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– Gazebo of the royal garden which Lucella visited yesterday.

On the table, beautiful bluish-white porcelain tea utensils were neatly arranged, while the three-tiered wagon was stacked with an abundance of gem-like sweets.

There were three individuals present. Perhaps it was two people accompanied by a single animal. Alternatively, it could have been one person with two animals.

After various discussions had concluded, Lucella and Kafal were invited to a “modest tea gathering.”

Indeed, it could be considered modest, at least in terms of the number of attendees.

“My apologies. Being a king means that I can’t decide on things arbitrarily. I can’t even have a discussion without everyone present like that.”

After the conclusion of the discussions, Lazarus, dressed in a slightly more casual attire than before, took it upon himself to prepare the tea for the guests, Lucella and Kafal.

In this setting, there were no attendants to serve. The royal guards, maintaining a considerable distance, were scattered throughout the garden, ensuring security without intruding on the intimate gathering.

“Please be at ease. I’m the only one here now. I can finally get to speak not as the king of Setulev but as Lazarus. …Oh, it seems we only have dilated dayflower tea. It’s good for the throat, but it has a strong taste…”
“U-Um, please don’t worry. We can drink it.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”

Lazarus skillfully poured the tea in such a good mood that it seemed like he’d start humming.

Even Lucella, who was not familiar with the royal palace etiquette, could discern that such behavior was far from ordinary. It seemed risky for Lazarus to act in a manner that could potentially provoke the nobility and risk the loss of the kingdom’s authority. However, when facing a dragon, it appeared that social standing held little significance to him.

Lucella was not naive enough to wholeheartedly believe in the deception of “merely a private tea gathering.” However, she believed that forming a connection with Lazarus at this moment would surely be advantageous.

“…By the way, are you sure speaking using human language is alright?”
“Yes. Mom still has some trouble speaking it, but she can understand it for the most part.”
“Then I shall do that. But still, getting to speak in Dragonian was a valuable experience.”

Giselle’s ring was already returned to Lucella.

Lazarus reveled in delight, much like a curious and adventurous young boy, as he experienced the use of the magical item that bestowed language abilities. It seemed like he left his majesty and dignity somewhere.

“Here you go.”
“I-I’ll have it…”
“Thank you.”

Lucella accepted the tea timidly, it having been served by none other than the king himself.

There was a mythril-silver spoon in the cup. It was most likely poison-testing tableware that reacted to the poisons and changed color. Upper-class people normally used mythril-silver poison-testing tableware for eating and drinking, but as this cup was made of porcelain, they provided it in the form of a spoon instead.

Lucella and Kafal would’ve easily digested the poison even if they were fed it, though…

The tea was most likely moderately warm. It had a strong astringent taste that adults liked. It seemed like sweets would go well with it.

Once Lazarus saw Kafal starting to drink, he took a sip from his own cup.

“Lucella. Temperature… good?”
“It’s not hot.”
“Okay.”

As she said so, Kafal blew a fragrant and thin breath towards Lucella’s teacup.

It wasn’t the so-called fire breath, but it still brought forth a choking heat.
“Wait, dragons blow on their food to heat it up?!”
The tea in the teacup Lucella was holding started to boil.

“Not hot… I thought… not hot enough.”
“T-Thanks…”
“…Hahah.”

Lazarus couldn’t hold back and started chuckling.

Lucella drank the boiling tea. Normal humans would get their throats burnt by its temperature, but Lucella only found it slightly stimulating. If you could drink tea at that temperature so nonchalantly, you could perhaps experience a unique flavor of it.

“I have heard the rough situation from Tim, but I’m personally interested in you two as well. Could you tell me about it?”
“I don’t mind.”

As requested, Lucella began recounting the incredibly peculiar events of the past year to Lazarus.

She shared her near-death experience on the mountain, her encounter with Kafal, and everything that had led up to the present moment.

Although Lazarus likely had a rough understanding of the overall situation, hearing the story directly from the person involved allowed for a deeper understanding of the intricate details. He listened with great interest, captivated by the narrative unfolding before him.

“I see, that’s very interesting. Sometimes reality can be more eventful than the stories… Ah, perhaps this was a rude way to put it.”
“Not at all, even I can’t believe it was all real.”

Lazarus’ impressions were quite on point.

Lucella was here now due to many lucky and coincidental events as well her own choices.

The story at least served as something to pay back for this tea and snacks.

“…Ah yes, I forgot to thank you. Thank you for saving Monica.”

Lazarus suddenly thanked her.

“Monica… You mean… that girl?”

It was the girl that Lucella saved from the mysterious golem attack on her road to the royal capital.

She didn’t expect Lazarus to mention her name here.

Monica wasn’t even related to him by blood. Not just that, she was even a child born from his wife’s adultery.

“Umm… that girl…”
“Yeah… I’ve done something pitiful to that girl.”

Lazarus looked towards the magnificent palace beyond the garden with eyes dyed in sorrow.

“The system we call a kingdom has to sacrifice many things to function. Loreina could not endure that. Both she and Monica are just victims in my eyes. And that is also my sin as someone carrying the Setulev kingdom on his back. After all, they too are the residents of this kingdom.”

Loreina.

That was the name of Monica’s mother.

Her situation weighed on Lucella’s mind so she looked into things like old newspaper articles a bit, but she got tired of seeing so much irrelevant information. The palace scandal had become a ‘sensational’ event that rocked the serene and peaceful kingdom, feeding the public’s insatiable curiosity. It was no wonder that everyone seemed to know about Monica.

A Regalia user bloodline implied that Loreina’s duke household had strongly inherited the royal blood from the time of making the Regalia, so their status was appropriately high. She was a suitable marriage partner for Lazarus, who was the first prince at the time, but when that turned into a scandal, it became a huge incident that shook the entire kingdom.

“She and I had to marry for the kingdom. Everyone approved and blessed us, and everything should have fallen into place… But if as a result, the situation has taken a turn for the worse, then I must have made the wrong choice.”

Lazarus spoke with sighs mixed in.

She was forced to marry the next king just because of her aptitude for the Regalia. It was not something she herself wanted.

Lazarus seemed to be regretting that outcome.

“Could I ask you to become Monica’s friend? This is just an unworthy request of me.”

The king, having removed his crown before attending this tea party, lowered his head with slightly thinning hair towards Lucella.