Sauté dashed out from the terrace while carrying a bag with a teddy bear stuffed inside on his back.

“Rho, will you be alright staying behind again today?”
“Pukyu.”

Rho answered while wriggling its face out from the blankets.  His goldene eyes were still drowsy.

Although Rho loved being fussed over, he was extremely picky and disliked being around large numbers of people. Thus, he did not want to stay with Jill, who would be interacting with many people during the Dragon Flower Crown Festival.  Lately, he had been quietly playing by himself in Jill’s room.  That seemed to be growth, but the Dragon King was said to grow by feeding on the Dragon Emperor’s heart.  Letting down her guard was not an option, not if he was somehow being influenced by Hades’ state of mind.

“Sauté won’t be here today either.  Will you be alright?”
“Kyu.”

Whether he understood or not, he simply wriggled back into the blankets.  He was apparently still sleepy.

“Well, if something happens, a dragon will come flying, so it should be fine…”

After reminding him once more to behave himself, she left the room.  She had firmly locked the door when Hades also came out of his room.  That unexpected coincidence left both of them wide-eyed.  Then they laughed.  They had been quite busy that morning, even eating breakfast separately.  This made her happy.

“Good morning.  I left a lunchbox with Camilla.  —You’re already heading out?”
“Yes. I’m going to greet Casandra-sama and have a discussion with her.  Your Majesty, you’ll be having tea with His Highness Maynard and everyone else, right?  —You don’t look well.  Did you rest properly?”
“Around the time the sun came up.  Did you go to sleep first like you were supposed to?”
“Perfectly!  After I escorted Her Highness Natalie and Her Highness Freida back to their rooms, I slept soundly.  Times like this are exactly when you have to sleep well and eat well!”

Lack of sleep dulled both the mind and the body’s movements.  Keeping the body and mind in good condition so it was ready to act at any time was the best thing to do when anxious.

“If anything happens, don’t hesitate to rely on me. I’m full of energy, after all!”

Hades blinked in surprise.  He then crouched down and spread both arms wide.

“In that case, give me a hug.”
“Very well, hug!”

She jumped onto his neck.  Laughing, Hades stood up and spun around on the spot.  Jill was having so much fun that she ended up laughing out loud.  Before long, Hades staggered a bit and leaned against the wall while still holding Jill.

“Ahhh, having you here fills me with energy.  I feel like I can handle anything.”
“That’s right!  I’m the source of Your Majesty’s energy.  Likewise, Your Majesty is the source of my energy!”

“I see,” Hades said with a nod and then hugged her tightly.  It was tight enough to be a little painful, but also enough to make her heart pound.

“I heard that Imperial Consort Fien has been confined.  The inner palace is a difficult place, one I can’t carelessly interfere with either.  —Are you alright?”
“Please leave it to me!  Although the plan is going to have to be reworked!”
“Ah, really?  I guess that’s how it is…”

Hades had already received a report from Her Highness Natalie the previous night about what happened in the inner palace.  They were in a situation where they had no idea what was going to happen or even who the enemy was.

However, the same could apply to Hades.

“Alright, that’s enough.”  Jill gave Hades a kiss on the forehead with a loud chu.  Just as expected, Hades turned bright red and abruptly let go of her.  She landed and returned a salute.

“Well then, Your Majesty, I’m off!”
“Ha-haven’t you become quite formidable lately!?  M-my-my heart…”

She walked away, leaving him leaning against the wall where he tried to steady his breathing.  Rave will probably take care of him anyway.  Doing anything would be unfair to Camila and Seig who were quietly waiting for her.

“How did it go?”

Camilla shook her head at the brief question.  Seig did the same.  Jill fell into thought.

“I see. Three to four letters come on the worst days, but today not a single one… Is it a coincidence?”
“It hasn’t been a full day.  One might show up by noon.”
“How are Her Highness Natalie and Her Highness Frieda doing?  After what happened yesterday.”
“I left them in Sauté’s care.  It also creates a good excuse for delaying the meeting with His Highness Maynard.”
“So it’s a blessing in disguise.”

Camilla gave a wry smile.  Seig brought out a document from inside his coat.

“Also, a report came from the inner palace about yesterday’s attacker.  They’re claiming he was a petty thief.  According to the report, he infiltrated the inner palace by posing as a merchant who had access to it, stole a guard’s uniform, and tried to escape.  However, he failed to get away due to the commotion involving the Eighth Imperial Consort and then tried to flee by taking Her Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess, hostage.”
“Would a petty thief kill himself by drinking poison?”
“A fair point, but I doubt anything more will come of it.  Apparently, everyone involved has already been dealt with.”
“Waa, from last night to this morning?  The inner palace works quite fast, how scar-y.  Jill-chan, what are the chances of success?”
“I’m going to figure that out now.”

They stopped outside the usual reception room.  Seig opened the door.

The person they had come to meet was already inside.

She was looking out the window.  She was a tall woman.  The First Imperial Consort, Cassandra, wore a dress of subdued colors.  It was without ostentation, yet it was clearly made from first-rate fabric with first-rate embroidery.  She turned around and, with her hands clasped around her solar plexus​, gave a slight bow.

“This is our first time meeting, Your Highness the Dragon Consort.”

The reason she did not bend her knees and bow as Fien did was because she had been the highest-ranking consort of the previous Emperor.  It was a sign that they were of equal standing.  Toward Jill, who was the Dragon Consort but not an Imperial Consort, it was a sufficient display of respect.

“A pleasure to meet you.  I heard that Fien-sama has been placed under house arrest.  As such, you yourself will be directly assisting with the Dragon Flower Crown Festival?”
“Yes, I have heard there were many shortcomings.  That is due to my inadequate supervision.  On behalf of the inner palace, I offer my deepest apologies.  Accordingly, both the flower crown and the dress have been remade.”

A lady-in-waiting swiftly arranged the flower crowns on the table in the center with nothing more than a brief glance from Cassandra.

“The flower crowns of the other consorts have been remade in this manner as well.”

The flower crowns laid out were the very prototypes that had only been shown yesterday. However, the vividly colored flowers had been reduced to a single bloom, some had been reduced to one color, silk ribbons had been replaced with plain cords, and all of their splendor had been stripped away. Fien’s flower crown, naturally, was no longer there.

“We will redirect the flowers procured by the other Imperial Consorts to the Dragon Consort’s flower crown. This way, the Dragon Consort’s flower crown will be the most splendid.”

Cassandra spoke matter-of-factly and without so much as moving an eyebrow.

“Why did you change the other Imperial Consorts’ designs too?  They were so beautiful.”
“Had they remained as they were, they would have overshadow the Dragon Consort’s flower crown.”
“Even so, to go so far as to cut corners?  This wouldn’t make me happy, and a festival like that definitely wouldn’t be exciting.  Even you brought out something wonderful at first, didn’t you?”
“I apologize for my lack of consideration.  I had assumed that Fien was the one providing you with guidance.”

Cassandra bowed deeply without being shaken in the slightest by Jill’s complaint, which could have even been taken as sarcasm.  It was a way of handling things that left no room for argument.  Jill found herself being pulled into the illusion that Fien’s behavior, despite being somewhat exasperating, had actually been kind.”

…Fien-sama might really have been trying to guide me.

Get hold of the First Imperial Consort’s weakness and threaten her.  No, was it to share a secret and become friends with her?

Jill took a deep breath and smiled brightly.

“—Certainly, Fien-sama was a difficult person.  She was always speaking in such roundabout ways.”

Cassandra’s head raised and her eyes widened ever so slightly.  Jill, for the first time, felt as though she could see some color in those slightly dull eyes.

“I understand.  It looks like I can safely leave the management and oversight of the Dragon Flower Crown Festival to you, Cassandra-sama.”
“Are you certain?”
“It’s fine.  No matter what I say here, you won’t listen anyway.  —I understand very well that you’re looking down on me.”

Cassandra’s expression did not change.  She merely looked back at Jill.

“Fien-sama said that Imperial Consorts and the Dragon Consort are different.  As such, I’ll fight in my own way.  Please go ahead with everything. There isn’t much time, after all.”
“What do you intend to do?”
“It isn’t some an Imperial Consort needs to concern herself with.”

Cassandra, who had never been at a loss for words until now, fell silent.  But she quickly replied in a calm voice.

“Quite right.  Please forgive my presumptuous remark. —However…”
“I am aware.  Don’t enter the inner palace, and don’t interfere, right?  In return, please don’t do anything unnecessary that will anger me any further.”

Cassandra did not answer.  Jill simply smiled brightly back at her.

“Well then, I’ll leave the rest to you.”
“…Understood.  Please return for the costume fitting after lunch.”
“Ah, that’s right.  Make sure you properly get your rest.  Weren’t you running around all night last night?”

The tips of Cassandra’s eyebrows dropped, probably because she was confused.  Perhaps it was because the wrinkles at the corners of her eye became visible, but the somewhat hard-edged atmosphere around her softened.

“I… want the consorts of the inner palace to remain beautiful!  Please don’t collapse before the festival.  I’m counting on your cooperation.”
“That’s… of course—”
“Properly, that is.”

With that said, Jill turned on her heel.  She could no longer see Cassandra’s expression.

After stepping outside, Camilla spoke to her while glancing behind them.

“So, what are you actually going to do, Jill-chan?”
“I’m going to catch that old man from the Dragon Consort’s Palace.  He absolutely knows something.”
“Ah, now that you mention it, yeah.  After last night’s uproar, I almost forgot.”
“Except, Jill-chan, didn’t you just promise you wouldn’t enter the inner palace?”
“This is the Dragon Consort’s Palace.  The domain of the Dragon Consort and the domain of the Imperial Consorts are different.  There shouldn’t be anything for them to complain about.”

“No way,” Camilla burst with laughter.

“What sophistry~!  I like it.  You’re getting pretty good at manipulating things yourself, Jill-chan.”
“After everything Fien-sama put me through, I’m going to push through at least this much.  More importantly—”

Hades’ tea party had probably already started.  Despite her small stature, Jill strode forward taking the longest steps she could manage.

“I refuse to let the Dragon Consort continue to be pushed around by the Imperial Consorts.”

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