Chapter 69: Do You Really Want Me To Be Queen?

Heinley's words were both amusing and laugh-worthy. Sovieshu, my husband, wanted to leave me, and I was stuck waiting for the inevitable divorce. Sovieshu had accused me of being cold-hearted and without compassion.

And yet, the king of another country praised me by saying that the people would love me…What a strange thing to say.

"Thank you for the compliment."

I smiled to hide the bitterness in me, but Heinley noticed my unease at once.

"Queen? You don't look well. Did something happen?"

"No."

"No? Then—?"

"…"

"Queen?"

He looked at me earnestly, but I didn't answer. No matter how good of a friend he was, I didn't want to show him my humiliation. Talking to him about Sovieshu's imminent divorce would distress me to no end.

Heinley studied me carefully, and though I refused to say a word, he didn't pry. Instead, he hesitated for a moment, then continued on with a serious expression on his face.

"My words were not empty praise. I meant it."

"Really?"

"I don't want a queen unless she's like you."

"!"

"No, I wish you were my queen. There is only one queen."

His voice was firm. He was not joking.

I stared at him and his cheeks flushed red, but he didn't turn away from my gaze. I could sense the heat in his eyes. Heinley was just being complimentary when he said he wanted a queen like me, but those words…

Embarrassed, I sipped a spoonful of soup. I could still feel Heinley's eyes on me, and I smiled half-jokingly at him.

"And what if I accepted?"

The soup was still hot. I ate another spoonful and looked up Heinley. I expected him to laugh at my joke, but he made no sound at all.

"!"

My eyes widened in surprise when I saw his face. His expression was lit up like the sun.

"That would be incredible."

"I was joking."

"I'm not. If you come to my side, I will have you as queen immediately."

"…"

"I swear on my life."

We had been talking about Heinley taking a queen for himself, so how on earth did the conversation turn into an oath on his life? I kept silent instead of answering. I couldn't tell if he really meant it, or if he was saying words to comfort me. But I wasn't unhappy with what he said.

'This is how it feels like to put honey on a wounded heart.'

It was bitter but sweet.

"Thank you for your words, Heinley."

Truly.

"I only speak the truth on what I see."

We both stopped talking for a while and continued eating. I didn't want to say anything because of the mixture of sadness and gratitude in me, and Heinley didn't speak either, and so the table remained quiet. Then, at the end of the meal, he spoke.

"Why are you here, Queen? I don't believe this is an official visit."

"One of my sponsored students attends the magical academy."

"They're in the academy? That's great."

"She's a gifted child. I came to visit her."

"Ah. Are you here to support her?"

"I'm here to console her."

"For…?"

"I hear that she's losing her mana."

"!"

The fact that the mages' power was declining was not something I could hide. Heinley, in particular, was already a mage himself and had attended the academy, so he likely knew of the phenomenon. As expected, Heinley's surprise only lasted a moment.

"I'm sorry."

Both of us finished eating, and so we stood up. Heinley, however, was quiet. When I first told him about the decreasing magic, he didn't seem shocked at all. His face was serious, as if he were bothered by something. Because of this, I didn't ask if he wanted to come along with me, and we parted at the restaurant entrance.

I went to the dean's office, but then to my surprise, Heinley was already there. I was startled at the sight, and Heinley looked up and toasted his cup of coffee in the air. A smile broadened on my face.

"Are you following me?"

Heinley laughed and refuted me.

"Queen followed me. I came here first."

I didn't know if he really was following me or not, but his visit was casual while I came with an appointment, so the dean turned his attention to me first.

"Here is Evely's report card."

When I asked about the child, the dean showed me her weekly academic report.

"As you can see, she performed quite well in the beginning."

"Yes."

"Well, she had a hard time adapting to liberal arts and general knowledge, but she's good with spells, and she scores highly in magical classes."

The girl was inconsistent with some of her subjects, but as the dean noted, she did well in all magic-related classes. The dean sighed, then flipped through the files quickly to show the most recent document.

"And this is her latest report."

Heinley, who was watching from the side, clicked his tongue. The liberal arts and general knowledge grades moved up to the middle, but her grades for the magical classes plummeted. Only her classes on theory remained adequate.

The dean gave a regretful sigh and closed the file.

"The child is having a hard time, but she can't keep up no matter how hard she works. She seems to be under a lot of pressure not to disappoint you, Your Majesty."

"Oh."

"Thank you for your visit, Your Majesty. Yesterday, she fainted from over-training."

"Is she alright?"

I looked at the dean in surprise, but he shook his head gloomily.

"No. After that, her mana…was completely gone."

* * *

Would Evely feel more burdened if I went to visit her? And yet, she would still be under pressure even when I wasn't there. I worried that I would have a worse effect on her, but in the end, I decided to see her. The child needed someone to support her during this hardship.

Heinley followed me but did not come in to see the child, and I entered the room alone. Evely was nervously pacing the room ever since she received news that I would visit, and when she saw me, she immediately burst into tears.

"Your Majesty."

She started off with a small sniff, but then it broke into a full-out sob. The heartbreak in her voice caused my own eyes to moisten.

After she had calmed down a little, I sat down with her on her bed.

"Your ability is valuable, but the loss of it doesn't make you any less so. Your path went to the right, and now you're just going to change course and go left."

"!"

"Whether you become a mage or not, you are my precious Evely, and I will continue to support you. So don't overwork your body, alright?"

The child's shoulders shook as she wept.

"I hoped to live for Her Majesty."

"Evely…"

"It's my lifelong purpose to be useful to Her Majesty. I had nothing but magic, so I have to be a mage for the Empress. But the disappearance of magic…it's like the value of me as a person is gone."

I tried my best to soothe Evely, but she wasn't easily comforted. When I finally came out of the room, I was emotionally exhausted.

Heinley was leaning against the wall next to the door with his eyes closed. I thought he tired of waiting for me, but he opened his purple eyes…and he looked upset.

'Is Heinley also worried about Evely's progress because he's a mage?'

* * *

After my work at the academy was finished, I decided to walk around with Heinley for a while. I wanted to talk to him some more, as we hadn't met in a long time and may not see each other for a few more years.

There were knights waiting outside the academy. They were loyal to me and would keep my business here at Wirwol confidential. However, I didn't want to be seen spending too much time with other men. After the divorce, however..the idea was tempting.

"You can wear this."

The dean lent Heinley and me large hooded robes meant for students, and the pair of us walked side-by-side wearing the same outfit. Since we did not look like outsiders, no one paid any special attention to us. Heinley asked me about my meeting with Evely earlier, and I answered honestly.

"It was better that I didn't come at all. I didn't seem to be much comfort to her."

"That's not true."

"For her, magic wasn't just an ability."

Heinley spoke in a heavy voice.

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but…I heard that part."

I didn't say anything for a while. Then, I confessed in a low voice.

"I can understand how she feels."

"Queen?"

He smiled at me in a way that suggested he disagreed with me. To anyone who didn't know I was about to be divorced, I'm sure my words sounded strange.

I forced my mouth to lift in a smile. Yes, the details were different, but I was in a similar position to Evely. I had no choice but to suffer Sovieshu's decision to divorce me. I could resist it with all my might, but all it did was stall my inevitable ousting from the throne. During a long divorce process, my reputation would fall as well. People may swear at Sovieshu at first, but if I forced a long and tiring trial, people would blame me for clinging to my pride.

"She believes she has no worth unless she is a mage."

"This…"

"She thinks her value comes from her magical abilities…and I feel the same way."

Heinley cleared his throat.

"What?"

He misunderstood, thinking that I agreed with Evely. I knew my words sounded strange, so I laughed and continued.

"Evely's magic, to me, is equivalent to the empress' seat. My value and usefulness come from being empress."

"!"

"If it's gone…I would feel just as hopeless. Miserable and desolate. As if the future before me had disappeared."

"Queen?"

"…"

Yes. It was painful when Sovieshu brought Rashta and came to despise me, but I had others to sympathize with me, and I was able to stand because I was empress. What I learned my entire life, what I had been holding on to, was living as an empress, not as Sovieshu's wife.

But it would all soon be gone. I had no idea what it would be like to just live as "Navier" and not "Navier, the Empress." I wouldn't be able to act with my normal spirit if everyone treated me awkwardly. With my brother banished as well, my family would become mocked and ridiculed.

Heinley looked momentarily taken aback, and he tried to smile.

"Why are you thinking about how it would feel to lose the throne?"

"…"

His face darkened when I didn't answer.

"What happened?"

I didn't reply again. Heinley stopped walking and turned toward me.

"What's going on, Queen?"

I stood dazedly and looked up at Heinley. I came here to cheer up Evely, but after talking to her, my shock only increased. And now, after voicing my fears aloud, it was as if it materialized into a real horror and choked me by the neck.

"Queen?"

What should I do? What was I going to become? I wasn't going to be the empress anymore…how was I supposed to live?

Suddenly, my body began to tremble.

"Queen? Queen!"

Heinley looked at me with frightened eyes.

"What's wrong, Queen? Queen?"

I tried to say that I was alright, but my lips shook and my voice stopped. My shuddering didn't abate, and he cupped my face with both his hands.

"Navier!"

As soon as Heinley's large hands touched my face, warmth spread through my body and the terrible feeling subsided a little.

I could see Heinley's eyes shaking. To my surprise, he looked just as scared as I was. Seeing him look so fearful made me calm down as well.

"Do you really want me to be your queen?"

The question left my mouth involuntarily. The dark pupils of Heinley's eyes dilated, and his lips trembled.

I waited for Heinley's reply. I knew my proposal was crazy, but I knew that it could only be made because of Heinley.

Heinley…

"I want it. I want it."

Heinley answered in a shaking voice. Everything about him trembled, from his jaw to his delicate golden eyelashes. His purple eyes looked even softer than ever. Heinley was still cupping my cheeks with his hands, and I placed one of my hands on his.

"I will be your queen."

"!"