Chapter 27

"Healthy estrangement, huh. ……I understand, I will accept it. That is precisely what I wish for in this marriage."

His Majesty nodded.

I feel a little relieved.

It seems my words were to His Majesty's liking.

"Your Majesty, thank you. I don't think we can interact like a normal married couple, but I want to support you from the shadows as your queen."

"Yes, I expect that. I have seen… no, I have received reports on your behavior at the detached palace. I believe you can conduct yourself appropriately as the queen of this country, where humans and beastmen coexist."

"Thank you for your kind words, but… may I ask one question?"

"What is it? Speak up."

I am encouraged to continue.

Emperor Glenreed, though his tone is haughty, seems to have the capacity to listen to others.

"At my detached palace, many of the servants are beastmen. Was this selection made by your decision, Your Majesty?"

"Yes, that's right. I left the detailed selection to my subordinates, but I instructed them to include beastmen. Were you dissatisfied?"

"No, not at all. The servants at the detached palace are all very helpful, but… I wondered if the inclusion of beastmen among the servants was also a way to test me?"

I recall my journey through this country on my way to the royal capital.

I stayed at inns in each town, but the staff who greeted me were always humans.

Beastmen do exist as staff, but it seemed to me that this was a consideration for me.

Most humans on this continent generally do not have good feelings towards beastmen.

That's why I think they were excluded from the welcoming staff to avoid offending me.

I don't have any aversion to beastmen, but I can understand the actions of the inns.

Considering these circumstances, it was a bit puzzing that many beastmen were employed as servants at the detached palace.

It might not have had a deeper meaning, but from His Majesty's response, it seemed different.

"Your Majesty personally instructed that beastmen be included as servants. Does this mean you intended to observe how I would treat them? What would you have done if I had mistreated them?"

"I would have understood that you are such a person and taken appropriate action."

"……Is that so."

His Majesty is being vague, but I'm sure it would have been an unpleasant situation, right?

I might have been treated as a mere figurehead queen and placed under house arrest at the detached palace.

I feel relieved now that I understand the intention behind the selection of the servants, but it seems I was being tested.

"……You seem to be satisfied, but aren't you angry? You were being tested unilaterally."

"Rather than being angry, I feel relieved."

"……What do you mean by that?"

"Because it means His Majesty was interested in me. Being left alone at the detached palace was in line with my wishes, but… I thought it would be risky for the king to leave me, even as a figurehead queen, without verifying my character. But His Majesty took steps to assess my character discreetly. Isn't that more reassuring than just being left alone?"

"……Whether you are a strange person or a wise one, I wonder which you are."

"Who knows? I'll leave that judgment to you, Your Majesty."

……So, I'm being treated as a strange person.

I thought I was giving the answer expected of a figurehead queen, but since I have memories from my previous life, I am aware that I might be a bit out of sync with the norms of this world, so perhaps I was seen as strange.

After throwing the interpretation to His Majesty and smiling, I decided to achieve the main purpose of my visit.

"I believe you now understand that I have no intention of mistreating beastmen. May I ask, what are your thoughts on beastmen and Lady Natalie?"

The royal family has welcomed several beastmen as consorts, but its main lineage is human.

His Majesty has no beast ears or tail, and his appearance is that of an ordinary (though very handsome) human.

Incidentally, the reason why His Majesty, a human, is recognized as the king of a country where humans and beastmen coexist is multifaceted.

The biggest reason is that His Majesty's ancestors are said to have been wolf spirits.

Because this lineage can claim descent from wolves while being human, both humans and beastmen recognize them as their king.

……Even if the legend is just a legend, such pretenses are important.

"……Today, I was invited to Lady Natalie's detached palace and witnessed her and her staff treating beastmen with disdain. What are your thoughts on Lady Natalie?"

"To be honest, I have no strong positive or negative feelings towards Lady Natalie. She is, in a sense, nothing more than a doll."

I can understand His Majesty's response to some extent.

Lady Natalie is beautiful, but interacting with her feels like dealing with a well-made doll, lacking any real substance.

"……However, if I were to evaluate her as a potential queen, she is far from being suitable at this point. The problem lies with her father and her aunt, Dears."

His Majesty might want to eliminate Dears and her allies if possible.

However, the western nobility of this country generally look down on beastmen.

Since Lady Natalie has not committed any significant blunders other than her discriminatory attitude towards beastmen, it is difficult to disqualify her as a candidate unilaterally.

"Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Your Majesty. I have no intention of becoming close with Lady Natalie and her associates. Is that acceptable?"

"Yes, that is the right approach. If the situation changes, I will inform you. For now, you should rest comfortably at the detached palace."

That's good.

It seems His Majesty himself has given me permission to live a leisurely life at the detached palace.

Since His Majesty does not intend to favor Lady Natalie and her associates, I am relieved.

Just that alone is a significant gain from today's visit to the detached palace.

All I want now is to return to the detached palace and play with the wolves to my heart's content.

After being subjected to poor cooking, enduring the chatty cook and Dears, and engaging in a conversation with His Majesty, I am starting to feel tired. I want to be healed by delicious food and fluffy fur.

I left His Majesty, wondering if I would see that silver wolf again today.

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"What is that woman…?"

Glenreed, left behind, muttered as he looked in the direction Retisha had gone.

The meaning of giving her the forest detached palace, the intention of not visiting it himself, and the reason for including beastmen among the servants—Retisha had understood all of this correctly and given a perfect response.

Moreover, she did not boast of her intelligence and showed respect to him as the king, which left a good impression.

As a figurehead queen, she was impeccable, and could be considered a valuable find.

He had intended to use her as a mere decoration for two years, but getting a more intelligent consort than expected might be fortunate.

"The contrast is too stark…"

Glenreed furrowed his brow.

Retisha, perfect as a duchess's daughter and a figurehead queen, was more than that, and Glenreed knew it.

Retisha, singing a meaningless tune like "fluffy fluffy fluffy fluffy fluffy fluffy~ fluffy is fluffy so fluffy fluffy~" while petting the wolves, looked like a silly little girl.

Glenreed, transformed into a silver wolf, had witnessed this scene.

Retisha refrained from singing when Edgar and others were nearby.

She seemed to understand that this was a side of herself she should not show to others.

"I don't dislike her…."

In front of him as a human, Retisha only showed a beautiful but unreadable smile.

Seeing her composed face relax was quite entertaining.

Retisha, who combined the perfect face of a lady and the carefree face of a girl, needed to be assessed as a figurehead queen, and the strange aura she exuded was intriguing.

"……I'll make time to visit again tomorrow, disguised as a silver wolf."

He had just accepted a distant relationship.

Since it would be difficult to meet in human form, it was only natural to visit in the form of a silver wolf, and Glenreed convinced himself of this.

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