The room they were in was normally used as a reception chamber by the consorts of the inner palace.  It was not part of the palace grounds.  The corridor they proceeded down was carpeted all the way to its edges and brought them to a plaza with a fountain.  They walked along the surrounding cloister and entered on the opposite side.  This time, a large circular entrance appeared. 

Jill looked up.  The iron gate was raised.  Perhaps it’s lowered at night.  The inside was like a guard station at a castle gate.  The soldiers lowered their heads upon seeing Fien.

“The grounds of the inner palace begins from here onward.  This is your first time, is it not, Jill-sama?  Not having your guards with you, are you uneasy?”

Camilla and Seig, having received the roundabout threat from Fine —This will merely be a stroll.  Or do you perhaps suspect I would do harm to Her Highness the Dragon Consort?— weren’t accompanying them.  At any rate, there was a mountain of things to do such as reviewing the security details, so they had been directed to that instead.

“No, I wanted to enter and confirm the layout at least once, so this is a good opportunity.”
“As expected of Your Highness the Dragon Consort, how reliable.”

Fien began walking again.  They were probably inside of the wall surrounding the inner palace.  The somewhat dim stone passage continued for a while, and before long light from outside streamed in. 

Jill stepped into a flower field overflowing with blooming white flowers.

There was none of the splendor she had imagined.  The flower field showed no sign of being maintained either.  Thanks to the leaning gazebo standing all alone in the middle, she could tell a nearly buried stone-paved path was there.  Most likely, the place was originally a front garden.

But now, it looked only like a desolate garden covered entirely by a pure white flower field.

“So this… is the inner palace?”
“It is the flower field where dragons are laid to rest.”
“He-here!?  That place!?”

Fien gave a meaningful smile to Jill’s startlement.

“Ara, surely you haven’t promised to meet with someone?”
“Th-that’s not the case at all!  But why… bring me to a place like this?”
“Because this is the Dragon Consort’s inner palace —the Dragon Consort Palace.”

Fien gently pointed to the left with a long finger.  A mansion with a simple exterior and lacking unnecessary decorations stood as though buried in the flower field.

“The Dragon Consort Palace… does that mean… my own palace… inner palace?  The one said to have been left abandoned for three hundred years…”
“Yes. The place where we imperial consorts live is over there.”

This time she pointed toward the front, beyond the flower field.  There an iron fence divided the space, and a garden furnished with arches and hedges, along with a large building, could be seen beyond it.  It was a splendid mansion with a new black roof.  The part that was visible appeared to be its side, and while its entrance couldn’t be seen, it was clearly a large building.

“…It’s completely separated from the Dragon Consort Palace.”
“That is because imperial consorts cannot enter the Dragon Consort’s domain.  The Dragon Consort is one of the imperial consorts, but imperial consorts are not Dragon Consorts.  Even if one were the Emperor, unless he is the Dragon Emperor, he cannot access the Dragon Consort Palace.  The previous Emperor also used the front passage when visiting the inner palace. The Dragon Consort is special.”

Calling it special sounds nice, but doesn’t that really mean I’m tremendously isolated?  The sight spread out before her looked less like a special place and more like an abandoned one.

“More so with coming and going from here not being viewed positively.  This is the place the Dragon Consort of three hundred years ago used for secret meetings, after all.”

Fien gave a teasing laugh at Jill’s startlement.

“It’s said she even bore a child, and that the Dragon Emperor personally cut them down.”

Her words matched the memories she had once seen of the Dragon Consort from three hundred years ago.

“E-even records like that… remain?”
“No, the Dragon Emperor burned away everything related to the Dragon Consort.  However, due to the inner palace being closed off, the flow of time here is slower than outside.  Stories remain through word of mouth.”
“…Tha-that’s kind of incredible.”
“Of all people, it seems that her partner was the Dragon Emperor’s younger brother. Jill-sama, please be careful as well.”
“Yes?  Why are you telling… You aren’t!”

Is she suspecting Lutiya?  Fien’s smile only deepened, neither affirming nor denying anything.  The discomfort of not even knowing whether it was a warning or sarcasm was starting to become unbearable.

“…Ano, if this is harassment, could you just say it directly?  That’s… not something I can pick up on all that well, or rather—”

Fien raised an index finger to her lips.  Then, as though sharing a secret, bent down and whispered into Jill’s ear.

“In truth, there are rumors that Cassandra-sama has been visiting the flower field where dragons are laid to rest.”
“Eh!?”

It was a flower field rumored to be used for secret meetings and the First Imperial Consort was visiting it. That gave her nothing but a bad feeling. To the flustered Jill, Fine continued, calm as ever.

“More importantly, Jill-sama can freely come and go from here.  You are the Dragon Consort.”
“Th-that may be true… Eh, wait, are you telling me to stake the place out until Her Highness the First Imperial Consort comes!?”
“Why is that not an excellent idea?”

Her eyes sparkle brightly as she asked for agreement.

“People keep their weaknesses secret.  And the secret to becoming close with others is the sharing of secrets.  Surely if you grasp Her Highness the First Imperial Consort’s secret, she will become friendly with Her Highness the Dragon Consort as well.”
“That… doesn’t that just mean getting leverage on her and threatening her!?”
“Ara, I didn’t go so far as to say something so barbaric.”

Fien replied with a puzzled expression, to which Jill’s cheek twitched.  She was gradually beginning to understand Fien’s methods.  She would absolutely never let herself be pinned down by her words.  Instead, she manipulated others through implication.

“What’s your goal?”
“I wish for you to become a splendid Dragon Consort.”
“Enough, I get it already.  I just need to do it, so I’ll do it!  In exchange, I am absolutely going to have the design for the dress and flower crown changed!”

If her circumstances stayed as they were, where she couldn’t even change a single design, it would not become the form of success Jill desired.  At worst, she would simply be used and discarded at someone else’s convenience.

“Your Highness the Dragon Consort is quite a decisive person.  Watching you gives me energy.”
“That’s… not actually praise?  You mean to say that I’m not behaving like someone from the inner palace.”
“What would be the point of the Dragon Consort behaving the same way as the imperial consorts?  You are different from us, who are solely tasked with bearing the next Dragon Emperor.”

Jill turned around in surprise at the sharp reply.  Fien, however, immediately concealed her true feelings behind a smile.

“A caretaker comes and goes from here, but the fact that Your Highness the Dragon Consort is here would be better off kept hidden.  If Her Highness the First Imperial Consort learns of you, she will avoid this place.”
“Ah, yes.  That’s true.”
“Well then, if you will excuse me.  I will be suspected of infidelity if I remain here too long.”

By the time Jill realized that the same should apply to her as the Dragon Consort, Fien had already disappeared.

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