Side Story 2 – [Sigmund’s Perspective] Lady Katia and the Pink Gems
This happened a few days after returning from the Wolf territory.
While having breakfast alone with Lady Katia in the palace breakfast room, she asked me with a smile.
“Sigmund, you mentioned you had a friend with good taste, didn’t you?”
Having learned that Lady Katia is most dangerous when she acts innocent, I stopped eating and placed my cutlery on the plate. Then, just in case, I waved my hand to dismiss the servants before replying cautiously.
“…I did say I have an acquaintance with an excellent sense of color.”
“Yes, that’s it! I’d like to borrow that acquaintance’s skills. Could you introduce me?”
Seeing Lady Katia ask with sparkling eyes, my premonition that she was planning something outrageous grew stronger. So, partly for self-defense, I asked further questions.
“May I ask what you intend to request?”
Lady Katia clapped her hands happily.
“What I want to request is the decoration of my wedding dress! You know how in the Empire, it’s customary for the bride to gather the gems she wears at the wedding herself? So, I did the gathering myself… Oh, come to think of it, I just received gems from the Witch’s servants, didn’t I? Does that mean I didn’t gather them myself?”
Seeing Lady Katia tilt her head, I interjected to say there was no problem.
“No, the moment you went to the site yourself and chose ‘to take this gem home,’ the gem gathering was established. Bringing back gems stored in ancient ruins or picking up gems left over by insects doesn’t make much difference in terms of effort.”
“Is that so? …Then, I suppose it’s fine to say I did the gem gathering. In that case, what I need to do alone is finished. The work needed from now on is how to match those gems with the wedding dress. That’s why I wanted to borrow the skills of your acquaintance who is good with color.”
I see. It seems today’s topic wasn’t anything particularly alarming.
Relieved, I relaxed my tense body as Lady Katia continued.
“I checked yesterday, and even though they are all pink gems, the shade of color seems to differ for each stone. So, I want advice on what arrangement would make them look best.”
“In other words, you want help choosing which gems to use from the ones you own?”
Lady Katia must have received over a hundred pink gems from the Witch’s servants. Assuming she wanted to select the gems to use because there were too many, I nodded, but for some reason, Lady Katia shook her head.
“No, since I have them, I intend to use all of them.”
“A-All of them!?”
I asked back in shock. And I understood that the bad feeling I had at first was correct.
It came to this after all! I knew Lady Katia would say something outrageous, but it seems I let my guard down too early.
As I bit my lip hard, Lady Katia continued happily.
“I think I’ll use the large gems for a necklace and earrings. And for the small ones or the ones with irregular shapes, I’m thinking of having them sewn onto the dress.”
Since Lady Katia declared something outrageous in a light tone, I pressed my temples hard and retorted in my mind.
Even if you say it like it’s nothing, the fact remains that it’s outrageous!
Then, I let out a huge sigh.
Everyone says ‘wear the gathered gems at the wedding,’ but ‘wear’ in this case means necklaces, earrings, and rings. I’ve never seen an example of sewing gems onto a wedding dress.
However, Lady Katia, who has never seen an Imperial wedding, came up with something outrageous because she doesn’t know the general form.
Moreover, the gems to be sewn onto the dress this time are special gems containing the Witch’s magic. They will undoubtedly sparkle and shine like stars fallen to earth.
It is clearer than day that all the attendees will stare at the sight in rapture or astonishment.
Ah, my stomach is starting to hurt for the first time in my life.
“…How much do you intend to stun the attendees, Lady Katia?”
Rubbing the area where my stomach is, I complained to the Witch.
However, in the middle of retorting, my thinking switched to realizing it might actually be a good idea.
“No… no, wait! Decorating your whole body with the Witch’s gems might not be a bad thing. Since no one can complain, it becomes armor with top-class defense!!”
When I voiced the flash of inspiration in my head, Lady Katia scowled.
“Sigmund, I’m talking about a wedding dress.”
“Of course, so am I! You have to walk among many enemies, so the higher the defense, the better!!”
“…Does Sigmund mean walking down the aisle?”
“Exactly! And what I fear most is Lady Katia turning into a Witch in the middle of the wedding!!”
Lady Katia opened her eyes wide in surprise.
“Eh, that’s no good. I absolutely want to avoid becoming a Witch at the wedding too.”
I nodded greatly and explained the advantage of wearing the Witch’s gems.
“Witches emit a unique magic. Therefore, if Lady Katia becomes a Witch, the participants of the ceremony will immediately notice the Witch’s presence from the magic you emit. However, since pink gems also emit the Witch’s magic, we might be able to deceive them into thinking it’s the gems emitting the magic, not Lady Katia.”
“My, that’s a good idea. But is it possible that I’ll turn into a Witch again?”
Seeing Lady Katia tilt her head, I wondered why she was asking such an obvious thing.
“Lady Katia is undoubtedly a Witch! You will transform into a Witch again soon!”
When I declared with confidence, Lady Katia blinked.
“…Is that so, after all. Sometimes I think I might be, but sometimes I don’t, so I don’t have the confidence to declare I’m a Witch.”
After muttering to herself, Lady Katia looked up at me wonderingly.
“Come to think of it, Sigmund, you wanted to make it public that I was a Witch, didn’t you? Why try to hide it now? What change of heart is this?”
Not wanting my feelings to be misunderstood, I spoke with vigor.
“Of course, my feelings haven’t changed! But the wedding is the worst timing for Lady Katia to be revealed as a Witch! The Zaldein Empire is the number one country on the continent, so for its Emperor’s wedding, royalty and nobility will gather from all over the continent.”
“I suppose so.”
Lady Katia nodded as if she understood, but it was clear she didn’t grasp the current situation at all.
So, I piled on words wanting her to understand.
“And anyone from this continent absolutely worships the Witch!”
“Yes, that’s right. In the Dodory Continent, regardless of country or race, everyone believes in the legend.”
In the agreeing Lady Katia’s head, a single phrase must be floating.
“‘The Witch’—she of pink hair and red eyes—is of the ‘First Race,’ a being who bestows blessings upon all.”
—It was a phrase passed down throughout the continent.
What would those who crave the Witch do if they found the supposedly extinct Witch?
—The answer is simple. They would seek her, risking their lives!
“If they find out Lady Katia is a Witch, all the attendees will think of plundering you.”
“Plundering? At a wedding?”
No way, as I looked back seriously at Lady Katia who laughed cheerfully.
“Lady Katia, since you are not from this continent, you don’t understand how much we crave the Witch. And how much we want to receive the Witch’s blessing.”
Perhaps because I argued desperately, my seriousness finally seemed to convey, and Lady Katia asked seemingly unsure.
“…Is that so?”
“Yes, undoubtedly people from other countries will try to plunder Lady Katia! So, our Empire must protect Lady Katia no matter what, but the problem is that besides me, no one knows Lady Katia is a Witch.”
“That’s true.”
Although she probably didn’t understand what I wanted to say, Lady Katia nodded honestly.
“If they knew in advance, countermeasures to protect the Witch could be set up in layers. But if no one but me knows, it will be extremely difficult to protect Lady Katia completely on the day. The number of opponents is too great. Therefore, I want you not to turn into a Witch at the wedding.”
Hearing my words, Lady Katia’s face clouded over.
“Sigmund’s point is reasonable. But I don’t know the reason why I transformed into a Witch in the ancient ruins. As long as the transformation conditions are unknown, it might be difficult to prevent the change.”
Since Lady Katia was right, I remained silent unable to reply, and Lady Katia clapped her hands together as if to change the mood.
“It’s okay, Sigmund. Even if I become a Witch at the wedding, there is hope. Look, I am an excellent mage called the ‘Witch of Ruin’. So, I can completely suppress my magic within my body. Even if I become a Witch, I just have to lock up that special magic.”
“…I wonder. The Witch’s magic isn’t normal, so I don’t know if it’s okay to think of it the same as other magic.”
When I stated my honest impression, she replied, “Sigmund, you are surprisingly cautious.”
No, Lady Katia is just too optimistic.
As if to reinforce my thought, Lady Katia continued happily.
“Ufufu, I can see hope! I’m sure I can suppress the magic perfectly. Even if I fail a little, we said we could blame it on the Witch’s gems, and if I keep my eyes closed so the red eyes aren’t seen and cling to His Majesty Eckardt’s arm, it will surely work out.”
This is no good. She’s too optimistic, I don’t even feel like arguing.
“…I understand that Lady Katia’s hope is about as reliable as a spider’s thread hanging down to hell.”
When I said this wanting her to understand how serious I was, Lady Katia laughed amusedly.
“Fufu, Sigmund, you really are cautious. But it’s fine. The wedding ceremony is an event of only a few tens of minutes. The possibility of becoming a Witch at that exact timing as if aimed is almost nonexistent. Besides, I might not even be a Witch in the first place.”
“Lady Katia, wishful thinking tends to miss the mark.”
Although I advised gravely, Lady Katia didn’t reply and changed the subject.
“Um, so, returning to the topic of your acquaintance with a good sense of color, could you introduce them?”
“…Let’s see. I’ve given up on sharing the information that Lady Katia is a Witch with a third party. However, it was very unsettling that currently only I know about these stunning pink gems. So, I agree with increasing the number of accomplices who can share information.”
“Sigmund, you exaggerate so much.”
Lady Katia, pouting as if exasperated, couldn’t possibly know—that the ‘acquaintance with a good sense of color’ I mentioned is one of the ‘Eight Holy Ducal Houses’, that I am trying to make a peer an accomplice.
Although my heart ached because Lady Katia was genuinely happy saying, “I’ll be introduced to a wonderful person by Sigmund,” —I made an excuse in my heart that this was all to protect Lady Katia.
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