Side Story 3. Congratulatory Gift

“Cardiff Corsace is dead.”

Johann said in a subdued voice.

He’ll admit it honestly. In the depths of the Grodes Mountains, where fierce battles were raging, in that place where hope seemed lost, when Seraphina disappeared with an enormous light, Johann felt as if all the blood in his body had turned cold.

He learned painfully that day that a person can go mad when they lose something too precious.

But that didn’t mean he could just stand by and watch Seraphina’s lifespan decrease. Considering the lifespan she had already given, he had to protect her well to prevent even a second more from being lost here. That’s how they could live together for a long, long time.

“It means Marseus has ground the source of evil to powder. So there’s no reason for Sera to fly off somewhere.”

“There’s a lot of information shrouded in mystery about ancient artifacts.”

Mihail refuted as if it was out of the question. His logic was quite plausible, so Johann became increasingly less talkative.

“We don’t even know exactly what the ‘origin’ refers to. There are always problems even in peaceful times. No one knows when or how Miss Sera might disappear due to the wand.”

“She’s the Empress. She won’t have many occasions to use the wand.”

“That’s exactly my point. If Her Majesty the Empress will be staying quietly in the Imperial Palace, why does she need the wand? So please return it.”

“But just in case…”

“If by any chance there’s a situation where Miss Sera needs to take action, she can use the spell then. The spell I taught her, I mean.
And if the situation in Elmon is bad, wouldn’t I fly in from Sahar to support?”

“Don’t think about coming unnecessarily. With Marseus by her side…”

“That means don’t create situations where Miss Sera needs to take action when Your Majesty is by her side. Is it difficult to clean everything up before that?”

The last words were almost a warning. Mihail’s blue-green eyes flashed as he put force into his gaze at Johann.

Silence fell between the two men.

Johann, blocked at every turn, became very uncomfortable. But because everything the annoying Holy Knight Commander said was correct, he couldn’t refute anything.

Should he remove the wand if it’s for Seraphina’s sake?

Isn’t it enough to just not create situations where she needs to act as the purifier?

Moreover, undead rarely appear near Elmon. There are some that occur naturally, but not to the extent that the Imperial Palace needs to take direct action. Usually, hiring mercenaries was enough.

Knock knock.

It was then that a cautious knocking sound was heard.

“Are you busy…?”

Seraphina poked her head through the open door.

Mihail’s eyes wavered.

How long had it been since he’d seen her this close?

As he quietly took in Seraphina with dazed eyes, a deliberate coughing sound that seemed to be giving a pointed look came from the side.

“Ahem. Ahem!”

“……”

It was obvious who it was without looking. Johann was giving him a look to watch his eyes properly.

Amidst the rising irritation, Mihail blinked his eyes a few times. He couldn’t look at a woman who had now become another man’s wife with improper eyes.

After lowering his gaze diagonally to calm his turbulent heart, Mihail looked at Seraphina again.

“They said I need to return this.”

Seraphina, who had somehow fully entered the reception room, was wearing a beautiful dress. She was holding the wand in her hand.

Wow…

It seemed as if light was flowing in from somewhere, illuminating Seraphina. In that illusion, Mihail struggled to gather his thoughts that were becoming hazy.

Meanwhile, Johann raised an eyebrow in response to Seraphina’s words.

“Who said such a thing?”

“Jesuf did.”

“……”

A silence of seeming agreement flowed. Johann thought that the tactless Jesuf would indeed say such things.

“Sir Andantino, it’s been a while.”

At that moment, Seraphina approached Mihail’s side and smiled brightly.

Johann thought she was careless for smiling so prettily at another man. He begrudged even a speck of smile to that wolf-like man.

“I’m glad to see you safe and sound like this.”

Mihail narrowed his eyes deeply while maintaining his manners.

Now that he was actually exchanging words with Seraphina, all the minor issues turned to dust and disappeared. Just the fact that she was living under the same sky like this brought an indescribable satisfaction.

And in such a splendid appearance at that.

“You look like an ancient queen.”

“What? Oh my, what are you saying?”

Watching Seraphina laugh shyly, covering her mouth with one hand, Mihail noticed that something had subtly changed.

Is this because she’s now the Empress?

It seemed she had received harsh training in imperial etiquette.

“You’ve changed a lot in just a couple of months. You’re overflowing with grace.”

“I’m taking etiquette lessons. From Countess Adria.”

As she answered, Seraphina handed the wand to Mihail.

“Here.”

“…Ah.”

Mihail received the wand back with a bit of regret, despite having insisted on its return earlier. It was because Seraphina’s image holding the white wand in her dress was quite picturesque.

I wanted to keep looking at it…

As he swallowed his regret and adjusted his grip on the wand, she spoke.

“Jesuf was making a fuss about returning it quickly. He said you might claim enormous damages.”

“The Emperor’s right-hand man is saying unnecessary things.”

“Ahem.”

Agreeing with Mihail’s jab, Johann just let out an uncomfortable cough.

Meanwhile, Seraphina walked around the table and sat across from Mihail. Then she looked at Johann, who was sitting in the seat of honor.

“What were you talking about? May I join?”

“You seem to have already sat down before asking.”

“Well. Hehe.”

A small laugh that she hadn’t yet perfectly corrected flowed through her teeth. A warm light filled both Johann and Mihail’s eyes simultaneously.

While her new appearance wrapped in etiquette was fresh and nice, the two men loved Seraphina as she originally was.

So they could only pretend not to notice and secretly take in these occasional relaxed moments.

“Belated congratulations on your marriage.”

At that moment, Mihail tilted his head slightly and offered his congratulations.

Perhaps because it was congratulations from a man who had once confessed his feelings for her, Seraphina looked at Mihail with an ambiguous expression, then soon smiled with her eyes curving.

“Thank you.”

Mihail thought she looked like an angel as she answered.

An ancient queen, an angel.

He was really going all out.

Something must have gotten into his eyes. Nevertheless, he couldn’t stop.

Mihail stood up from his seat and approached Seraphina. He could feel Johann glaring at him as if asking what he was up to, but Mihail didn’t care.

“This is a congratulatory gift.”

“……?”

Confusion appeared on Seraphina’s face. Johann was the same.

That was because the object Mihail presented as a congratulatory gift was none other than the wand.

Johann’s brow furrowed deeply.

This b*stard?

He just insisted on returning it quickly, and now suddenly it’s a gift? When he himself wanted to gift it to the Empress, he absolutely refused, putting up an iron wall.

Johann was so dumbfounded he was at a loss for words.

Meanwhile, Mihail continued speaking fluently.

“Miss Sera is the divine purifier. Moreover, you’re the purifier whom the whole world hails as a hero for defeating the bone dragon.”

“Uh… But I heard you were waiting even after the banquet ended to get it back?”

Seraphina’s eyes wavered in confusion as she spoke words that were clearly heard from Jesuf. Seeing this, Mihail calmly replied.

“I had to get it back to give it as a gift.”

“Uh… Is that so?”

It was nonsense.

But perhaps because of Mihail’s brazen attitude, it sounded plausible, and Seraphina ended up nodding slowly.

“The wand was originally born to be used by the divine purifier, so we should consider that it has found its rightful owner.”

Now Mihail was personally placing the wand in her hand.

“This belongs to you, Miss Sera.”

“Thank you…?”

Seraphina seemed flustered.

Johann’s expression, watching this whole situation from the side, was also stiffly set in displeasure. But well, there was no reason not to accept if it was being given.

Johann, who had agreed to the gift-giving ceremony before him with silence, was gripped by a strange uneasiness.

“To receive such a precious ancient artifact as a gift from Sir Andantino. I’m moved.”

And at Seraphina’s intense expression of gratitude, Johann soon realized the identity of this uneasiness. Originally, he had planned to buy and gift it himself… But that achievement was snatched away right in front of him by Mihail.

Ha.

That fox-like holy knight b*stard…

Johann’s insides boiled as he watched his wife’s bright smile directed at another man.

However, he wanted to avoid being branded as a petty husband just ten days after getting married. Johann mustered his patience and put on a picture-perfect smile.

“By the way, when are you returning to Sahar?”

“Well…”

Watching Mihail answer ambiguously, Johann curled up the corners of his mouth even more deeply.

His eyes weren’t smiling at all. Blue veins were popping out on his temples.

“Your business here should be finished, right?”

“There seem to be some who stay even without particular business.”

Seraphina, who caught a strange nuance in the last words, joined the conversation. It was because someone suddenly came to mind.

“Has His Grace Denhague not left yet either?”