The Former King and Queen are Enjoying the Slow Life

MISTERLP

The Kingdom of Friedonia had a domain in the mountains that was

under the direct control of the royal family.

It was the former domain of the previous king, Albert, from his days as

a nobleman, and now it served as the place of retirement for the former

royal couple.

It was pastoral, and the people there worked the fields and dairy barns

by day, and then, though they only had sound, they enjoyed the Jewel

Voice Broadcast's music and other programs while drinking at night. It

was a relaxed lifestyle. This was the sticks, but the people were peaceful

and it was a surprisingly easy area to live in.

"La, la, la," Albert sang.

In that tranquil place, at Albert's manor, the former king was currently

pruning the trees in his garden while singing to himself. Though Albert

was remembered by the people as a good man and a mediocre king, there

was actually one talent in which he excelled: horticulture.

Albert was especially good at making beautiful flowers bloom and

neatly trimming the branches of the trees. This was because, in his days as

an impoverished noble, he had done the gardening for the manor himself.

Because it had partly been a hobby for him, his skill at it had quickly

increased. The truth was, even after he'd married Elisha and joined the

royal family, he had still occasionally helped maintain the castle's inner

gardens.

In particular, Albert was skilled at pruning the trees so that their

branches took on the shape of animals (topiary). The leaves and branches

he was pruning now were going to look like a swan cleaning its wings.

There were still some minute details for him to work on, but it was already

high enough quality work that it felt like it had a sense of motion to it.

Then...

"Al, would you take a break and join me for tea?" his wife called.

The former queen, Elisha, was on the terrace adjoining the gardens, a

maid standing at her side with tea already prepared.

Albert wiped the sweat from his brow and smiled at her. "Ohh, Elisha.

I'll be right there."

And so, the two quietly enjoyed afternoon tea on the terrace. The

afternoon went by slowly around them. Elisha enjoyed looking at the

gardens as she sipped her tea.

"The number of flowers and animals has certainly increased. It's like

we're living in a storybook."

"A-Ahahaha... Maybe I got carried away and made too many after our

son-in-law praised me for them," Albert said with an embarrassed laugh.

Albert's horticultural skills were wonderful, and the current provisional

king, Souma, viewed them with deference. Because of that, Souma paid

for Albert's gardening expenses out of his own pocket money. He'd built a

greenhouse in the garden, and whenever he came across unusual flowers,

he would send them to Albert to see if they could be cultivated in this

country. Because of that, the current garden was filled with flowers and

animal-shaped trees of all colors.

When she saw how bashful Albert was, Elisha giggled. "Oh, what's the

harm? This garden is very popular, after all."

There was a sudden pattering of footsteps. It looked like the children

from the nearby village had come to play.

"Kiiiing! Queeeen! Hello."

"""Hello!"""

The children greeted them with flawless smiles.

"Hey, hey, queen," one of the children said. "Can we explore the

garden again?"

"Hee hee! You can."

Having gotten her approval, the children cried out, "Yay!" throwing

their hands up in the air and running off toward the garden.

This garden, overflowing with its many-colored flowers and animalshaped trees, was an alluring place for children to explore, and they often

came here to play. Albert and Elisha didn't really mind this, but the

children's parents, who were aware of their status, were very humble about

it, and they always sent fresh vegetables as a token of appreciation for

letting their children play.

"It does me good to see them so energetic, but we're not king and

queen, or anything else for that matter, anymore," Albert said, feeling

troubled as he touched his mustache.

"Oh, what's the harm?" Elisha said. "Let them call us what they want."

"I understand that, but it makes me feel like I'm doing a disservice to

our son-in-law and Liscia, who work so hard in the castle."

"Hee hee! Those kids wouldn't mind it at all." Having said that, Elisha

watched the children frolicking in the garden. "To think we can spend our

days in peace like this... I never imagined it."

"Indeed. The first half of our lives was especially difficult, after all."

The two of them had supported one another in order to make it through

the succession war that had followed the death of the king before Albert.

At the time, the two of them probably could never have imagined that a

peaceful life like this would come.

Smiling, Elisha placed her hand on top of Albert's. "But that's why I'm

glad I chose you. Because the me of this world chose you, we're able to

live out our days in peace like this."

"Elisha... It was your power that made it possible for me to entrust the

throne to our son-in-law. Thanks to that, I'm able to take it easy and

muddle around in the garden, and to spend time with the people I love."

"I love you, Al."

"I love you, too, Elisha."

The maid could only smile wryly as he watched this well-aged couple

giving off a lovey dovey aura.

Then another maid came up to the two of them and handed a letter to

Albert. "Master Albert, a letter from Liscia addressed to the two of you."

"Hmm. From Liscia? Is she doing well?"

Accepting the letter, the two of them looked through it. And then...

"Oh, dear," said Albert.

"Oh, me. Oh, my," said Elisha.

Its contents made the two of them smile in satisfaction.