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Side Story Chapter 9

“Sir Cain. Do you know why there is no empress, only the queen consorts in this country?”

“Pardon? That’s…” Cain hesitated because Joshua never explained it to him. An empress was an emperor’s lawful wife, so although Joshua’s current three wives may be addressed as queen consorts with respect, two of them were basically concubines. From what Cain remembered, Joshua had severely punished anyone who mentioned it. The news had spread among the Avalon nobles later, so they refrained from talking about it.

Cain assumed that it was because of the Queen Mother Lucia, who had since passed away. Despite her noblest blood, she had lived for over a dozen years and led a tragic life, so…

“…His Majesty spent his childhood as a bastard, so I guess he didn’t want his children to go through the same thing,” Cain said.

“Of course, that\'s one of the reasons, but we queen consorts wanted to do it.”

“You and Her Majesties…wanted it?” Cain repeated in disbelief.

“Yes, the moment he trapped the Demon Spirit’s soul in him, His Majesty stopped trying to form new relationships with anyone else. It was the same for his marriage since there was no telling when he would lose control over his power like Aden von Agnus.”

“I know that, but didn’t His Majesty wish to marry you and the other queen consorts?” Cain tilted his head in confusion.

“Do you really think so? We’re talking about the same stony Joshua Sanders, right?” Charles chuckled.

Cain was speechless. Come to think of it, Joshua was worse than Cain in regard to anything related to romance.

“Each of the queen consorts has their own reasons. It’s not my place to speak of the other two queen consorts’ stories, so let’s skip over that part. For me, the problem was my family. You know about this, don’t you, Sir Cain?”

“Ah…” Cain awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

When civil war had broken out in the Avalon Empire before, one of the families that had fallen first was the Pontier Family—Charles’s family. The head of the family had passed away, and the family had literally fallen. With no other options, Charles, the daughter of Duke Pontier, had become the next head of the Pontier family when she was in her early twenties…

“Everything started then, including what is happening in the southern region. If I weren’t the queen consort, I would have been poisoned to death already or sold away to another noble family as there is no precedent of a woman inheriting the family in the Avalon Empire,” Charles bitterly said.

Even after the current emperor had finally taken the throne, every day of Charle’s life was painful because everyone looked down upon her for being a woman. Just like Cox, whom Charles had trusted, those hyenas didn’t stop going after the tasty meat.

“His Majesty is my husband but did you know that he’s also my savior? He saved my life several times, so…” Charles sounded teary now. “...don’t give up on him. Please find His Majesty.”

Charles got up from her bed and bowed.

However, a member of the Imperial Family should never bow to the people under them.

“You don’t have to do this. Please raise your head, Your Majesty.” Cain quickly approached Charles and helped her get back into bed.

The energetic and elegant Charles was gone. She was in such a critical state that she could faint any minute. It saddened Cain.

‘She was really bright and cheerful when she was a little girl…’ Cain thought.

After laying Charles in bed, Cain dramatically pounded his chest a couple of times.

“Just as my master is your savior, he’s the first one who recognized my value and helped me reach a whole new level. He’s my one and only master.”

“You mean…?” Charles trailed off.

“Yes, there is no way I would give up. Gosh, that man has no idea that so many people are worried to death over him. This is why I haven’t been able to get married. Ah, please ignore that last part…”

“Haha, I don’t think His Majesty is the reason.” Charles’s laughter burst through her grief. “You know, there is even a rumor spreading in Arcadia that you’re gay; it’s also said that His Majesty’s looks raised your standard so much that you can’t find a person to marry.”

“What? Who dares to say such nonsense?!” Cain dramatically shouted. Charles kept on giggling.

“So please date some women after the end of this civil war.”

“If I can’t get married in the future too, then I’m going to try seducing His Majesty so I’ll feel less cheated,” Cain mischievously replied.

Charles smiled. “In that case, I won’t care that you’re his first knight. I’m going to kick your ass.”

* * *

Kireua’s eyes widened, confused. Judging from the familiar ceiling, he was in his room in the fortress.

‘…Was it just a dream?’ he wondered.

It was a truly strange experience. Although Kireua had definitely been dreaming, he could remember it as vividly as if he had experienced it in the real world.

“…Huh?”

At that moment, he could vaguely see something on his chest.

It bounced up and down, up and down, up and up, and down. Now it even bounced in a certain rhythm.

“…Wait, hold on.” Kireua sprang up from his bed.

-He…

He was definitely not dreaming about the black cotton ball bouncing around on his bed.

-Gimme food!

“…Food?” Kireua frowned slightly.

-Food! Food! Food! Food!

“You… are the coal lump I met in my dream, aren’t you?” Kireua cautiously asked.

-Coal lummmmmp? I don’t know. Food. Gimme food.

“Who in the world are you? You said I’ll be able to know if I touch you.” Kireua tilted his head.

-I dunno.

Kireua was genuinely dumbstruck. Something was off about the coal lump. The coal lump in his dream definitely had intelligence.

“What’s your name?” Kireua asked.

-What is a name?

“…How old are you?”

-Is it food?

“Phew.” Kireua sighed. It felt like he was dealing with a four-year-old, but…“…Something changed. I’m sure.”

Kireua realized that instinctively. The world around him looked different. It was indescribable, but his perspective seemed to have broadened.

“I heard about this… It’s what happened to people before their authorities manifested.”

In that case, it was a very strange coincidence, but he still couldn’t figure out the identity of the black cotton ball he had met in his dream.

“It was a coal lump, so… could it be a god related to fire?”

There were various kinds of fire. Depending on the temperature of the fire, the color of the flames differed. Ulabis, Kireua’s teacher, used red flames which were far beyond ordinary flames. On the other hand, a knight using azure flames called “cold flame” recently made an appearance; the knight’s flames gained its title because the fire was so hot that it felt cold instead.

There was a myth that there was another kind of flame aside from red flames and azure flames; the storied flame could annihilate everything in this world. That fire was called the ebon flames.

‘In the generation of authorities, the owner of the azure flame said that the king of all flames is the owner of the ebon flame,’ Kireua recalled.

If Kireua had been a protagonist of a novel, this coal lump… would be the owner of the ebon flames.

“No way. I’m a half-wit that doesn’t even know how to properly use a spear even though I’m the Hero King’s son. I don’t really deserve that kind of coincidence.”

Above all, he could still recall every single part of the conversation he had in his dream. The coal lump itself had said that they were polar opposites and wasn’t sure why a person with flame aura recognized it.

Kireua shook his head. “…I have no idea what’s going on.”

-Gimme fooooddd!

“Ah, for god’s sake!” Kireua shouted. He had no choice but to head to the kitchen.

“Yo-Your Highness?” The cooks that happened to be in the kitchen all bowed to Kireua.

It was late afternoon. Since Kireua had lost consciousness at dawn, it meant he slept away half a day.

‘…Sir Cain could have gone easier on me.’ Kireua sighed.

“Is there any food left?” Kireua asked the cooks.

“Oh, yeah. You missed your meals. Please wait for a moment; I’ll cook up something quickly.” One of the cooks grabbed a pan.

“No, it’s okay.” Kireua waved his hands. “Some snacks will be good enough.”

“Then I have some jerky… Would that be okay?”

They were in a war, so it was no time to be picky.

“That’s good.” Kireua nodded.

After receiving several pieces of jerky, he quickly put his hand behind his back.

-Blegh! It tastes bad. Gimme something else!

Kireua scowled. After he regained his composure, Kireua turned to the cooks and asked, “I-Is there anything else?”

“Pardon? Umm… Ummm…. We do have some leftover barley bread from lunch…”

“Give it to me.” Kireua told the cook.

But the coal lump’s response was the same.

-Blegh! Urghh!

“…What in the world do you want?” Kireua mumbled, baffled.

-Something good! Something good!

The cook looked apologetic—and confused. “Mmm… Your Highness, who are you talking to right now…?”

“Ah, I’m just talking to myself. Myself. Don’t mind me.” Kireua shook his head.

On the way over to the kitchen, Kireua had already conducted several experiments. Other people couldn’t see the coal lump on his shoulder, so he didn’t have to worry about someone finding out about its existence.

“There is nothing else, right?” Kireua asked.

“We prepare food in accordance with the number of people in the fortress, so… I’m sorry.”

Kireua smiled. “No, don’t be. We shouldn’t waste food in a time of war.”

“Thank you for your understanding, Your Highness!”

“But can I borrow the kitchen for a moment?” Kireua asked.

“Pardon…?”

Kireua was going to try cooking up some food himself since he was a pretty good cook—in fact, he was certain that he was the best among his peers. Anyone who had to survive a year on a deserted island would become a great cook, but it turned out there was another problem.

“Umm… Your Highness.”

“Hmm?” Kireua turned his head to look at the other cook.

“The kitchen isn’t available right now because the mages took the mana stones that needed to be recharged.”

“Ah…” Kireua realized that mealtime had ended long ago.

The kitchens in nobles’ mansions used the lowest-grade mana stones because even a mana stone engraved with one Class 1 fire magic spell could be handy in the kitchen.

“I’ll take care of the fire.” Kireua nodded.

However, it wasn’t a problem that Kireua couldn’t solve since the attribute of his aura was fire.

“Let’s do some cooking! Wow, it has been awhile.” Kireua rolled up his sleeves and lit the stove.

-Food!

At that moment, something unexpected took place: the coal lump on his shoulder jumped into the fire.

“Huh? Wa-Wait, it’s dangerous…!”

Kireua didn’t have the time to warn the coal lump before it devoured the flame that Kireua created in a single gulp.

Kireua wasn’t sure what happened just now.

-Blegh! Not good.

However, the response was the same.

“Umm, Your Highness, is it okay if I help…?” A cook that had been watching what Kireua was doing approached him. From other people’s perspectives, Kireua looked like a person who failed to create fire.

But just then…

“Argggghhh!”

The coal lump spat out a ball of fire so big that it scorched the ceiling, however, that wasn’t the end of the surprises. After his aura had gone through the coal lump, it changed into something completely different. The red flame turned black like the coal lump. Wait, was this…

“E-Ebon fire…?” Kireua mumbled in disbelief. “…What? It really worked?”

Kireua scratched the back of his head.