A Story Like A Dream

After spending two days at the royal palace, we arrived at the residence with hot springs that Lord Balimore had prepared for us on the third day after arriving in the Kingdom of Tania.

Two days later, Crown Prince Arios the Idiot would be coming from the Kingdom of Luminous, so we would be returning to the royal palace once more.

Perhaps he had taken the location into consideration as well, because it was in a mountain area not too far from the royal palace.

Apparently there were about three bathhouses on the estate grounds fed by natural hot springs, and in an incredibly generous gesture, he said the members of my group were free to use them too. What was more, whether it was true or not, they said that if you let horses drink the hot spring water, it would relieve their fatigue and restore their energy.

We had been making them exercise constantly, so the members had been worried about the horses too, and that was a bit of a relief. It seemed the people of the Kingdom of Tania were also fond of horses. In that regard, they were very much like ours.

Some of the members had never experienced hot springs before, so although this was official business, we arrived at the residence with hot springs in high spirits.

After tying up the horses, Raul and I were discussing the order in which the members would bathe in the hot springs when Shitoen, who had gone inside ahead of us, came rushing out, startling me.

“Prince Saryu! Mone-san and Roze-san are…!”

She grabbed my arm and suddenly said that.

“What about Mone and Roze?”

“They’re here! Please come quickly!”

She pulled me insistently into the residence, and just like that, led me to what looked like a great hall.

Eaton was waiting in front of the sliding doors, and opened them in perfect timing with our arrival.

“Thank you very much for everything you did for us back then.”

Standing there with her hands folded in front of her body and bowing demurely was Mone. Roze, too, stood beside her looking composed.

“…This is… ah, so you came here to do business?”

Looking around the room, I understood.

Behind Mone and Roze, and all throughout the room, things like garment racks had been set up, with women’s outfits lined up in rows. Not just on the racks. Shoes had also been lined up across the carpeted floor, and on makeshift shelves, dazzling jewelry had been prepared in overwhelming abundance.

“That’s right. Lord Balimore heard about what happened and specifically requested our shop… hoping it might help make up for at least some of the losses. This time, he placed an order for a full set of attire for attending the apology ceremony.”

Mone smiled brightly.

Today she was wearing long sleeves made of sheer fabric, so the scars on her arms were completely hidden. Combined with her straight posture and the skirt extending down from her high waist, she looked truly striking. Her abundant hair was also tied up in a bun behind her head, giving her the air of a capable eldest daughter from a wealthy merchant family.

“With this, we can properly recover the sales money those thieves stole from us!”

After snapping off a crisp salute, Roze laughed cheerfully.

Even though she was dressed in this country’s clothing in the same way, she somehow still looked soft and sweet. Maybe it was because today, too, her hair was tied into two sections with floral ribbons on them.

“Come to think of it, Father did say he would prepare clothing for us… but I assumed it would be handed to us on the day itself.”

Shitoen looked somewhat puzzled, but Eaton, who was waiting by the entrance, approached holding a letter.

“This letter that Mone-san brought with her. It is indeed from your father, milady. It seems he wanted to surprise you.”

Smiling happily, she handed it to Shitoen. Running her eyes quickly over it, Shitoen let out a wry laugh.

“Honestly, Father has done nothing but drag me around by the nose this time.”

“Was he always like that?”

From the way he looked, he had completely seemed like a very… strict father.

“He looks serious on the outside, but the things he does are often completely unexpected… One time, he brought home a tiger cub and raised it, and another time he declared he was going to meet a legendary martial artist and didn’t come back for about a year…”

People really could be very different from how they looked. I was left speechless.

“Well, even my mother looks like a beautiful queen if she just keeps quiet.”

When I muttered that, Roze tilted her head.

“What’s she like when she doesn’t keep quiet? Jealous? Wasteful?”

“Roze.”

“No, in Tidros, she’s the greatest ambitious schemer.”

When I said it plainly, even Mone, who had just tried to chide Roze, stared blankly.

“If I had to describe my mother in one phrase, that would be it. She is constantly burning with ambition. In order to protect the country and its people, if there is anything that might become an enemy, she crushes it without exception, bringing peace to Tidros and keeping watch over everything so that it may become the greatest country on earth.”

Even though I had answered seriously, Shitoen’s shoulders were shaking as she desperately held back her laughter.

“I used to think queens and kings were all bad people.”

Roze muttered that under her breath. Shitoen gave a troubled smile.

“There are bad royals as well, but most of them devote themselves utterly for the sake of their countries and their people. However, when that ends up causing another country to lose its face… then perhaps they may look different. They may even seem like ‘bad kings.’”

“I don’t know whether they’re bad royals or not, but in my family’s case, the women are strong, no matter what. Royal women who are that free may actually be quite rare.”

When I cut in, Shitoen’s eyes widened.

“That may be true. Her Majesty the Queen and Her Highness the Crown Princess are both indeed… very free-spirited.”

Then Shitoen softened her gaze and looked back and forth between Roze and Mone.

“What do you think? About someday coming to the Kingdom of Tidros and doing business there?”

“To the Kingdom of Tidros?”

This time, it was Roze whose eyes went wide.

“I had some… painful experiences in the Kingdom of Luminous, but in the Kingdom of Tidros, I live very… yes, very freely. I feel that in the Kingdom of Tidros, women have more of a voice and more power to make decisions than in the Kingdom of Luminous or the Kingdom of Tania.”

Choosing her words carefully, Shitoen said that. I folded my arms and let out a thoughtful groan.

“It’s probably the population ratio, isn’t it? In the Kingdom of Luminous and the Kingdom of Tania, there are fewer men, right? In contrast, in the Kingdom of Tidros, there are slightly fewer women. If you go to frontier regions like Count Sheen’s territory, there are more men again because of the exiles… but in Tidros’s urban areas too, there are obviously fewer women. So if anything, women are the ones who choose, and men are the ones who get chosen. That might have something to do with it too.”

But then I frowned.

“Still, the women of the Kingdom of Tidros are tough. The women of the Kingdom of Luminous are gentler. If you two come, you’d better be prepared.”

“Huh! If you’re saying they’re strong, then we are too. Right?”

Roze raised her voice brightly and turned that face toward her older sister, but

“Now then. Let’s leave such dreamlike talk at that.”

Mone smiled brightly and cut the conversation off.

Roze stiffened, and even I felt a little thrown off. But Shitoen did not stay silent.

“It means that such a future is possible. Please keep it in mind. If anything happens, I will definitely help you.”

As though marking off each word one by one, Shitoen said that, then showed her usual gentle smile.