Prologue: On a Moonlit Terrace

Night, 3rd day, 10th month, 1,546th year, Continental Calendar — Royal

Capital Parnam.

The moon shone brightly in the mostly-clear sky.

It was a night so quiet that it was hard to believe that only a few days

ago, this country, the Elfrieden Kingdom, had fought a major battle with the

neighboring Principality of Amidonia.

As the victors in the recent series of engagements, there had been a

raucous celebration when news of their triumph had reached Parnam, but

now that some days had passed, things had settled down considerably.

The young King of Elfrieden (though he was as yet uncrowned, so he

was only king provisionally), Souma Kazuya, had declared the war over

with the occupation of the capital of the principality, Van, and the area

surrounding it. Now they were waiting for negotiations to begin.

The people were waiting with bated breath to see how the negotiations

would play out.

It was a quiet night in Parnam.

Parnam Castle was without its master because Souma and the others had

left for Van. The former king Albert and his wife Elisha were enjoying tea

in the moonlight on the terrace attached to their bedroom.

"...It is most quiet tonight," said Albert.

"Hee hee. Yes, it is," said his wife.

As they drank their tea, the two of them wore relaxed smiles.

"Without Liscia and our son-in-law here, it feels like the fire in this

castle has died out," said Albert. "Even though it was normal for it to be

like this not so long ago."

"Things have been so lively since you ceded the throne to our son-inlaw," Elisha agreed. "The ministers, the bureaucrats, the castle guards, and

even the maids have all been working busily."

When Elisha said that, Albert said "Indeed..." with a nod.

He went on, "Of all of them, the one who's worked the hardest has been

our son-in-law, though. I never realized there were so many things a king

should do, so many things a king could accomplish... It does me no credit as

the former king to say this, but I believe I was not wrong to abdicate."

Albert had suddenly abdicated in favor of the more worthy Souma.

There had been resistance to the sudden change at first, but the steady

success of Souma's policies had gradually won people over, and so had his

engagement to Albert's daughter, Princess Liscia, who worked to support

him.

A few days ago, Souma had also defeated his enemy at home, the three

dukes, and his enemy abroad, the Principality of Amidonia, and so gained

the full recognition of the people as their king.

"Everyone must have been surprised by my eye for talent," Albert said

with a jolly laugh.

Now that they had accepted Souma, the people were beginning to see

Albert, who had been an average king, for better and for worse, in a more

positive light. "The former king achieved nothing of note himself, but in the

end, rather than cling to power, he made the brave decision to turn the reins

over to someone more capable" was what they had started saying.

After having a good laugh, Albert looked down into his teacup. The face

reflected back at him in his tea seemed slightly tired and wore a lonely

smile that seemed gloomy somehow.

"Do you think... we've managed to change things?" Albert asked.

In response to his words of uncertainty, Elisha lowered her eyes. "It

should be fine. Unlike 'that time,' this time 'that girl' is with him from the

beginning." Elisha spoke in a calming tone. "If the two of them are

together, I think they can lead us to a different outcome from 'that time.'

Besides, those two aren't alone now. Things are even more lively now than

they were 'that time.'"

"Ho ho ho..." chuckled Albert. "I suppose they are. We have ourselves

another daughter now, after all."

Albert grinned broadly, remembering the mystic wolf girl they had

adopted. The smile proved contagious, and soon Elisha was beaming as

well.

"She's just the cutest little thing," Elisha said. "With her fluffy little ears

and tail."

"By the time Liscia reached that age, she was already a tomboy," said

Albert. "That was cute in its own way, but having a meek girl is nice, too."

"It really is," said Elisha. "The way she hesitantly calls me 'Mother' is

just adorable. Oh, I hope Tomoe comes home soon."

Having been recognized for her unique gift, despite being a refugee, the

mystic wolf girl Tomoe had been adopted by Albert and Elisha in order to

protect her. The two of them now showered her with love as if she were

their real daughter.

"I'll have to tell our son-in-law to make sure no strange men are lurking

around her," said Albert firmly.

"It's not uncommon for royal and noble families to adopt children to use

in political marriages, but I wouldn't want that to happen to Tomoe," Elisha

agreed.

"Certainly not," said Albert.

...If Liscia had been there to hear, she would have indignantly cried,

"That didn't seem to matter to you when you agreed to marry me off

without my consent!"

For the rest of the night, the two of them had a lively conversation on

the topic of just how adorable Tomoe was.

◇ ◇ ◇

""Achoo!""

Meanwhile, in the castle in Van, Liscia and Tomoe sneezed at precisely

the same time. The two of them turned to look at one another, both tilting

their heads to the side a little, questioningly.

Do you think someone is talking about us? they both wondered.