Naden and the Royal Capital

MISTERLP

My name is Naden Delal.

I am a black ryuu from the Star Dragon Mountain Range, and just the

other day, I formed a dragon knight contract with King Souma of

Friedonia, and then came to this country to become his bride.

Mind you, even if it is a dragon knight contract, Souma's a king, and

I'm a ryuu, so we're kind of an exception to the norm.

Now, the night we returned to Parnam Castle, Souma called me into the

governmental affairs office.

"Hey, Naden, they gave you an education on how to act like a proper

lady in the Star Dragon Mountain Range, right?"

"Yeah," I said. "Lady Tiamat taught me everything I'd need to know so

that I would be ready to become a knight's wife."

"Judging from how well you dance, the level of education in the Star

Dragon Mountain Range seems to be high. I don't think you need any new

lessons on how to become a queen."

According to Souma, unlike a primary queen, a secondary queen gave

up the right of her children to inherit the throne in exchange for not being

restrained by all the strict rules of etiquette. If she always supported the

primary queens in public, and maintained a certain base level of etiquette,

that was apparently enough.

Because a woman could become a secondary queen regardless of her

social status, and because, as long as she reported she was going, she could

head out to the castle town with relative freedom, many women aspired to

become secondary queens.

Souma scratched his cheek as he said, "Well, even if you'll be a

secondary queen, you're still royalty, so normally you'd need a guard

when you went outside, but... I doubt there's going to be much that poses a

risk to a ryuu. If you take on ryuu form, no one can lay a hand on you, and

if it really gets risky, you can fly away."

"I think you're right, but... what are you trying to get at?" I wasn't sure

why he was being so roundabout about this.

Souma smiled wryly and told me, "I'll be heading to the Republic of

Turgis soon, but you can't come with us because it's so cold there, right,

Naden? So, while I'm gone, your schedule's going to be empty."

He was right—ryuus, dragons, and dragonewts didn't stand up well to

the cold. If I insisted against my better judgment on accompanying him to

a land of freezing cold like Turgis, it might ruin my health and cause

trouble for Souma. That was why I couldn't accompany Souma on his trip

to the Republic of Turgis. It frustrated me to not be able to help.

"Don't make that face." Souma rose from his chair and patted me on

the head. "I have a request for you. Something only you can handle. Once

we come back from the republic, I want to have a meeting with you about

it."

"Souma..."

"That's why, well, I wanted to say it would be good for you to look

around the capital to your heart's content until then. The security inside the

capital is solid, after all. I like the way you're free and uninhibited. I don't

want to tie you down to the castle." Souma smiled. "So you can go around

the castle town freely. That's what I wanted to tell you."

"Souma... Um, thanks."

Souma was thinking about my needs. I was grateful for that.

"Ha ha..." he chuckled. "Oh, also, take care of Liscia for me, too."

"Yeah, she was looking a bit under the weather."

She'd said it was exhaustion catching up with her, but I was a little

worried.

"Roger that. I'll look after Liscia." I pounded my chest with one hand

as I promised him that.

"Though, even if he tells me I can come and go freely..."

Some days after Souma and the others had left for the Republic of

Turgis, I went down to the castle town.

As for Liscia, who'd been feeling unwell, she might not have made a

full recovery yet, but she'd stabilized. She had no fever, and had an

appetite. But, to stay on the safe side, she would be taking it easy and

letting her body relax for a while. There would be a good doctor coming to

see her tomorrow, so there was nothing for me to do.

That being the case, I'd come down to the castle town, but I had no

idea what to do. It was an unfamiliar land to me, after all. I could see the

castle from anywhere in town, so there was no risk of me getting lost, but

where was I going to go? While I was thinking that...

"Hm?"

Suddenly, I felt a tug on my skirt, and when I looked down there was a

little girl who only came up to my waist, crying and clinging to the hem of

my skirt.

"Huh, who are you? No, what's wrong?"

"I came here... with my friend, but... I dunno the way back..." the little

girl told me through her sobs.

Yikes, she was lost, huh?

I crouched down to get on the same level as her, patting the girl on the

head. "Erm... You came with your friend, right? Where were you going?"

"The... the plaza... with the fountain..."

A plaza with a fountain, huh. I remembered seeing that from the air.

Maybe, rather than hand her over to the guards, it'd be faster for me to

take her there myself. I picked the little girl up in my arms.

"Huh?"

"It's okay. I'll take you there."

I jumped, kicked off of a wall, and landed on one of the orange roofs.

Even in my human form, I could do this much. I headed along the roofs

towards the fountain plaza.

"Y-You're so fast..." The little girl I was carrying blinked in surprise.

"But being carried like this... is a little scary. Can you give me a piggyback

ride instead...?"

"No can do."

"Why not?"

"Because the only one I let ride on my back is my husband," I said

teasingly.

The little girl gave me a blank look.

Once I saw the girl to the fountain plaza where her friend was, I ended

up playing with them, too, and I was covered in mud by the time I got back

to the castle.

When she heard about it, I was summoned by Liscia, who gave me an

earful.

"Naden... you played around too much," she scolded.

"Yeah..."

It had been maybe fifteen minutes since I'd been made to sit in front of

the bed Liscia was sitting in.

"Take more care about the way people see you, even if you're a

secondary queen, show some understanding of your position, and, really,

should a woman be going and getting covered in mud like that to begin

with...?" It seemed to me, from the lecture I'd gotten, that she was plenty

healthy.

"Naden," Liscia said and looked straight at me.

W-Was I in for more? I tensed myself, expecting that, but Liscia put on

a smile.

"Have you taken a liking to this country?"

I smiled and gave her a firm answer. "Yup!"