31 – Proposal
The old man and Maria bowed first, then left the office.
“Catarina, I will visit again soon.”
Upon seeing the two of Anderson’s leave, Duke Taylor bid a friendly farewell to the queen.
Betty also stood up to bow to the queen.
“Betty…!”
I called her softly as if to hold her back.
She was still holding my hand.
“Ah, I, I’m sorry, your Majesty.”
When Betty apologized, the queen smiled.
“No. It’s a good moment.”
Would it be my imagination that her gaze, looking at our held hands, seemed a bit lonely?
After Betty bowed and left, I was left alone with the queen.
The atmosphere was awkward.
She looked me up and down as if to examine me.
‘I can’t give you my nephew!’ It wouldn’t be strange if she suddenly shouted that.
‘Why isn’t she telling me the purpose of this meeting….!’
She said she had something to discuss, but instead of bringing up the matter, she kept scanning me up and down.
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It felt inappropriate for me to ask, ‘Why did you ask everyone but me to leave?’
‘It’s not right to ask the queen, right? Hmm… probably not.’
Then,
-Thunk
Suddenly the queen rose from her desk and I flinched.
She walked toward me.
I was looking 15 degrees in front, standing rigid in attention.
I was like a frog in front of a snake.
“Thomas…”
She spoke to me in a low, understated voice.
Her form of address had changed from ‘sir’ to ‘young man.’
I have a strange feeling that the air inside the room is starting to take on a strange color.
‘Is this what they call a King’s aura?’
A person can change the very feel of a space with just their presence.
‘No, it’s not his aura but rather…’
I gulp.
The queen stops right before me and opens her mouth to speak.
“Sir Thomas, I’d like to ask a great favor of you…”
“Of course, Your Majesty.”
I still can’t look at her in the eye and hold my head rigid 15 degrees off to the side.
I wait with a mix of anticipation and trepidation over what she might ask.
“I’d like you to play the part of a sorcerer.”
Her request is completely unexpected.
“S, sorcerer? But I…”
“Yes. I am aware of your personal circumstances, Sir Thomas. Despite my position as the reigning monarch, I have my reasons for making this request.”
‘That’s right…’
She was one of the few who knew that I was from another world.
“W, why is that, Your Majesty?”
“You saved so many people this time. Word of your accomplishments has already spread throughout the kingdom.”
“B, but…”
According to what Betty told me, while I was unconscious, the audience members pointed their fingers at me and cursed me, asking why I hadn’t protected them.
“The people have no idea that I used magic.”
“Countess Hex was present at the scene. She bears the title of vice-deputy minister of magic and vouches for your actions.”
‘Who is this Hex? Is she the Lady Hex who started all this trouble?’
Since she called her “countess,” she’s probably her daughter.
“But hasn’t Hex already lost the public’s trust? Why would…”
The family of the arrested noble is under suspicion. It’s obvious how the people feel about them.
“No, we haven’t made the count’s involvement public yet.”
“I see…”
“Now, that aside, I would like you to give a speech in front of the public inside the castle square as a sorcerer.”
“A speech?”
Surprised, I quickly transitioned from historical language to modern day speech.
“Yes, an expression of gratitude towards the sorcerer known as the kingdom’s guardian for protecting the people. Also a promise of hope that he will continue to do so. Using these two sentiments, I plan to win over the people.”
“…..”
That much I understood. But I couldn’t fathom the need for a speech.
Wouldn’t spreading a plausible rumor do the trick?
But the queen seemed to misunderstand my silence.
“Are you looking down on me?”
In response to her resigned tone, I looked down at her.
Barely at the level of my chest, she was not very tall.
Gentle large eyes, plump lips, and a freckle near her mouth.
Though she had an appealingly warm and inviting appearance, she looked much younger than Duke Taylor.
“No, I understand that much of the politics. But I feel like I don’t need to give a speech necessarily, what happens if I mess it up and ruin my good image?”
I tried to imagine myself standing on a stage and delivering a speech.
After joining my company, even the seminar in front meager several dozens of team members made me stutter. I couldn’t imagine myself pulling such an authoritative act.
“The truth is…”
The queen began, hesitantly.
“I’m sorry, but you also have a role as bait.”
“….”
I understood immediately.
There was a saying, “the perpetrator will always return to the scene of the crime.”
The central plaza was a vacant lot located close to the theater.
With a large crowd gathered there, there was also the possibility that the culprits would make another move.
The plan was to use me and the gathered crowds as bait to catch the criminals if they decided to return.
Even if the criminals didn’t show up, I’d have fulfilled the role of winning over the people’s hearts. So there was no loss in any case.
For a moment, a thought crossed my mind.
‘Why me?’
Why did I have to be forcefully dragged into this world and compelled to marry a woman I had never met before? I mean, sure, I could tolerate it since she was my type, but why did I have to make such a sacrifice?
“Are you looking down on me?”
“……”
Honesty had me wanting to say ‘this time it’s really…’, but I kept quiet for the moment.
The queen hastily spat out, with her face contorted into an apologetic expression, as if she was trying to convince me.
“You won’t be alone there. We will mobilize the elite knights of the palace. Duke Heks will also join. Anderson has already agreed. Even Count Albert will hide himself in those ranks. Thomas. We just need your agreement…”
I wasn’t sure about the others, but at the mention of that old man’s name, I felt a little tempted.
That old man, even if a demon or a ghost sprang forth, he would manage to strike it down.
Still…
“Can you give me a day to think about it?”
A faint smile spread across the queen’s face.
“Of course! Just let Maria know once you’ve made up your mind.”
Seeing her blush, my heart felt a little lighter.
‘I can’t help but be swayed…’
After a moment of silence,
“Th-, Thomas…”
‘Looks like she’s going to give me a dismissal,’
I thought to myself, preparing the formal aristocratic departure in my mind.
“C-, could you hold my shoulder just once?”
“Pardon?”
I was taken aback, nearly forgetting to use the honorific tone.
Looking down at her, she was faltering, her face reddening.
‘Oh.’
I realized.
‘She must want a massage.’
There was no other reason for her to suddenly request for a shoulder rub.
‘I’ve often been told by my father that I have strong hands.’
I decided to accept graciously.
“Certainly! Please, turn around.”
Then the queen looked flustered.
“Huh…? Turn my back?”
She stood there, her face puzzled.
‘Ah!’
Once again, I made the mistake of trying to weigh this world with the common sense of my own world.
“There’s no rule that says you have to do the massage from behind.”
“Oh, no. I’m leaving.”
I reached out with both hands and gently grabbed her shoulders as if holding a raw egg.
-Squish
“Wow, it’s really soft.”
The feeling of grabbing her shoulders was completely different from my own body, to the point where I wondered if we were the same species.
However, the queen, whose shoulders were grabbed, seemed quite flustered.
“Why are you like this? Are you not putting enough strength into it?”
I slightly tightened my grip, adding a little more strength than when I was holding the egg.
“Ah…!”
At that moment, a moist, tender voice burst out from her, and I, taken aback, let go of my hands.
“I-I’m sorry. Are you hurt?”
It didn’t seem like a groan of pain, but I felt like I had to say something in the atmosphere.
“I-I-It’s fine now! Just go back!”
The queen, now with her ears and neck completely red, yelled, stumbling over her words.
“Ah, I understand! May your body be well!”
I quickly bowed and hurriedly left the king’s office.
———————-
On the way back to the duke’s mansion in a carriage.
I suddenly remembered the shopping street and stopped the carriage.
The shopping street was for the preparations for tomorrow’s magic class.
“I can prepare that much on my own.”
Carol, who inevitably followed as my escort, said.
“It’s my stuff, and I want to see and buy it myself.”
In truth, I was more in the mood to take a breath of fresh air than for any other reason.
Being inside the building all the time made me miss the sky.
I decided to stop by the potion shop first.
“If I go here… I have to pass through the square.”
I had become reasonably familiar with the layout of the capital, enough to roughly estimate my direction.
Walking along, thoughts of the earlier incident at the royal palace surfaced in my mind.
‘Something… the atmosphere was dangerous…’
I was amid a meeting with the queen, a married woman… and on top of that, I was betrothed…
‘Ah! Stop thinking about it!’
Thinking further felt perilous in its own right, prompting me to shake my head to clear the distracting thoughts.
Carol glanced at me with an expressionless gaze, but I hurriedly ignored it and quickened my pace.
Before I knew it, I had arrived at the central square.
However, a previously unseen addition caught my eye in a corner of the square.
More than ten hastily assembled signs stood atop a long table.
And in front of the signs were placed flowers.
‘Ah….’
Drawing closer, I realized the signs bore the names of individuals, and passersby would occasionally lay a flower before moving on.
There were also a few people weeping in front of the table.
I decided to visit the flower shop before the potion shop.