Sylvia, dressed up, encountered Felix in his private drawing room. He wore a formal uniform primarily black with silver thread embroidery and accessories made of platinum. Hubert, who followed him, draped a cape over his shoulders.
Sylvia found Felix, who had neatly combed his hair back differently than usual, unfamiliar and couldn’t take her eyes off him.
“Siri.”
Felix called her with a tender voice, feeling her gaze on him.
“Hmm?”
At his call, Sylvia quickly got up from the sofa and scurried over.
“Why?”
Looking up at him, Felix pressed a kiss on Sylvia’s forehead.
“It suits you.”
Sylvia, dressed differently than usual, inspected her robe. The original robe he had given her was nice, but the new one somehow looked similar to the cape he was wearing. The shirt and trousers she wore underneath were so soft she had rubbed them against her face.
At Felix’s compliment, Sylvia fiddled with the Black Dragon-shaped brooch at the center of her robe and responded.
“You too, suit it very well!”
It was true.
She had always said his face was cheating, but today seemed especially so. Perhaps it was the radiance and dignity of a crown prince.
“Shall we go, then?”
The crown prince, seemingly unwilling to come to the Capitis royal palace even if it killed him, had sent a letter suggesting they meet at the site of the war. Since it was between the Capitis Kingdom and the Corpora Empire, Felix readily agreed.
“But, can I really go too?”
Sylvia asked, taking Felix’s offered hand. She wondered if it was okay for her to accompany him to such an important meeting.
“Of course. You were the one who captured the king of beasts and saved me. And it’s all thanks to Siri, even that blond managed to luckily survive.”
“That’s right, Lady Sylvia.”
Hubert chimed in.
“Is Duke Sabelisa already there?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Then let’s go too.”
“I will move with the knights, Your Highness.”
“Alright.”
Felix, having finished speaking, took Sylvia’s hand and lifted off. Sylvia, utterly happy, smiled and followed. Riding the wind, the meeting place soon came into view, along with the imperial delegation and Duke Sabelisa who had arrived first.
A large tent for the meeting had been set up. Duke Sabelisa quickly approached as he spotted Felix and Sylvia landing.
“Your Highness, you’ve arrived?”
Sylvia greeted Duke Sabelisa shyly. He resembled Felix quite a bit, though not as much as Aethernum she had glimpsed before.
Duke Sabelisa, after briefly staring at their clasped hands, addressed Sylvia.
“Have you arrived?”
“Yes, Duke.”
Felix, unable to bear even that brief exchange of looks, interjected.
“Let’s go in, then.”
As Felix naturally pulled her to enter, Sylvia hurriedly spoke.
“Am I to go inside as well?”
“Of course.”
“What can I do there? Can’t I just stay outside?”
“Siri.”
Felix wanted her to come in with him. It was a way to publicly declare that Sylvia was his.
However, Sylvia had different thoughts. She was worried that her presence might complicate matters for the Capitis Kingdom.
“Felix, I’ll just stay near the tent and kill time. Don’t worry and finish up quickly. That’ll do, right?”
Sylvia looked up at him, pressing the hand she held gently.
“I was wrong then. It won’t happen again, so don’t worry and go ahead.”
Sylvia knew what Felix was worried about. Ever since the day she had briefly disappeared, he had sought her out very frequently.
By then, it was impossible not to know.
That she had hurt him.
Seeing Felix’s somber expression, Sylvia smiled brightly.
“Should we make a promise?”
At her words, Felix lifted his other hand, not holding hers, and extended his pinky finger.
“It’s a promise.”
“Yes, a firm promise.”
Sylvia hooked her pinky with his, her eyes rounding. Felix let out a small sigh and slowly released the hand he was holding.
“Really, you have to stay nearby. I can feel your magic, you know.”
“I’ve told you, I will.”
With a smile, Felix left Sylvia behind and entered the tent with Duke Sabelisa. In the distance, Hubert and the group led by Denis were seen riding their horses quickly towards them.
Sylvia looked around and then moved her steps.
***
The crown prince, Carl, and Duke Visconti were seated around a round table. Felix sat down in his place with an impassive face.
“Do we have time to dawdle?”
The crown prince, having heard the entire conversation Sylvia had with Felix in front of the tent, glared at Felix with a disdainful expression. He was already irate at being summoned to such a meeting. Ignoring the crown prince’s mockery, Felix spoke up.
“Let’s get straight to the point. From here to the Shebusalatus Mountains as a marker, the lands to the south will be claimed by our nation.”
“What? Why should the lands, ambiguous because of the demonic beasts, become Capitis Kingdom’s territory?”
The crown prince slammed his hand on the table, raising his voice. Then, startled by the black eyes he encountered, he called Duke Visconti.
“Duke! Speak up. Does this make any sense?”
Lucino addressed Felix directly.
“While it’s based on the outcome of the war, isn’t this too one-sided?”
Lucino felt a surge of jealousy, having overheard the conversation between the two outside. Felix’s gaze turned fierce as he looked at Lucino, twisting his lips in response.
“It seems out of context for a country that unilaterally invaded another to say such a thing.”
Lucino was left speechless. The crown prince had initiated the attack on the kingdom but lost. Silenced by the clear acknowledgment of facts, Felix coldly looked at Lucino and the crown prince, declaring as if making a proclamation.
“I didn’t contact the empire to ask for permission. Regardless of your opinions, the Capitis Kingdom will become an empire, and the new lands created by Sylvia will be a place for the people of the Capitis Empire.”
His magic subtly spread. Felix had made the purpose of this meeting clear.
“If you refuse, I will declare war on the Corpora Empire. And I will crush you thoroughly.”
Felix, crossing one leg over the other and folding his arms, laughed viciously. The crown prince, seething, then sneered bitterly.
“Then that commoner girl will become a war prisoner, won’t she? Since she’s from the empire.”
Felix’s expression turned terrifying at the crown prince’s words, but he ignored it. He wanted to end this meeting quickly.
Carl had thought this meeting was for post-war negotiations, but as the atmosphere grew increasingly hostile, he became alert. The purpose of his attendance was clearly to support the Capitis Kingdom.
It was partly due to Felix’s powerful magic, but also because the benefactor would live there, making it a matter of gratitude. Carl straightened his back, observing the atmosphere, to which Felix asked.
“What is the prince’s opinion?”
The crown prince snorted at Felix’s change from informal to formal speech when addressing Carl.
“Our state has no reason to oppose. As a witness during the war, I agree with what the Capitis crown prince has said.”
At Carl’s response, Lucino sighed. He had thought the prince of Caudatium would support the Capitis Kingdom, but facing such a situation made him feel suffocated.
After the declaration of war’s defeat, when the crown prince returned to the imperial palace swollen from the beating, the emperor had thundered at him.
It was the result of acting recklessly without the emperor’s permission. Lucino would normally not just listen to the crown prince but verify information. However, he got confused between public and private matters upon hearing that Sylvia was involved. He remembered the command the emperor had separately given him.
“Why not divide the land among the three countries? Of course, with the Capitis Kingdom taking a larger share.”
Intending to involve the Caudatium state, Lucino made his suggestion. Carl narrowed his eyes at his words, immediately catching the intention. Carl was about to refuse, remembering the conversation with his father, when the crown prince blurted out.
“What will you do if that commoner girl returns to the empire? You still plan to trample our empire with such ridiculous claims?”
The crown prince laughed scornfully at Felix.
“How can a crown prince, completely ensnared by a mere commoner, become an emperor? Do you think becoming an emperor is for anyone? It’s laughable.”
Lucino felt uneasy at the crown prince’s words. Laughing smugly, the crown prince shouted joyfully at Felix.
“It’s hard to forget a first love, isn’t it? No matter the current man, eventually, she’ll return to her old lover.”
Duke Sabelisa sweated at the powerful, unstable magic fluctuating beside him. The crown prince, previously filled with discomfort, now looked pleased. In contrast, Lucino’s expression twisted.
***
Sylvia wandered along a path of blooming flowers around the tent. The quiet, solitary time felt strangely unfamiliar.
“Come to think of it, I’ve hardly been alone since coming here. Not at all, perhaps?”
Before following Felix, Eryngium was always by her side, so being completely alone now felt incredibly strange. After even Eryngium disappeared, neither Felix nor Naomi let her be alone. Feeling a bit lonely, Sylvia picked a blue rose from the surrounding flowers.
“What did I even create back then?”
Though she hadn’t been in a situation to think and act separately, she couldn’t remember at all. Far away, bright red camellias bloomed profusely, and around her, cool-colored blue roses filled the area.
As she smelled the flowers, she heard someone approaching. Sylvia, hoping it was Felix, turned around with a happy expression.
“Sylvia, it’s been a long time.”
However, standing there was a man who seemed familiar yet was a stranger. Recognizing his brown hair and green eyes, Sylvia knew he was a commoner.
“Who are you? Do I know you?”
Sylvia asked, tilting her head, to which the man awkwardly laughed in response.
“You’re still the same. It’s good to see you haven’t changed.”
The man awkwardly laughed, rolling his eyes away from Sylvia’s gaze.
“I know I’ve seen you somewhere…”
But she couldn’t remember. Sylvia asked the man.
“Where have we met before?”
“Are you still angry about the past? I was wrong. Please forgive me, Sylvia.”
The man stepped closer and knelt in front of her, then suddenly took her hand and pressed a kiss on the back of it.
“Let’s be happy like we were before. I’ve even bought a house for you. Just come back, and I won’t let you lift a finger. Marry me…”
Sylvia, who had been watching the situation unfold as if it wasn’t real, placed her palm over the man’s mouth before he could finish. She knew what he was about to say without needing to hear it.
“Ah! Now I remember!”
And with that, she recalled who the man was. Sylvia lifted one corner of her mouth and withdrew her hand from his grip.
“You’re still the same, only saying what you want to hear.”
“Sylvia! You loved me. How can love change so easily? Is this the ‘forever love’ you talked about?”
Sylvia, who had cleanly washed her hands with water magic, burst into laughter as if she found the situation absurd.