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!"