My Beloved Princess ~The Boy Called Incompetent Rises with Only a Sword and the Princess's Devotion~ - Chapter 119: Reconciliation

Chapter 119: Reconciliation

Taking it slow.

Seiran’s halting monologue came in fragments, but it was enough for Kishō to piece together the broad outline of what had happened.

Knowing how hot-blooded his mother was, a large part of him could only think, So it really was like that after all. Even so, if he were to sum up his honest impression…

“I’d kind of guessed it already, but Mom really is strong…”

Kishō could not help feeling sorry for Seiran as she hugged her knees and sobbed.

Kishō himself had chosen to go to the academy because he had wanted to escape his mother’s Spartan training. Even with her own son, once a fight was involved, his mother became a demon. If it was a complete stranger, and on top of that the enemy who had killed her husband… it was horrifying just to imagine.

The despair of nothing you did working, and the fear of death.

How deep a trauma had that carved into Seiran?

No one understood better than Kishō himself just how absurdly powerful his mother’s [Fighting Ki] was. The reason he had always rated himself so low was because he compared himself to her. Knowing the gap in ability between them, he had never been able to get full of himself just because he had learned [Fighting Ki].

More than anything, Kishō had experienced it firsthand more times than he could count. Faced with his mother’s perfected [Ki], his own immature [Ki] was virtually powerless. Through training, he had tasted that despair, that feeling that nothing he did would work, over and over again.

In a sense, Kishō might have been the one person who could understand Seiran’s despair better than anyone.

“More importantly, if the foetus back then was me, then the one in the headmistress’s womb was…”

“That would make it Kōran-san.”

Perhaps out of concern for Seiran, Ōka whispered it softly into his ear.

Kishō scratched his cheek awkwardly. Each of their mothers had killed the other’s father. How was he supposed to deal with her from now on? His thoughts felt as though they were about to lose their way.

He shook his head and reset his thinking, then looked back to the crouching Seiran. Perhaps she had not heard his exchange with Ōka. She showed no sign of reacting.

Then, suddenly, something clicked in Kishō’s mind, and he lifted his face.

“I see. My fight with Sōsetsu reenacted what happened back then.”

“Reenacted?”

“The setup was the same. In both cases, someone blocked the other person’s attack with invisible [Fighting Ki].”

His mother had met Dragon King Anraku’s slash head-on with [Fighting Ki] and snapped his longsword clean in two. In the same way, Kishō had repelled the practice sword wielded by the Upper House student Sōsetsu with [Fighting Ki] and shut him down completely.

On one side was a student’s [Sword Ki] lodged in a practice sword.

On the other was a Dragon King’s [Sword Ki] lodged in a high-quality real blade.

The difficulty of stopping those slashes was probably different by two or three orders of magnitude, but even so, the result looked the same to an outside observer. Overwhelmed by a supernatural power, defeated before understanding what had even happened. When Seiran received the report of Sōsetsu’s defeat, her trauma must have been stirred.

“So that’s why you wouldn’t acknowledge what I’d accomplished in the Upper House.”

Seiran’s shoulders jerked sharply.

She curled herself even tighter into a ball and hugged her knees, adopting the posture of someone barricading herself inside a fortress. Apparently, she intended to remain silent.

At the sight of the headmistress, who had completely lost her spirit and dignity, Kishō and Ōka exchanged glances and sighed.

“What do you think?”

“Let’s see. Trauma isn’t something as simple as people make it sound.”

“Yeah, I agree. I know what that feels like too.”

The trauma of having Yotsuba break off their engagement had tormented Kishō for a long time.

He had grown to loathe the fickle dragonkin girls, and had strongly rejected those girls who had suddenly turned on him.

The only exception, the only girl he got along with well, was Ōka. But even that had only worked because they had the pretext of being friends.

He had turned his eyes away from Princess-sama’s affection too, and even while aware that he was drawn to her, he had never answered those feelings and had thought only of running away.

“Because it’s a reality that’s just too painful… you turn your eyes away from it to protect your heart. You twist the facts and distort the way you see things, remaking them into whatever’s most convenient so you won’t get hurt. Like telling myself Kuroyō’s feelings were fake, and that once she learned the real me, she’d leave.”

“…Yeah.”

“A little while ago, the headmistress said she couldn’t tell because I didn’t use Breath. But the truth is, I think she’d already kind of figured it out.”

“Yeah. She looked pale from the moment we set out.”

“The stubborn denial was the flip side of her anxiety. Because she had a bad feeling, she became even more obstinate. It would’ve been inconvenient for her if I turned out to be Mom’s son.”

Maybe she had done it out of concern for the future awaiting her daughter Kōran.

Kishō could not know that, but…

“Now that everything’s out in the open, honestly, I don’t really care anymore.”

The academy matter, and the matter of his father too.

Watching Seiran weep in anxious misery, he simply could not bring himself to hate her. He probably thought she was not a bad person by nature. Even Kōran, who kept pulling one deranged stunt after another, had turned out to be surprisingly reasonable once they spoke openly. Seiran was her mother, and if you set aside those strange coloured glasses, her sensibilities were even closer to a human’s.

After all, she had been the only one to object to the invasion of Algant.

“But there’s no guarantee Mom feels the same way. If anything, even from her own son’s point of view, I think that part’s hopeless. So…”

Kishō held out his hand to the crouching Seiran.

“Let’s hurry and run. Before Mom changes her mind.”

Seiran looked up at him with her mouth hanging open in blank surprise. It was the sort of face a lost child might make if someone held out a hand to them. Eyes filled with both anxiety and hope took Kishō’s hand as if clinging to it.

The evening sun was streaming in through the stable window.

Night would be coming soon.

If they headed to Algant on foot, they would have to walk along dark farm roads after sunset.

What would happen if darkness closed around them while Seiran lived in fear that his mother might come after them? Feeling sorry for the utterly terrified Seiran, who would not let go of his hand, Kishō stopped the foot he had been about to launch into a run with and cast his gaze toward the pile of straw. At that movement of his arm, Seiran let out a little “Hih” and clung to him.

“And just who are you trying to elope with? You troublesome child.”

A soft, airy voice brushed over his back.

He turned around. His mother stood there in dragon robes. Princess-sama was behind her as well.

“Saying elope makes it sound bad. I just felt sorry for the headmistress…”

“She is your father’s enemy.”

“But the headmistress opposed the invasion of Algant. Dragon King Anraku might really have been your enemy, but the headmistress wasn’t. She didn’t give the order.”

“No. Even if she did not give the order, the responsibility belongs to the master and the Six Consorts. Even the overly softhearted Kokuren would say the same.”

“But you let her go once, didn’t you? Just look how terrified she is. She’s already been punished enough. I don’t think any more punishment is necessary… that’s what I think.”

“Is that your answer?”

“Yeah, it is.”

There stood her son, sheltering the enemy who had killed her husband and loudly asking for clemency on that person’s behalf.

Seeing that son refuse to yield even a single step, his mother let out a sigh and gave a wry smile.

“Rest easy. I did say that in a burst of anger, but from the moment she came under Kokuren’s protection, I had no intention of laying a hand on her.”

His mother stepped forward.

When Kishō looked to Princess-sama standing behind her, she gave him a firm nod. She seemed to be telling him there was no need to be on guard.

“You killed my husband. And I killed your husband. Yet now, by some twist of fate, we have become companions in the same pack.”

Kishō did not understand the meaning of his mother’s words.

Seiran was probably the same. She only stared blankly at his mother.

“Companions are friends, coworkers, and family. No matter the reason, I cannot wound family. If Kokuren has acknowledged you as a companion, then you have become my family as well. No matter how unwillingly, that fact cannot be overturned.”

His mother’s hand gently stroked Seiran’s blank cheek. At some point, the trembling passing from Seiran’s arm into Kishō’s had stopped.

“I won’t say we should cast aside all lingering resentment. I dislike you. But if the wives start quarrelling on their own, Kokuren will be saddened. So I will say only this: outwardly, let us get along.”

Large tears spilled from Seiran’s eyes.

Was that relief at having been forgiven?

She no longer needed to be bound by fear.

If being forgiven could heal trauma,

would she be spared those nightmares from now on?

Kishō could only hope that, at the very least, it would be so.

◇◇◇◇◇

“Wait a second! This is way too much information at once!?”

Hearing that his mother was the Dragon Emperor’s Head Consort shocked Kishō so badly that it left him utterly dumbfounded.

He had been given only the main points, all bundled together and dumped on him at once. The recommendation letter had apparently borne the Head Consort’s seal, Princess-sama had admired her, there were stories from her mercenary days, and to top it all off there had even been lovey-dovey stories about his father… there was absolutely no way all that could be properly told in the span of about an hour.

As Kishō reeled from the muddy torrent of information, his mother placed a hand on her cheek as if this were all only natural and said placidly,

“That being the case, I’ll make a quick trip to Black Emperor Castle.”

“What do you mean, that being the case!? You haven’t explained anywhere near enough!”

His mother said it with the same casualness as if she were merely popping out to the neighbourhood greengrocer’s, and Kishō fired back at full force.

Everyone present other than Princess-sama had gone completely speechless, their eyes round with shock. Without question, they were following the conversation even less than Kishō was. Those kinds of faces were lined up there.

Kishō turned to his lover, who was watching how things played out with a poker face.

“Don’t tell me this was part of your scheme too.”

“It was to be together with you.”

Princess-sama admitted it readily, her cheeks faintly reddening.

There was not the slightest cloud in her eyes. That clear jet-black darkness reflected only Kishō’s figure, glittering brightly.

“So when you said we could settle it by talking, it was because Mom’s the Head Consort… was that it?”

“No matter how stubborn Seiran-dono may be, she cannot defy the command of the highest authority.”

He could not deny that Seiran had drawn the short straw a little here, but remembering how overbearing she had been before they set out, Kishō switched tracks and thought, no, perhaps drastic treatment really had been necessary after all.

“So then, if Mom goes back to Black Emperor Castle and settles things, we can finally become official fiances. That’s what this means, right?”

“That is correct.”

“But… it’s been more than half a century since Mom left Black Emperor Castle, right? The faces among the guards have probably changed too… is this really going to be okay?”

“It will be fine. There is no problem.”

Dragonkin hated having their territory trespassed upon. It was entirely possible that guards who had never met his mother would identify her as an intruder. In response to Kishō’s worries, Princess-sama proudly puffed out her chest and gave her full guarantee.

But the way she puffed out her chest was exactly how Princess-sama did it when she was in her airhead mode, so Kishō’s worries did not go away.

“Rest easy. Wounding companions of the pack goes against my principles. I will make sure to hold back properly.”

“Wait, are you assuming you’ll have to force your way through!? More importantly, as her son, I’m worried about Mom’s safety.”

His mother, for her part, seemed to be treating it with all the lightness of simply returning to a house she had been away from for a while.

There was no end to the things that worried him, but if Princess-sama had been moving things behind the scenes, then it would probably be all right. Reaching that conclusion, Kishō faced his mother.

“Seriously, be careful, okay?”

“Yes. Things must have been hard on you too. The rest will be decided through talks between the parents, so think of yourself as aboard a great ship.”

“Rather than a great ship, it feels more like a fully armed battleship… but fine.”

“If Rakuyō agrees obediently, it should not become a scorched wasteland.”

“That sounds ominous!? You’re completely ready to open fire!”

While the parent and child exchanged a rather questionable farewell, Princess-sama quietly stepped forward and gave a deep clasped-hands bow. Her courteous bearing made Kishō keenly aware that his mother was the superior one here.

“Head Consort-sama. I have a flying ship anchored at the border with Algant. I would ask that you go there.”

“That won’t be necessary.”

“? However, Black Emperor Castle is eight days away by carriage. It would take too much time.”

Princess-sama tilted her head suspiciously. In answer to that doubt, his mother gave a whistle.

“Wake up, Kyui. It is your turn for the first time in a while.”

…Kyui.

The moment his mother called that name, the mountain of straw piled high began rustling.

“KUGYAAAAAA!”

With a roar echoing through the stable, Kyui revealed himself from the pile of straw.

A magnificent body covered in glossy bronze scales. He raised his great maw, lined with sharp fangs, toward the ceiling, then gave one beat of his two pairs of wings, and the gust that arose sent a huge amount of straw flying into the air.

“Honestly. That won’t do, Kyui. Just who do you think is going to clean this up?”

When his mother approached, Kyui lowered his head to the ground and gave an apologetic little “Kugya.” At the sight of the monster that had suddenly appeared, everyone other than Kishō was stunned.

“Wha… you personally own a wyvern?”

Lowering his body and pressing himself prone to the ground so his mother could mount him more easily, Kyui looked enormous as Seiran stared up at him and groaned.

Her surprise was understandable. When Princess-sama had told him that a wyvern was so rare you could buy an entire small town with one, Kishō had been just as shocked.

“I borrowed one when I left Black Emperor Castle. Kyui and I travelled all over the world together.”

Apparently, the stable’s high ceiling had also been out of consideration for housing Kyui.

His father, Michel, had built the large stable for Kyui, who had been sleeping out in the open.

“Kishō. Come here.”

Called by his mother, Kishō went and stood beside Kyui.

“Because I came to love Michel, a human, you have suffered for it. Within you as a half-dragon, the heart of a human and the heart of a dragonkin dwell together. That is precisely why there were likely many times when you struggled with the gap between them.”

“Yeah… well, a lot happened over this past year. But it wasn’t all bad. I got to meet Kuroyō and Ōka too.”

At his mother’s unusually formal words, Kishō scratched his cheek in embarrassment.

Having a serious exchange with his mother in front of his lover and his friend was awkward.

When Kishō turned his eyes away uncomfortably, his mother cupped his face in both hands. His gaze was forcibly turned back forward, and he froze beneath the seriousness in her eyes.

“Whether you live as a human, or whether you live as a dragonkin. That is for you to choose.”

I want to build a pack that can save the weak, Kishō murmured inwardly.

“If you mean to love only one person, then I will treat you as a human. When you are troubled, rely on your mother as much as you like. But if you mean to love multiple people, then I will treat you as a dragonkin. In that case, protect the women you love with your own strength alone. That is what a dragonkin male is.”

Love only one person with all your heart. That was the value his mother had instilled in Kishō since childhood. That was why he had been so determined to love only Princess-sama. Even now, that belief had not changed, and he had no intention of changing it.

And yet, Kishō noticed that the nuance in his mother’s words had shifted slightly here. The way she put it made it sound as if she were permitting a harem.

What kind of change of heart had happened?

Leaving Kishō tilting his head in confusion, his mother leapt onto Kyui. Gripping the reins wrapped around his neck, she made Kyui rise and let out a proud roar.

The hatch in the ceiling opened, and the starry sky came into view.

Kyui beat his wings.

That giant body floated up into the air.

Kishō narrowed his eyes against the fierce wind.

“One final thing. I shall give you a hint. The true essence of the lightning attribute is the expansion of [Ki]. The lightning I use is the [Ki] within my body given physical form as lightning. This is called [Lightning Aura]. If you lodge it in a sword, it becomes one with [Sword Ki] and races through the air like a bolt of lightning. If you compress [Lightning Aura] further and release it from your palm, it becomes lightning Breath, a lightning spear. If you spread it around yourself, it becomes a barrier that can even distort space. And what, then, is the highest point [Ki] can reach, the point that makes all those things possible? As I taught you before, the answer is the same. The rest, think through yourself and make it your own. I wish you success.”

His mother gave the reins a great swing.

At that signal, Kyui shot upward all at once and flew out through the roof of the stable.

Against the full moon floating in the night sky, the wyvern’s silhouette grew smaller and smaller.