Chapter 143 – Grand Duke’s Council (4)

I never thought he’d show off this strong skinship all of a sudden, even though he was just pretending a little while ago.
I calmed my pounding heart and hugged Esther.
Along with the refreshing smell of flesh, the fishy scent of blood passed my nose.
It was a sign of a battle a little while ago.

‘Do you have feelings for him that you didn’t have before?’

I hoped that a miracle had happened because of his longing for me, but after a while, I realized that wasn’t the case.
Esther, who was far from delicate, touched various parts of my body with her beautiful hands and buried her prominent nose in my jacket.
Then he turned his head and looked at his face, then hugged him again and muttered in a slightly subdued voice.

“You didn’t reply…”
“Reply?”
“Know. Stupid Adela didn’t pay enough attention. So, I just came to punish you.”
“Did you send me a letter?”
“Because my memories were fading.”

Yes, she was engraving everything about me into her own head.
Body shape, smell, voice, mannerisms.
She gave him a sense of security and sometimes made him angry.
However, she looked into each other to the deepest depths, and by tracing her memories, she was regaining her attachment.

“No matter how much a magician has mastered unique magic, there is a limit to human memory, Lewis.”
“…”
“If you don’t water plants, they dry out. “As time passes, knowledge of magic and memories of people become like faded paintings.”

My cold cheeks and lips are gradually melting with my body temperature.
Maybe that’s why there was a refreshing aura in her eyes that seemed to give her a reprimand.

“It is clearly wrong for you to tease me this much.”

It’s clearly not my fault at all, but if I feel like I’m asking for an apology for some reason, is it just how I feel?
I silently kissed Esther’s forehead.

“Sorry. “Even if I didn’t receive your letter, I should have written it first.”
“…”

As if this wasn’t enough, the gaze still shows no signs of lowering.
I had no choice but to bend down a little more.
When our lips meet, our eyes slowly close.
That sight reminded me of a short conversation from the past.

— Kiss him sooner than that.
— I understand, so close your eyes.
— Why?
— That’s what lovers do.

I taught you to close your eyes when kissing.
Did they even aim for this?
They say that no matter how smart you are, you can’t remember, but there was a rather sharp intention hidden in that seemingly fierce expression.
As expected, when she finished the light kiss, she wiped her mouth and pulled away from me.
As if they would only look at me this time.

“Have you eaten?”
“No, not yet.”
“Good. There is a good barbecue house at the bottom of the mountain range. Let’s eat together.”
“Well, Adela… ?”
“Do you want to sit together?”

In a normal conversation, the other person’s questions must be answered.
If you respond with a rebuttal, it means, ‘I don’t like your opinion.’
In addition, considering the external factors that it was only the first time we had seen each other in a few months and that she was the Empress of Ice and Snow, who had absolutely no mercy towards her enemies, this was roughly what it meant.

Do you want to leave your airship intact and free fall into the mountains?

“No, let’s eat together.”

Despite my reputation as a warrior, I do not have an automatic flight function.
After reading Esther’s thoughts, I immediately decided to have a meal alone with her.

***

Esther was surprisingly a big eater and was far from aristocratic formality, so her dining table was quite comfortable.
As the meat on the platter disappeared quickly, I took a small portion of the meat for myself.
She looked at my plate and utensils, then cut half of the meat she had received and offered it to me.
It seemed like they were entering this as an act that lovers should remember.

“Eat.”
“It’s too big…” …”
“Do you mean to ask me to chew it and move it to my mouth?”
“No, I’ll just eat it.”

I didn’t know if she would really do that, so I quietly took the meat and ate it.
There are restaurants on the floating island, but eating food surrounded by trees was even more special.

After her stomach was somewhat full, she started asking me questions in earnest.

“So, what brought you here?”
“Huh? “Didn’t you hear I was coming?”
“As soon as she got here she had a rough idea of ​​Adela singing her strange song. “Is it just entertainment?”
“That’s not it…”

I told Esther the story about Caroline and the Holy Kingdom.
There wasn’t much difference from what I heard from Erzsebet, but there was a very important difference.

“That means you want to make this meeting happen.”
“Is there a good way?”
“Do I look like I know that much about other archdukes?”

That doesn’t seem to be of much help.
Well, in the past, Lehel had reacted as if she had encountered Esther for the first time in her former carriage.
At the last meeting, just like today, he would have thrown out a word and cut off communication, so it is natural.

“The princess said she would negotiate…”
“I don’t know. “Right now, even I do not feel the need to move troops to the extent of emptying the northern front in the event of a war with the Holy Kingdom.”
“Even if I give you more territory or a title?”
“The title of marquis is a superficial pretense that only the ministers of the royal capital boast about. “If the territory increases further than this, it will only be difficult.”

Rather, she told me that she had yellowtail, eel, and seokhwa that she had caught from the North Sea and that she would take them with her when she returned.
It was a very welcome gift in Parencia, where it is rare to eat fresh seafood, but it was too cute for something given by the ruler of the North Sea.

“Why do you look at me like that?”
“Huh?”
“Are you in love with me?”

As Esther, this question is asked without any shame.
Now I can more comfortably answer questions that are a mixture of pure curiosity and the intention to observe my reaction.

“Maybe? “From quite some time ago.”
“… !”

The pupils, which were clearer than the blue water falling below the floating island, shook slightly.
The fork that had been cutting the meat without stopping suddenly stopped moving.

“… “You smile like that too.”
“What?”
“…”
“Esther?”
“The schedule has changed. There will be enough time, right? “I have something to buy, so follow me.”

As if suddenly in a hurry, Esther stood up, holding my hand before I had even finished eating the meat.
She thought about taking the airship back to the floating island, but the place she headed was a small commercial district near a restaurant.

In the Baltic Mountains, there were quite a few different floating islands, not just ‘Plum’ where we were staying.
Therefore, several blocks of downtown were active, selling various souvenirs and paintings to guests who came to tour the floating island.
Several wizards gulped at the sight of the Four Leaves Medal of Roshyar hanging on Esther’s chest.

“Why did you come here?”
“Come in quietly. “Don’t let go of your hand.”

The place she arrived at, dragging me with her like a child following her mother to the grocery store, was a very unexpected place.
It’s a clothing store.

“Get dressed, the longer the meeting lasts, the colder it will get.”

She threw everything at me, including her long sleeves, fur hat, and the cloak that was large enough to wrap a person around.
While I was wondering why he suddenly bought me something like this, the next place I was taken to was the grocery store.
I’m sure there are chefs who cook food in the hotels on the island, but something was strange.

“Hey, Esther? Where are you going…”
“I’m busy, so let’s talk while walking. “Government offices will be closing soon, so you need to hurry.”
“Offices… ?”

After coming down to the village at the beginning of the mountain range, she knocked on the door of a log cabin and exchanged an incomprehensible conversation with a middle-aged man who came out from inside.

— Well, that’s… There are no properties for sale on the island right now…
— All you have to do is give permission… Isn’t the gap between Plum’s floating islands quite wide…? …
— This is our first time experiencing something like this… The airship’s route also needs to be reset…
— Today’s operating time is already over, so you can change it starting tomorrow… There are enough examples…
— Huh… Since this is the Grand Duke’s request, I will do it…

Esther came up to me as I was kicking a stone rolling in the grass while watching the setting sun.
In an oddly soft voice she told me that she had finished her business.

“Are you going back to the island now?”
“Yes. “Did you leave any luggage on the central island?”
“Load? I didn’t bring anything in particular…”
“Good. “Come here.”

A forced march back up the way we came down.
Carrying all sorts of things in the cold weather gave me quite a bit of exercise.
As the five-petaled floating island of Flam, the venue for the grand public meeting prepared by the Duke of Five Colors, was visible in the distance, Esthel glanced back at me.

“Louis. “I have no intention of agreeing with this agenda, no matter what Princess Erzsebet proposes.”
“That’s difficult…”
“The priorities of everything are clear in my mind. “The war with the Holy Kingdom will sap Roshoar’s strength.”

Esther’s long-cherished wish.
Making Roshoar stronger and completely purifying Hel’zeb.
Even if I told her that Antiope joined hands with Seongguk, it would not be of interest to her.
According to Mareil’s investigation results, Roshoar did not move even when evidence of black magic was discovered in Lake Senrir, Fenheim’s territory.

Just as he was wondering how to change the mind of this icy ice ball, a chilling window suddenly appeared before his eyes.
And then, the pure white mana that shook the earth swept across the entire mountain range.

“But——.”

In the turbulent air, an emotionless voice suddenly reached my ears.

“Lewis, if you want to participate in the war, I will definitely turn the tip of the spear.”
“Esther… ?”
“The will of the husband is absolute in determining the major and minor affairs of the family. If you want the power of Rochear, take Rochear.”

The object born under the huge mana vortex was a glacier the same size as the six floating islands floating in the sky.
Beautiful petals, topped by an ice castle, were added to the plum and began to rotate in sync with the existing islands.
Esther, who had made an entire island for herself, let out a shallow sigh and stretched out her hand to me.

“Ha… I will not tell you to carry this name. We will not force our wishes. Instead…”

Only then did I realize why Esther had bought food, blankets, and various winter gear.

“The promise you made to me must be kept.”

Telling about love.
I’ll keep it and show it to her from time to time until one day she has her heart.
So that Esther can remember.

“… Right Now?”
“Right Now.”

I thought as I looked at the island where Erzsebet, who was tying her head, and the archdukes, who were waiting for the sluggish meeting to end, were staying.
I think this meeting will take quite a long time.