A meeting between nations.
Normally, it was a place someone like me had no business even showing his face.
That remained true no matter how trivial the agenda might be.
If figures representing their respective nations were present, a single careless word could derail affairs of state.
That was why I had never expected this.
That I would end up joining the Emperor and the Saintess for a meal.
To be fair, Senior Neris had warned me.
She had said arranging the appointment might require pushing things a little.
But who could possibly have predicted that I would end up attending a place where the leaders of two nations were speaking with one another?
Naturally, I was bewildered.
The Saintess looked strangely displeased, while only the Emperor burst into hearty laughter.
“Hahaha! Everyone knows the two of you are close, so why are you being so formal with each other? And Saint Lucia, are you not a saint in your own right? Your standing resounds throughout the continent, no less than mine or the Ironblood Duke’s.”
“Thank you for your generous praise, Your Majesty.”
My wife offered a perfectly proper expression of gratitude.
It felt like it had been ages since I had last seen movements so flawless.
She used to be like this before she showed me her true self, too.
I was nearly swept away by nostalgia, only to find my mouth going dry.
I had to moisten my throat with a glass of water.
Because I remembered those light pink eyes staring at me a moment ago.
There had been something ominous…