LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 44
“We’re here. This is the library.”
Following Seria diligently, I soon arrived at my destination.
A chilly breeze slipped through the crevices of the library… is this a warning?
“It might be a bit cold. My mother is really into cool places. She always adjusts the temperature with magic.”
Just a bit of chill, huh?
Afterwards, Seria approached the library door to open it, but suddenly turned back as if remembering something.
“Oh, and… my mother doesn’t like being called ‘mother’ in private. I’ll be calling her ‘mom,’ so don’t look at me weird, okay?”
It seems calling her mom in front of others is embarrassing for her. Totally understandable.
Nodding in agreement with that thought, Seria turned back and began to open the library door.
As soon as the door swung open, the cold air that had been coiling inside rushed out, chilling my body.
And… there she was, a woman appeared beyond the open door.
“You made it?”
She looked so familiar. Of course, aside from her hair and eye color, she looked just like Seria.
The Empress, sharing a striking resemblance to an adult version of Seria, had a sharp appearance.
“Mom!”
“Welcome, Seria.”
Before I knew it, Seria dashed towards her mother and jumped into her embrace. Even trying to act grown-up, she’s still a kid, after all.
While watching them hug, I raised my gaze and met the Empress’s eyes.
As soon as we locked eyes, I showed my respect just like I did with the Emperor.
“I greet the lunar light of the Empire.”
“Mm, enough. Get up. For a commoner, your manners are quite decent.”
“You’re too kind.”
“But… is it that you got lost and arrived a bit late?”
She seemed sensitive to time, just as Seria indicated.
Well, that was true even in-game.
Every kind of task given by the Empress, regardless of its difficulty or scale, had time limits attached… And if you fail one, you can never receive another task from her again.
Knowing she was strict about time commitments, I had nothing to say.
Whatever excuses I made wouldn’t change the fact that I was late, so I didn’t respond, but Seria nudged me, giving me a look.
“Hehe. I know. It must have been because of him again.”
Luckily, it seemed she would take my lateness into consideration this time.
“True, but… please don’t scold too much.”
“Of course~ how much mom loves dad.”
I couldn’t tell what the Emperor would think of that, but as long as I wasn’t involved, it was fine.
However, Seria didn’t stop there and added more.
“Last time you did that, you scolded him for hours and didn’t come out ’til dinner….”
“Uh, um~ I don’t quite remember that?”
“It was just recently. You can’t have forgotten! You literally pulled me in right after lunch and didn’t let me out until dinner….”
“I get it, so can we save that conversation for later?”
I couldn’t hear what they were saying now that they were speaking in lower tones, but looking at the flustered expression on the Empress, it was clear she had said something embarrassing.
Seria… no matter what you talked about, you shouldn’t tease your mother in front of a man!
The Empress, having shoved Seria away slightly, hastily redirected the conversation.
“Now then, let’s talk about that boy you like, Rudion.”
“Th-thank… well, I mean….”
“Oh? This reaction is unexpected.”
She seemed shocked by Seria not outright denying her feelings, perhaps thinking she’d protest even if she really liked him.
“Hmm… then I guess I have no choice….”
Please, I beg you, cancel whatever magic you’re about to cast. I really don’t want the royal family to blow up over this.
Luckily, the magic the Empress intended to cast was stopped by Seria.
…I was slowly starting to confuse whether I was in the royal palace or a club dedicated to loving Seria, but upon closer reflection, those two concepts were actually compatible.
Just as I began to attain enlightenment, the topic finally returned to the main point.
“I’m sorry for dragging you out here just to talk about other things.”
“It’s all good. I don’t mind.”
“You don’t have to be so stiff. Just think of me as an academy professor.”
I believed that was sincere. She really preferred a lighter atmosphere.
It wasn’t for nothing that she told Seria not to refer to her with honorifics in private.
Of course, few people could treat someone who held the title of Empress and Archmage casually… but who am I? A man who’s already too deep into it to care about that stuff.
And if I were going to worry about that, I wouldn’t have even gotten close to Seria in the first place.
“Alright, I’ll do that.”
“Oh my.”
As I immediately complied, she looked quite surprised that I accepted it so easily.
She didn’t forget to glance at Seria and make a comment.
“You’re definitely a good catch. Is that what you like? Huh? Is that your type, Seria?”
“Oh, mom….”
“Okay, got it. I won’t say anything more.”
This duo of mom and daughter is truly dedicated to teasing each other.
In the game, I never had a chance to witness the family dynamics of the royal family, but it’s surprisingly warm and heartening.
“To be honest, I had a lot of worries. I never expected this girl to run after a guy.”
After teasing Seria, the Empress turned her attention back to me and began speaking.
“It was not my intention to send her to the academy like that, so I was really anxious that she might get swept up by bad guys… and unbeknownst to me, Seria always wrote about you in her letters….”
“Oh, mom!”
“What are you embarrassed about? If you felt that way, you shouldn’t have written it in the first place.”
“Well… that’s true, but….”
Ah, I see. Seria only wrote about me in the letters to her family.
Given that, it would make sense I’d eventually be summoned to the royal palace, even without the dorm break-in incident.
Thinking of it that way, it might actually be a relief that I got dragged here so quickly.
The longer those letters piled up, the more unpredictable the outcomes would be.
And it wasn’t so strange either that Seria only wrote about me. Since she’d been with me from the start of term, she wouldn’t have much else to write about aside from me.
It felt a bit embarrassing. She really wrote only about me.
What on earth did she write?
“From what I read about you, it didn’t seem like you were particularly fond of him, so I left it be… and now it’s turned into this. Was everything in those letters just a smokescreen?”
…What exactly did she write?
“Um, if it’s not too much trouble, can I ask what you wrote about me?”
“Sometimes ignorance is bliss.”
I asked out of curiosity, but got no response.
If she’s saying that much, I should probably not pry.
Afterward, the Empress continued speaking for a while.
There was no significant content—everything just expressed her worry for Seria.
She spoke about how the frequency of the letters had decreased or that when she blew a hole in the student cafeteria roof, she was genuinely worried about her eating bad food…
The Empress, after relieving her concerns for a while, suddenly fell silent for a moment before changing the subject.
“You’re always writing about him without knowing how we worry about you… we really need to hear how you’re doing, Seria!”
She subtly shot me a glance, indicating it was my turn to discuss Seria’s academy life.
Haha, you’ve come to the right person. I’m quite the expert on Seria’s academy life.
Did Seria read my mind? She suddenly looked extremely anxious and tried to shift the situation quickly.
“Um, Mom? We haven’t seen each other in a while, shall we go for a walk or something…? Eek!”
But in an instant, a gust of wind lifted her into the air, rendering her powerless.
Seria thrashed about desperately trying to escape, but it was a useless struggle.
Even if I were to release the magic at this moment, the library would be turned upside down.
Eventually, Seria gave up and stopped flailing, turning her gaze towards me while still suspended in midair.
The look in her eyes was intense; I knew if I said something unnecessary, I’d definitely hear about it later.
So I decided to pretend I didn’t see it.
“…! ……!”
As I looked away, she started yelling something, but the magic floating her in the air made it impossible for me to hear anything.
Maybe finding amusement in that was what made the Empress burst into laughter.
“You two. Your bond is much stronger than I thought?”
“It seems that way.”
“Hehe, I suppose I didn’t need to worry from the start.”
Oh… I didn’t expect someone who said she would kill me if I harmed Seria to say something like that.
Did I earn a bit of recognition?
The Empress glanced at me quietly and began to speak.
“My judgment of people is usually quite accurate. Of course, I’ve only exchanged a few words with you, but I can tell the kind of feelings you hold in this space. Now… why don’t you share what you desire?”
“…I don’t particularly have anything.”
“Just as I thought you would say.”
In occasions like these, wouldn’t most people say they desire something?
Regardless of my internal thoughts, the Empress continued her speech.
“You’re not here to gain something. Whether I’m the Empress or it’s the royal palace, those aspects seem unimportant to you. Am I correct?”
“That does seem the case.”
After all, my appearance in this place felt almost like fate at times.
“What I was most worried about was that Seria might be used for some purpose. Specifically, I was concerned about her getting hurt while being used.”
But…. the Empress smirked slightly as she continued.
“But you don’t seem like the sort to do that.”
“Well… Seria isn’t exactly one to pick and choose people. If I approached her with a bad motive, she would probably push me away.”
While it’s true that even if I approached with good intentions, Seria would still likely push me away due to her true introverted nature, I saw no need to mention that.
Since I spoke reasonably, the Empress nodded, agreeing, and then turned her gaze back to my face.
However… her gaze felt a bit stickier than before.
“Yet one thing is certain.”
After gazing at me for a while, she suddenly said that and then grinned while looking at the floating Seria.
“Your mom has a taste for handsome boys just like you.”
“…!”
Seria’s face turned bright red. I couldn’t hear what she muttered inside, but I’m sure it wasn’t anything good!
But why is she so flustered all of a sudden? She was the one who praised me for being good-looking!
Seeing Seria’s reaction made the Empress laugh even more.
“Our Seria. I’ll be counting on you. Just remember, if you hurt her, there’s no way I’ll let it slide. So be careful.”
“…Yes.”
Just when I thought things might end warmly, it came back to this.
Well, considering that from start to finish the conversation was all about Seria, it would be weirder if it didn’t turn out this way.
“Alright then. Shall we continue where we left off? What does Seria usually do?”
Oh, right. We still hadn’t finished that topic.
“It might be a bit long, is that okay?”
“It’s about my daughter, so the longer the better.”
“……?! ……!!!”
Just as I thought the conversation was winding down, Seria began to squirm again. Unfortunately, she wouldn’t be able to touch the ground until the story ended!