Chapter 1: ③ An Instant Proposal to My Favorite Queen!?

I shouldn’t… what kind of face was I making just now?
I’m so embarrassed… I can’t even look him in the eyes.

A sharp pain gripped Celine’s chest.
It was as if the “romantic feelings” she thought she’d left behind long ago had suddenly begun to ache like fire.

What am I doing?

Immediately, reason raised its head.

For the Queen entrusted with this nation’s future to act on emotion—

The one he should choose isn’t her.
Only Princess Lieselotte, the legitimate daughter who carries the royal bloodline from the former king’s first wife.

If I take his hand—the “Queen’s Faction” will rejoice.
But the “Noble Faction” will surely cry out—”The Queen Dowager has ensnared the young King Consort.”

She recalled the words of the Chancellor she’d heard just yesterday.

“The Queen has set her sights on the King Consort? You jest. It sounds like a scandalous imperial night play.”

…If only it could be dismissed as a joke.

The “Old Kingdom Faction” still smoldering with resentment, the rising nobles accumulating power—
Every one of them was sharpening their fangs for the heart of this nation.

That’s precisely why I must never allow myself “human emotions”…

Celine took a small breath and quietly parted her lips.

“That is… quite troubling…”

The moment she said it, the color drained from Yuuri’s face.

What? Wh-why do you look like that?

As she blinked in surprise, Yuuri squeezed out a trembling voice with an expression like he was witnessing the end of the world.

“…Am I not worthy to stand beside you, Celine-sama?”

What—!? Th-that far? We’ve only just met… why?

Though confused, Celine spoke gently, hoping to ease that pained expression on his face.

“Y-Yuuri-sama may not be aware, but…”

Celine lowered her gaze and continued with a trembling voice.

“I am not of royal blood… I merely wed the former king as his queen. Moreover… I am a widow…”

Please… don’t make me waver any more than this… don’t desire me.

To her own surprise, her voice was shaking.
Despite desperately trying to appear calm, something deep in her chest creaked faintly.
In the depths of her heart, something—like an old wound—throbbed.

“The one who will inherit this nation is my daughter, Princess Lieselotte…
The one who must marry you and bear children… can only be her.”

As she spoke the words, a sharp pain shot through her chest.

Yes… that child is the future of this kingdom.

He—Yuuri—is destined to become the next queen’s husband.
And as that husband, he bears the duty of the “Lord of the Harem,” binding the harem together and mediating between factions—

His existence isn’t merely that of a “spouse.”
He is also the sole “hope” for guiding the kingdom to stability.

…That’s exactly why I mustn’t waver with personal feelings.

Yet from the depths of her memory—an old pain surfaced.

I know.
I know what happens when emotions enter the harem.

There hasn’t been a day she forgot that night.

The factional disputes among the queens became a spark, and the harem became a battlefield.
Women clashed not for love, but as tools of politics—
And finally, it claimed the former king’s life.

He said nothing.
As his hands grew cold and still, all I could do was… watch.

With the king’s death, the king’s brother made his move.
He allied with a favored consort, inflamed the harem, and the royal castle—a place that once knew peace—was engulfed in flames.

The castle gates were breached, the sky dyed a burning red.
Those days when all she could do was flee while clutching Lieselotte to her chest remained seared into the depths of her memory.

Five years since then…

The peace that finally arrived was like a thin silk curtain.
One gust of wind could tear it—it harbored such precariousness.

Though maintaining an appearance of tranquility, what actually unfolded was—
Nothing but a power struggle cloaked in righteousness.

She knew how absurd, how cruel it was.
Knowing this made it all the more terrifying.

In such an unstable balance, if the Queen were to show emotions as a “woman”—
That alone would bring everything crashing down.

The Queen has ensnared the King Consort.
She’s manipulating him.
Just whispers of such rumors would change the air in the royal capital.

“The Queen Dowager is manipulating the King Consort—”

It wouldn’t end with mere words.
Words become sparks, and flames would once again consume the capital.

This isn’t just about love.
It’s a choice requiring resolve—one that affects a nation’s future.

That’s why—
Being drawn to him frightened her more than anything.

And yet—
Why did he captivate her heart so completely?

Even so—
She couldn’t stop something from floating up from deep within her chest.
That feeling had begun to melt the armor called reason.

Just then, Yuuri muttered quietly.

“…As I thought, I’m… not a match for you.”

Those words squeezed her chest tight.
As if her own feelings had wounded him—

“So I’m… not good enough?”

Silence fell.

A sound like a bell rang through Celine’s mind.
Her thoughts couldn’t keep up, and her heart swayed violently.

Whaaaaat!?

Chapter 1: ④ An Instant Proposal to My Favorite Queen!?

Celine gasped despite herself.
Yuuri’s pale face looked as if he stood at the edge of despair—

The small force in those hands transmitted through her skin as heat—whether from anxiety or desperate longing, she couldn’t tell.

Wh-wh-what is this man saying!?

Is he truly trying to choose me…?
What reflects in those eyes isn’t the “widowed queen”—but simply “me.”

She felt her heart beating unbearably fast.

“Not anyone else… I want this nation’s queen—no, queen consort, wasn’t it?
But titles like that don’t matter.
I… can’t live without you, Celine-san!!”

Those words squeezed her chest tight.

Queen… me? No… I’m just…

Her thoughts were swallowed by the vortex of his words.
Something she’d suppressed deep in her heart slowly seeped out.

Before she knew it, the tension drained from her shoulders.
Just moments ago, she’d been searching for words befitting her mask as a “mother,” as the future “Queen Dowager”—

What surfaced instead was an impulse far too sweet, far too sinful.

I’m a woman who couldn’t even become queen.
And—once Liese ascends the throne, I’ll be nothing but a “decorative Queen Dowager.”

This ache in her chest.
To embrace him right now, with warmth—no, I mustn’t say such things.

But if… if it were permitted.
If I could stand beside him.
Not to “teach,” but simply to “be close.”

…This is wrong. Thinking such things, I truly am…

Before she realized it, her hand—just a little—reached toward him.

“…This nation has an old custom where a widow imparts ‘knowledge’ to a young King Consort candidate.
Long ago, this was called ‘tutelage,’ and the one bearing that duty was—known as the Tutor.”

While averting her gaze, Celine softly continued.

“If you would entrust that role… to me—”

Her gentle voice quietly trembled through the air.

“D-Does that mean… really, um…! That tutelage thing, is it that… huh?”

Yuuri was clearly flustered.
His face was red, his voice pitched high, his gaze unfocused.
His thoughts were in complete disarray, unsure how to process this.

That clumsy display was somehow terribly endearing—
Celine smiled softly.

“My lord will be the one to enter into legitimate marriage with my daughter Lieselotte—
But I am… merely a widow who outlived the king.
Even so… if it were permitted…”

After a breath, lowering her gaze just slightly,
Celine continued slowly, letting her resolve show through.

“As a second wife, if I could quietly support my lord’s nighttime needs… that alone would be sufficient.”

The words were quiet and gentle, but their resonance was sweet, and just a touch sinful.

At that smile, Yuuri’s reason melted audibly.

Wh-wh-wh-wh-what!? What was that smile, that destructive power is insane!?

His heart was glitching.
Breathing shallow, head completely blank.
And yet—he understood clearly.

This person… right now, she’s trying to stay by my side…

This isn’t just a joke.
Not seduction, not teasing.
The queen before him, as a single “woman,” was reaching out her hand.

This is bad. My love is overflowing and won’t stop…!

“Celine-san!!”

Before he knew it, he’d shouted her name.
Emotion had overtaken his voice.

Then, she lowered her eyes slightly,
and whispered with a faint smile.

“…Call me Celia.
I’ve allowed only… a precious few to use that name.”

“C-Celia…!”

His chest felt full.
His voice was shaking because… it was definitely the heat. Probably. No, absolutely.

Before he knew it, his hand was reaching out.
If he touched her like this, something might break.
He understood that—and yet, he couldn’t stop.

His fingertips were about to reach her hair when—

—Clang.

“What do you think you’re doing!! Are you trying to toy with Mother, you shameless heroooo!!”

The heavy door burst open violently, and a sharp angry voice sliced through the room.

His vision turned bright red the next instant.
A fist shot forward with furious intent—aimed straight for his face.

—BOOOOOM!!

“Gbwuah…!”

His nasal bone screamed, his brain rattled.
His feet left the ground, and Yuuri’s body was completely airborne.

Oh, crap… this is… the real deal…

In the corner of his vision, he could see knights and maids screaming.
One rotation through the air… no, two? Wait, this isn’t the time to be counting.

He slammed head-first into the wall and slid down with a shlunk.

—And then sank into the floor like he was being submerged.

The world is spinning… so love was centrifugal force all along…

Yuuri’s consciousness blacked out while rotating.