Rachel issues an order to refresh the pitcher of water, then pauses. “…Lady Aileen, you aren’t plotting something without telling me, are you?”

  The other woman is gazing at her steadily, and Aileen frowns. “I don’t have the slightest clue what you mean.”

  “Are you secretly planning to accompany Master Claude? With the excuse that you aren’t experiencing morning sickness…?”

  It’s true that her morning sickness hasn’t been as serious as what she’d braced for. In fact, it’s almost nonexistent. She hasn’t been able to handle the smell of butter, but that’s all. There have been no changes to her figure yet, and even though people have told Aileen that new life has taken root inside of her, it still doesn’t seem quite real.

  However, that and this are different matters. Aileen sighs. “Listen, Rachel. Even I can’t be a free spirit forever.”

  “That’s true… Still, you are you, Lady Aileen.”

  “Besides, I’m currently preparing to give birth to an heir. It’s an important duty for an empress. Are you implying I don’t understand that?”

  “Of course not. But this is you we’re talking about, Lady Aileen.”

  “Why do you doubt me so much?!” She grimaces.

  Aileen must admit she has pulled her fair share of reckless stunts in the past; she can’t deny that. However, she can proudly say it was all in the name of securing Claude—the demon king—his rightful place on the throne and winning happiness for herself. To delve a bit deeper into the matter, that ambition was only a necessity because of the preposterous fact that this world is the same world as an otome game she played in her previous life, Regalia of Saints, Demons, and Maidens.

  Because knowledge of the game came back to her along with memories of a past life, Aileen embarked on a campaign to systematically tear down the death flags that threatened herself and her husband. As both the demon king and the final boss, her husband was targeted for a variety of reasons, while the villainess, Aileen, had been long dead by the game’s conclusion. She was forced to act recklessly to survive.

  However, all of that was resolved. As far as Aileen can tell, she cleared every game in the series. Fan discs aside, the plot of the sequels no longer lines up with the timeline of events that Aileen has seen. In theory, this world shouldn’t have any more connections with the original games… At least, that’s what Aileen believes.

  I won’t stand for anything else! Nothing decent ever happens…!

  Besides, she’s managed to survive and marry Claude; they’ve become emperor and empress, and they’re about to be blessed with a child. The Regalia of Saints, Demons, and Maidens series was marketed as wholesome and designed for all ages. A husband who’s fathered a child can’t possibly be an object of romantic conquest or a final boss or anything like that in such a series…Aileen hopes. Probably.

  At any rate, Aileen no longer has any reason to be reckless.

  “I regret that I won’t be able to visit the Kilvas Empire, of course. It is where Master Claude’s mother was from, and this is his cousin’s wedding. I would like to go and give them my regards as his wife. However, if they knew I was expecting, they would no doubt feel the need to be extremely careful with me.”

  “On the other hand, it’s you, Lady Aileen…”

  “Wh-what exactly do you think I am…?! Th-that’s right; if I were plotting something, your husband, Isaac, would be my accomplice. You haven’t heard anything, though, have you? Isn’t that proof I’m not plotting anything?”

  “If it were for your sake, Lady Aileen, I’m confident Isaac would betray me as often as he had to, so I can’t believe him.”

  “My dear, don’t you think the way you trust your husband is rather odd?!”

  “You’re too kind.”

  “That wasn’t a compliment!”

  Isaac, Aileen’s right-hand man and business associate, is undoubtedly brilliant. However, when it comes to navigating the subtleties in relationships between men and women, he’s rather careless. Aileen never realized it would backfire on them like this.

  “In any case, I’ve decided that I shall trust Master Claude’s judgment on matters of public policy and will stay at home in his absence. Doesn’t that make me the epitome of a good wife?” Aileen holds her head high.

  Rachel gazes at her steadily, then smiles. Her eyes are filled with affection. “I understand. I will pack so that you may leave whenever you wish, Lady Aileen.”

  “You don’t understand in the slightest!”

  “What’s all this racket?”

  Rachel and the other ladies-in-waiting all bow their heads at once. Aileen glances in the direction where the voice came from, and then her eyes widen. “Master Claude, isn’t it time for your conference?”

  “We’re taking a brief recess. There was something I wanted to confirm with you…but it looks as if we should take this elsewhere.”

  “I will prepare a room for you.” Keith, who has been waiting just behind Claude, promptly turns on his heel.

  Claude scans the room from the doorway. “So what happened here? Don’t tell me these are all my clothes.”

  “That’s exactly what they are.”

  Claude starts to take a step into the room, then thinks better of it. There isn’t anywhere to walk, and the dreadful spectacle must have overawed him. Smiling wryly, Aileen rises to her feet, and then her toes lift lightly off the ground. It’s Claude’s magic, and it carries her right into his arms.

  “Don’t overdo it. I’d like to have tea, but how are you feeling?”

  Since learning of her pregnancy, Claude asks about her condition every time they meet.

  “No problems whatsoever.”

  “Really?” He glances at Rachel, who’s waiting behind her, for confirmation. The man is the definition of overprotective.

  “Yes. I am taking it easy, and there hasn’t been any trouble at all,” Aileen assures him.

  “I see.” Claude nods, but he doesn’t look very convinced. He lost his mother early from the combined stress of a difficult delivery and the anxiety of having given birth to the demon king. It’s understandable why he can’t help but be uneasy. Out of consideration for this, Aileen has been doing whatever she can to set Claude’s mind at ease. This is why she doesn’t demand he put her down, even when he carries her all the way to the room where they’ll be taking tea.

  “Good grief. There’s no need to pack all those clothes.”

  “Gracious, Master Claude, what are you saying? You are the emperor. Not only that, but it isn’t just any court noble who’s getting married—it is the wedding of the emperor of Kilvas, your cousin. It would be rude if you arrived unprepared, no?”

  “Still, there are limits. I’ve never even met this cousin. My aunt, my mother’s elder sister, already passed away.”

  “But I heard you’d met the emperor of Kilvas’s sister.”

  “…Yes. It was nearly twenty years ago, though.”

  “That would have been during the confusion over whether you would be removed from the line of succession. That’s a good reason, all on its own.”

  Claude tilts his head, glancing at her.

  Smiling at him, Aileen presses her cheek to his chest as he walks slowly, perhaps out of consideration for the people who are preparing their tea. “You must let her know that you are a splendid emperor now and living happily.”

  Aileen’s memories of that time are vague. She can’t deny the possibility that this princess from another land may have seen Claude as an unfortunate, unhappy crown prince. She’s heard rumors that, when the decision was made to disinherit him, there was talk of the Kilvas Empire taking him in.

  “If you don’t, she’s sure to worry,” Aileen says.

  After thinking for a moment, Claude starts coming around. “…I see. That might be true.”

  “You don’t sound very enthusiastic.”

  “That mountain of clothes is a bit…”

  “Oh, that won’t be all. We’ll be sending souvenirs with you as well.”

  “…I’ll leave that to you.”

  What a troublesome husband. Aileen giggles. Oh yes, I am the ultimate wife…

  What peaceful days. This is what Aileen has always dreamed of.

  Thanks to their outstanding servants and adviser, by the time Aileen and Claude arrive, tea has been laid out for them in style. Lowering Aileen to a sofa, Claude cocks his head. “I wish we could bundle you up from head to toe in something soft.”

  However, she doesn’t neglect to admonish her husband for his stranger ideas.

  “As I’ve told you, swathing me in fabric will protect neither myself nor the baby.”

  “But can we really be sure of that unless we try?”

  If she entertains this as something worth discussing, the sun is likely to set on them, so as her husband seats himself in front of her, she decides to distract him. “Now, what is it you wished to confirm with me? The packing is going according to schedule, if that’s what concerns you.”

  Claude pauses in the act of raising a cup of black tea to his lips.

  Aileen has picked up a fork, intending to help herself to some of the bite-size pieces of cut fruit, and her husband’s steady gaze makes her blink.

  Quietly, Claude begins, “I would like to confirm whether you genuinely intend to stay home.”

  “What?”

  “Are you plotting something?”

  One of Aileen’s eyebrows jumps. Claude is insinuating the same thing as Rachel, who’s serving them with a composed expression. Beneath half-lowered lids, his red eyes clearly convey his doubt to Aileen.

  “…It was you who told me to stay here, was it not, Master Claude?”

  “However, when you agree to my proposals, it’s normal to suspect that there’s something behind it,” her husband says in all seriousness.

  A vein stands out on Aileen’s temple. Holding her fork vertically, she viciously skewers a piece of fruit. “As I explained to Rachel a moment ago, I! Am! Pregnant! I am about to become the mother of imperial royalty!”

  “You, the mother of imperial royalty…?”

  “Why are you looking at me as if you can’t believe that?”

  “No, I am the emperor, and you’re having my child, so it’s a fact that you will be the mother of imperial royalty. That said…the thought of you meekly staying home in my absence feels extremely implausible.”

  “Exactly what do you think I am?!”

  “You deceived me during the Mirchetta incident, and my heart hasn’t yet healed.”

  Aileen chokes and falls silent. She can’t deny that Claude once left the imperial capital, telling her to behave, and instead she donned a disguise and passed herself off as a male student of the academy.

  However, that was then, and this is now.

  “At this point, I am the empress. I was still your fiancée back then; my position is different now.”

  “You, concerned about positions…?”

  “I-if anything comes up, I’ll discuss it with you, Master Claude. I am conscious of the fact that I am your wife!”

  “You, discuss…?”

  “May I pinch or slap you soon?” Aileen brandishes her palm at him, and Claude lowers his gaze, seeming distressed. This husband of hers is beautiful down to the tips of his eyelashes, and that movement alone is enough to make it seem as if he’s shouldered all the sorrow in the world.

  “No… You’re right. I suppose the current situation is different…”

  “Y-yes, you see? Now you may rest easy and leave it to me—”

  “Your brother, Prime Minister Cyril, is here.”

  Why has Claude mentioned her oldest brother now? Aileen’s face tenses.

  “I think he could stop you… Probably,” Claude says with some uncertainty in his voice.

  “It’s true that I have never bested my brother Cyril, but—!”

  “Also, your other brothers should be here by now.”

  “The way you take it for granted that I’m guaranteed to go out of control is quite— Wait. What?” Right as Aileen is about to launch an effort to correct her husband’s thinking, her eyes widen. “Bram and Michael are at the imperial castle?”

  “Yes, they said they wanted to say hello. I’m about to go speak with them. In preparation for attending this wedding, I had them survey the current state of the Kilvas Empire. It is a distant country, after all. It seems different from Ellmeyer in a number of ways… Particularly the demons.”

  “But the demons there should obey you, right, Master Claude?”

  “No. I checked with Father, and for some reason, there have always been some demons who do not side with the demon king.”

  In this instance, Claude isn’t referring to Pierre, the previous emperor, when he said “Father.” He means Luciel, the former demon king who’s often considered the god of demons.

  “That may be the reason why the methods the people of Kilvas use to defeat demons are different. They rely on the Valkyries,” Claude says.

  “The Val…kyries…?”

  I’ve heard that word somewhere before, Aileen thinks, and then a chill shoots through her… For example, in a game, there was a very similar…

  Claude takes a sip of tea; it seems to calm him down, because he elaborates. “In their language, the word means ‘warrior maiden.’ Kilvas uses exclusively female soldiers to combat demons.”

  “Female soldiers…”

  “The organization was created using technology supplied by the Queendom of Hausel. Not only that, but there also used to be rumors that revolution was brewing in their ranks.”

  “Revolution…”

  “My cousin’s fiancée is the young woman who was the leader of the would-be revolutionaries. In other words, this wedding is a political maneuver to head off civil war in Kilvas— What’s wrong?”

  “N-nothing!” Aileen sits up straighter. Everything is fine. The subject of the Regalia of Saints, Demons, and Maidens series is the Maid of the Sacred Sword. The word Valkyrie doesn’t make an appearance.

  Valkyries who fight demons, a revolutionary leader, marriage to the emperor…

  That means it is sheer coincidence that all this sounds oddly familiar, and it is definitely only her imagination.

  It can’t be, can it?!

  As if she’d stand for that. Hiding her confusion, Aileen smiles at Claude, who’s watching her dubiously. “I-in that case, I’ll prepare to greet my elder brothers. If I commit some sort of error, who knows what they may say to me.”

  “…I understand how you feel, but why are your eyes darting around so much?”

  “No, nothing!! They’re not!!”

  “Are you sure you aren’t actually plotting something?”

  “Not even a little!”

  Pounding the table with her fists, she rises to her feet. Claude blinks at her, and she laughs. “Oh-ho-ho! I—I haven’t fallen so far that any plot I made would be this transparent.”

  “…I suppose that’s true.”

  What convinces her husband is decidedly insulting, but Aileen doesn’t have the energy to get angry about it.

  I’m not plotting. Nothing like it.

  On the contrary, please don’t make me plot. With that wish in the back of her mind, Aileen orders Rachel and the others to prepare to greet her brothers.

  Aileen’s family, the house of d’Autriche, has three sons. The eldest is Cyril, the prime minister; the second is Bram, captain of the Holy Knights; and the third is Michael, a diplomat. Aileen is the youngest child and the only daughter.

  Her brothers are all extremely brilliant, and they’re constantly busy. Even at Aileen’s wedding, they’d only stopped by briefly to give their regards. As a result, a rumor persists in certain quarters that her brothers are against her marriage to Claude; however, the truth is that they were speaking far too freely with Claude for Aileen’s liking, so she chased them out.

  Once, Aileen was unable to hide her frustration with her excessively capable brothers and rebelled. Her brothers meticulously crushed her in their own separate ways: by forcing her to witness a level of brilliance that brooked no argument, by looking at her as if she made no sense, and by cackling at her. It was a sad memory of her rebellious phase. If her husband ever finds out about that embarrassing past, she’ll never survive it.

  It’s worth noting that these siblings get along surprisingly well. Her brothers seem to trust that their little sister is very capable, and when she can’t accomplish something, they take care of it for her somehow. Besides, from what Claude says, Aileen’s brothers dote on her. If not, they probably wouldn’t have even considered becoming the vassals of a man saddled with a situation as tiresome as being demon king.

  I really don’t think my brothers would concern themselves with my decision, but…

  Her outstanding brothers could make any emperor look good. What’s more, Claude is just as brilliant, so there’s no way her brothers would run into any trouble. On the contrary, the ones having trouble are Aileen and Claude. In fact, Claude often frowns at Cyril, who manipulates state affairs as if by magic.

  In addition, Claude’s been dealing with her two other brothers today. The conference must have been quite tiring. That he’s bowed out of Aileen’s tea party using the excuse that siblings should have some time alone together seems to confirm those suspicions… No doubt Cyril has already caught her husband, wherever he’s made his escape to.

  Still, for today, Aileen is grateful that Claude isn’t here.

  Not that I’m plotting anything!

  As soon as Aileen enters the parlor, her brothers rise to their feet. Her second-eldest brother, Bram, is sharp-eyed and rather brusque, while her youngest brother, Michael, has dazzling hair that matches Aileen’s. It’s tied back today, and he’s wearing a smile on his androgynous features. The brothers may look and act nothing alike, but they’re actually twins.

  “How’ve you been, Aileen?”

  “Oh, Bram, that’s no good. You can’t greet her like that. Our little sister is the empress. Your beauty is as radiant as ever, Your Majesty, and being honored with an audience is an unparalleled delight.”