Prologue: On a Moonlit Terrace

Night, 3rd day, 10th month, 1,546th year, Continental Calendar — Royal Capital

Parnam.

The moon shone brightly in the mostly-clear sky.

It was a night so quiet that it was hard to believe that only a few days ago, this

country, the Elfrieden Kingdom, had fought a major battle with the neighboring

Principality of Amidonia.

As the victors in the recent series of engagements, there had been a raucous

celebration when news of their triumph had reached Parnam, but now that some

days had passed, things had settled down considerably.

The young King of Elfrieden (though he was as yet uncrowned, so he was only

king provisionally), Souma Kazuya, had declared the war over with the occupation of

the capital of the principality, Van, and the area surrounding it. Now they were

waiting for negotiations to begin.

The people were waiting with bated breath to see how the negotiations would

play out.

It was a quiet night in Parnam.

Parnam Castle was without its master because Souma and the others had left for

Van. The former king Albert and his wife Elisha were enjoying tea in the moonlight

on the terrace attached to their bedroom.

"...It is most quiet tonight," said Albert.

"Hee hee. Yes, it is," said his wife.

As they drank their tea, the two of them wore relaxed smiles.

"Without Liscia and our son-in-law here, it feels like the fire in this castle has died

out," said Albert. "Even though it was normal for it to be like this not so long ago."

"Things have been so lively since you ceded the throne to our son-in-law," Elisha

agreed. "The ministers, the bureaucrats, the castle guards, and even the maids have

all been working busily."

When Elisha said that, Albert said "Indeed..." with a nod.

He went on, "Of all of them, the one who's worked the hardest has been our sonin-law, though. I never realized there were so many things a king should do, so many

things a king could accomplish... It does me no credit as the former king to say this,

but I believe I was not wrong to abdicate."

Albert had suddenly abdicated in favor of the more worthy Souma.

There had been resistance to the sudden change at first, but the steady success of

Souma's policies had gradually won people over, and so had his engagement to

Albert's daughter, Princess Liscia, who worked to support him.

A few days ago, Souma had also defeated his enemy at home, the three dukes, and

his enemy abroad, the Principality of Amidonia, and so gained the full recognition of

the people as their king.

"Everyone must have been surprised by my eye for talent," Albert said with a

jolly laugh.

Now that they had accepted Souma, the people were beginning to see Albert, who

had been an average king, for better and for worse, in a more positive light. "The

former king achieved nothing of note himself, but in the end, rather than cling to

power, he made the brave decision to turn the reins over to someone more capable"

was what they had started saying.

After having a good laugh, Albert looked down into his teacup. The face reflected

back at him in his tea seemed slightly tired and wore a lonely smile that seemed

gloomy somehow.

"Do you think... we've managed to change things?" Albert asked.

In response to his words of uncertainty, Elisha lowered her eyes. "It should be

fine. Unlike 'that time,' this time 'that girl' is with him from the beginning." Elisha

spoke in a calming tone. "If the two of them are together, I think they can lead us to a

different outcome from 'that time.' Besides, those two aren't alone now. Things are

even more lively now than they were 'that time.'"

"Ho ho ho..." chuckled Albert. "I suppose they are. We have ourselves another

daughter now, after all."

Albert grinned broadly, remembering the mystic wolf girl they had adopted. The

smile proved contagious, and soon Elisha was beaming as well.

"She's just the cutest little thing," Elisha said. "With her fluffy little ears and tail."

"By the time Liscia reached that age, she was already a tomboy," said Albert.

"That was cute in its own way, but having a meek girl is nice, too."

"It really is," said Elisha. "The way she hesitantly calls me 'Mother' is just

adorable. Oh, I hope Tomoe comes home soon."

Having been recognized for her unique gift, despite being a refugee, the mystic

wolf girl Tomoe had been adopted by Albert and Elisha in order to protect her. The

two of them now showered her with love as if she were their real daughter.

"I'll have to tell our son-in-law to make sure no strange men are lurking around

her," said Albert firmly.

"It's not uncommon for royal and noble families to adopt children to use in

political marriages, but I wouldn't want that to happen to Tomoe," Elisha agreed.

"Certainly not," said Albert.

...If Liscia had been there to hear, she would have indignantly cried, "That didn't

seem to matter to you when you agreed to marry me off without my consent!"

For the rest of the night, the two of them had a lively conversation on the topic of

just how adorable Tomoe was.

◇ ◇ ◇

""Achoo!""

Meanwhile, in the castle in Van, Liscia and Tomoe sneezed at precisely the same

time. The two of them turned to look at one another, both tilting their heads to the

side a little, questioningly.

Do you think someone is talking about us? they both wondered.