Master’s Smile

C127 – Enthronement

“The king has fallen and a new ruler shall therefore be elected.”

The royal castle of Evans Kingdom.

Inside the throne room, in one of the most important chambers, many nobles were gathered.

What would take place today was one of the most important ceremonies for the kingdom.

It was only the words from the Prime Minister that echoed throughout the throne room.

“The next ruler shall be the First Princess of Evans Kingdom, Princess Neena Evans!!”

The door leading to the throne room was opened, and out of it appeared Neena, dressed in a dazzling garment.

Ritter, a retainer and a knight of hers, was also dressed in formal attire and following right behind her.

“(…Heavy. Hot. Want to take it off.)”

Though, behind her blank look, a large amount of frustration was swirling inside Ritter’s mind….

Neena, too, was feeling heavy and hot in her sumptuous costume, but she didn’t let it bother her as she walked slowly to where the throne was located.

“Princess Neena, are you prepared to lead Evans Kingdom?”

“Yes. I shall promise that Evans Kingdom will be even more prosperous than how it is now.”

“Very well. Then, the crown.”

The Prime Minister and Princess Neena exchange a few words.

She then knelt down and lowered her head.

The ceremony ended with the Prime Minister placing the crown, the sign of kingship, on top of her head.

“I hereby proclaim Queen Neena to be enthroned as Queen of Evans Kingdom!!”

The Prime Minister’s voice rang out, and the nobles burst into applause and cheers.

Thus, Neena was enthroned as the new queen of Evans Kingdom.

◆

“Phew…. That was tiring….”

The throne room had now been transformed into a party venue.

Normally, this kind of thing would not be possible, but it was a day to celebrate the coronation of a new queen, so it might be acceptable, at least for today.

“You seem to be tired, Your Majesty.”

“It’s you….”

A man approached Neena, who had let out a sigh while sitting on her throne.

He was the vizier, a loyal subject who had continued to support the kingdom with his own life during the previous monarchy.

“Hmm…. It still somehow tickles when I’m being called like that.”

“That’s troubling. Your Majesty still has a lot of work to do.”

“I know.”

Even the slightest joke did not reach the Prime Minister.

And Neena replied to him with a bitter smile.

“As expected, was it exhausting?”

“So it would seem.”

Neena quenched her thirst with the alcohol brought by the Prime Minister and was absorbed in her thoughts.

“I spent most of my time on the battlefield even though I was a princess, so I’m good at hand-to-hand combat. However, I just can’t seem to adjust in this kind of glittering atmosphere.”

Neena had rushed to skirmishes with neighboring nations because of Lintz, the now deceased prince, and wielded her sword to fight for the kingdom.

Furthermore, she also took the initiative to do what should have been done by the kingdom knights, such as exterminating monsters and defeating bandits.

“…Those were not something a person with the right to the throne would normally do. No matter how much I advised you to cease your actions, you never refrained.”

“…Well, that was a long time ago, so don’t mind it.”

“Sigh….”

The Prime Minister sighed deeply.

In fact, royalty participating on the battlefield…especially, on the frontlines where soldiers clash violently, hardly exist.

There were only very few times in this kingdom when a member of royalty joined the frontlines in a conflict-level battle, even if it was a battle that would be a certain victory.

Though, the exception to this rule was Neena, who was looking uncomfortable right now.

“At any rate, you will not last long if you are this exhausted after a mere private banquet like this.”

“…We have something to do after this?”

“Of course. First of all, there will be a parade tomorrow to have the new queen be known to the people. It will take place only in the largest city, but it will be a very strict schedule, so be prepared.”

At the Prime Minister’s words, Neena became speechless and her mouth was repeatedly opening and closing.

She was already terribly exhausted just from a simple party of a few hundred people.

The thought of waving her hands gracefully in the presence of thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of people made her feel physically ill.

“…Do I have to do that as well?”

“This is the duty of a ruler. Please understand.”

Even Neena knew that the Prime Minister was not pushing the parade and other events on her due to hatred.

The previous king had also held a parade when he ascended to the throne, so she already knew it would be held this time as well.

In addition, Neena was well-liked by the people because of her beauty and her closeness to the people.

If she showed herself in the parade that she had become the queen, her approval rating would increase even more.

“Sigh…. I’ll do my best in moderation.”

“That would be good. Well then….”

The Prime Minister then left Neena’s side.

Neena, who was now alone, once again let out a deep sigh.

She glanced around the party venue and saw Ritter, who was putting the food into her mouth with tremendous speed while having a blank look

Neena, who was familiar with her, sensed that she was bored.

‘If that’s the case, then why don’t you talk to someone’, Neena thought.

Ritter was a very good-looking girl.

Her black hair, cropped at about her shoulder level, was beautiful as if it was wet.

Her usual unchanging face would look like a work of art if she just expressed her emotions.

(Kuro: Anima, can you reword this sentence or is it already okay? It’s like “if she’s not a poker face person, she will be beautiful”)

Thus, young single aristocrats, not to mention other nobles that were escorting old men, including some who already became weak, frequently tried to talk to her, but Ritter showed no reaction at all.

She did not even refuse them, she just completely ignored them.

The nobles could not hide their shock at this.

Even if they wanted to be angry, Ritter was a close aide of Neena, the queen.

If they were careless, there was no way they could do anything against someone who would most likely be in a higher position than they were.

Ritter, therefore, did not need to be annoyed, even though she looked bored.

“I wish I could be like her too….”

Neena grumbled, but of course she couldn’t do that.

Although the kingdom had a monarchy system, she would not be able to do anything without the support of the aristocrats who had been carrying out their duties.

In addition, there were still plenty of siblings who were in line for the throne.

Disgruntled nobles might even try to abdicate her by bringing one of them up to the throne.

Therefore, she could not make unnecessary enemies by neglecting her contact with them.

“Nevertheless, a husband, huh…. Even though it’s still too early for me….”

Currently, her most common contacts from the nobles were an attempt to make themselves or their sons into Neena’s husband.

Indeed, she was still an unmarried queen, so there was no better offer for someone who wanted to expand their power.

Neena, on the other hand, had to deal with a lot of anxiety.

Now that she was the queen, she had a lot of work to do.

Thus, she had no intention of getting married immediately, but…the marriage applications were getting quite troublesome.

“Rather, how many men among them are even capable of becoming the queen’s husband in the first place….”

To be the queen’s husband, he should be a man of ability and have the character that would be adored by the people as much as Neena.

And yet, such a man did not exist among the nobles who had proposed marriage to her.

There were only a few people who could compete with Neena and who were also popular.

The only person who came to her mind was someone like Theldorff, though he didn’t offer a marriage proposal to her.

He was already married and he would never leave his wife to be with Neena.

“…That leaves.…”

Neena’s mind was filled with images of a certain man.

It was someone by the name of Master, who until recently had served as a retainer of hers.

During the chaos inside the royal capital caused by Lintz, Theldorff and the kingdom knights had shown their vigorous efforts.

However, without Master, Neena would probably have lost her life.

Master had vanquished the demon that managed to defeat even Ritter, without any qualms.

“…….”

Wouldn’t Master be well qualified to be the queen’s husband?

He was stronger than herself and his constant smile would be liked by the people.

“But he already left….”

Yes, Master had already retired from his position as her retainer.

Neena had hoped that he would continue to use his power for the good of the kingdom, but he displayed his answer with his sudden leave.

“…Should I, ask Ritter to find Master?”

If they had a master-disciple relationship, maybe they could get in touch with each other.

For a moment, Neena thought so, but….

“Hah!? What am I even thinking!?”

Neena mocked herself, feeling like a woman who was forever chasing after a man who had left her.

Now was not the time to think about her partner-in-marriage.

What she should be thinking about was….

“Ahahaaa….”

“…….”

Neena suddenly felt a glance and looked over to see a woman in a nun garment beckoning to her with a nice smile from the outskirts of the party.

Seeing that, she felt a very heavy headache.

“(I have to do something about “Salvation Army (Yelquchira)” first….)”

Neena thought so as she rose from her throne.

It would not be long in the future when she would be so shocked that her eyes could have popped out of her head after she found out that Master was actually the guildmaster of “Yelquchira”.