Chapter 45 TDK Vol. 2 Chapter 2 Part 4

The royal family’s residential quarters were divided into three sections.

In the center was the royal palace, where the king, his queen consort, and his concubines resided.

To the east was a villa for the legitimate children of the queen.

And to the west was a villa for the children born of the king’s concubines.

Iris lived in the western villa.

The villa was a grand building with a spacious garden. Her father would visit from time to time, and she wanted for nothing in her daily life. Dealing with her other brothers and sisters was a challenge, but she could manage if she thought of it as her duty as a member of the royal family.

She had no particular complaints.

Or rather, her head was so full of something else right now that there was no room for complaints or worries to creep in.

“…Yuuki… was my Lord.”

Iris lay on her bed, hugging her favorite pillow.

“…My Lord. Lord Dean Nosferatu. Alice’s Lord. Iris’s Lord Yuuki. The man… that I love…”

As she murmured the words, Iris covered her bright red face. Her heart was pounding. The heat inside her body wouldn’t subside. She could feel her entire being trembling with the joy of having been reunited with her Lord.

Her mind was a complete blank. She could hardly remember a thing they had talked about after leaving the Grail Trading Company.

Did I say something strange?

Did I do anything that would make him hate me?

As these thoughts spun round and round, Iris rolled about on her bed.

To be honest, the memories of Alice Carmine still hadn’t fully settled in. They were incomplete and fragmented.

So why did her chest feel so warm?

It was likely back in the barony, when he saved her from the Dark Bear. That was the moment Iris fell in love with Yuuki.

I want him by my side, she had thought.

And that was why she had declared she would make him her guardian knight.

“…Both Iris and Alice… are in love with Lord Yuuki… with my Lord.”

When she thought of Yuuki, she felt as if the ‘Iris’ and ‘Alice’ within her were melting together. The realization that they were, in the end, the same person was terribly embarrassing. It was proof that, memories or not, she was drawn to him.

“…This is… so embarrassing…”

Screee, screee.

Suddenly, a strange cry came from outside her window.

Iris leaped out of bed and opened it.

There was a bat. It was hanging skillfully from the window frame, staring intently at her.

“Are you, perhaps, one of Lord Yuuki’s familiars?”

“Yes, I am~!”

“It talked?!”

“You can understand me~?!”

The princess and the bat stared at each other in mutual surprise.

“This is a shocker~! Only the boss is supposed to understand a familiar’s speech~!”

“It must be fate!”

“Is that how it is~?”

“Well, perhaps by regaining my past life’s memories, I’ve become something closer to Lord Yuuki,” Iris suggested.

“That makes sense, then~!”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Iris.”

“A pleasure to meet you, too~! My name is Niil. And I’m a girl, just so you know~!”

“Thank you for the clarification.”

“Not at all, the pleasure’s all mine~!”

Iris and Niil exchanged bows.

“I have a message from the boss. Would you like it on parchment, or should I just tell you~?”

“Both, please.”

“You’re a greedy one~.”

“That’s because I wish to receive everything from Lord Yuuki with my entire being.”

“Alrighty, then. I’ll tell you first. The parchment says the same thing~.”

Niil flew into the room. Iris closed the window and the curtains, then sat down on her bed. Niil landed on the back of a nearby chair. They drew closer and began to talk.

“First, let’s talk about what comes next~.”

“Please.”

“The boss has ordered me to stay by your side, Your Highness. To act as a messenger between you and him, and also as your guard~.”

“You have comrades with Lady Rhodelia at the Grail Trading Company as well, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do. I can contact them, too~.”

“I understand. I’ll be counting on you.”

“Next, a message from the boss. He’d like you to teach him the ‘Ancient Magic’ you know of the next time you meet~.”

“Ancient Magic?”

“He says just using it in front of him would be fine. The reason is, uhm, let’s see~…”

“It’s because it’s necessary for exploring ‘Elysium, the Capital of Ancient Magical Civilization,’ isn’t it?” Iris cut in. “Lord Yuuki has only just joined the Magic Guild, so he knows very few Ancient Magic. He needs me to support him with my knowledge, right?”

“That’s pretty much it. You catch on quick. Very impressive~!”

“It is a subordinate’s duty to discern the will of my Lord.”

“Have you been in his service for long~?”

“Yes. For two hundred years.”

“You’re a true veteran~!”

“Oh, not at all. In fact, I’m rather envious of you, Niil.”

“You are~?”

“If I had wings, I could fly to Lord Yuuki’s side whenever I pleased.”

“Shall I pass that along~?”

“N-No! Please hold that thought. That was a bit too forward of me. As a maiden, I’d like to convey my feelings with words chosen a little more… carefully.”

“Understood~. I will wait, so please think it over~.”

“Huh? Oh! J-Just a moment, please…”

For some reason, her face began to burn. Niil would deliver her words to Yuuki. That meant, through Niil, Iris was connected to him.

I can… tell him anything, can’t I?

It was a secret line of communication, just for her and Yuuki… for her and her Lord. No one else could understand the bat’s speech. She could say any embarrassing thing she wanted.

Like how she felt when they first met.

Or how mortified she was in her past life when her Lord had to treat her wounds.

The words came bubbling up, one after another, but they were all too embarrassing to say out loud. She wouldn’t know what kind of face to make the next time she saw him.

No, no, I shouldn’t worry about it. After all, I’m going to become my Lord’s wife, and we’ll spend our entire lives together—

“———!”

“Why are you curled up in a ball~? What’s wrong, Lady Iris~?”

“I-It’s nothing…!”

Any more of this would be dangerous.

With that thought, Iris leaned in close to Niil’s ear. She whispered a few words, completing her message for her Lord. She asked Niil to pass it along during the regular nightly report.

After that… Iris dove back into her bed, pulled the covers over her head, and squeezed her eyes shut.

When night fell, she ate dinner in the dining hall while a maid worriedly asked, “Do you have a fever?”

Then she took a bath, changed her clothes, and promptly dove back under the covers.

In the end, she ended up correcting her message more than ten times before the night was over.