It was the second day of the break in the military competition.
Having finished breakfast, I was slipping on my coat when Clarice, who had been reading documents at the desk, looked up.
"Today's your inspection tour with Lady Alecia, isn't it?"
"Yeah... It's a pain, but considering I get a free meal out of it, I'd say it breaks even."
As of yesterday, our spot in the top four was guaranteed. That was already better than the fifth-place finish I had initially aimed for. On top of that, there was no military competition today, and Alecia was covering the cost of food.
"I can eat whatever I want at the royal capital's Founding Festival, and my wallet won't take a hit. Doesn't get any better than this!"
I couldn't stop the grin spreading across my face.
Clarice looked at me for a moment before returning her gaze to the papers.
"...Right. Good for you."
"What? Did you want something to eat too?"
"Not particularly... I spent all of yesterday sorting out royal capital affairs with you, so today I just want some peace and quiet."
Wait, why was she acting so strangely curt...?
Standing by the wall, Serena was the only one who glanced over at Clarice.
"...Clarice, are you in a bad mood?"
"...Isn't that just your imagination, Serena?"
"I see..."
Without prying any further, Serena checked the dagger at her waist.
"I'm going too... as a bodyguard. Leaving it solely to the Imperial Guard doesn't sit well with me."
"Do what you want. Just don't hover too close, all right? It wouldn't look like an inspection tour then."
"Understood. I'll keep some distance, so it'll be fine."
Was there something going on that only women understood? Unable to figure it out no matter how much I thought about it, I left the inn.
◇
Alecia was waiting in a plaza near the royal palace.
Free of a crown and lavish formal attire, she wore a light-colored coat over clothes that seemed easy to walk in. The Imperial Guards kept a slight distance to the front and rear, positioning themselves where they wouldn't obstruct the flow of people. Serena stood even further out, behind us to our right. Though she appeared to be simply watching the festival, she was keeping tabs on people's hands, waists, and even the entrances of the alleyways.
When our eyes met, she offered a subtle nod of her chin.
...At times like this, she was genuinely reliable.
"You're not... late, I see."
"Yeah. More importantly, let's get one thing straight: you're paying for everything today."
Alecia paused for a moment, then gave a quiet laugh.
"...You really remembered, didn't you? After stating it so brazenly yesterday, I thought you might feel at least a little embarrassed by morning..."
"What do I have to be embarrassed about? Who issued the royal decree that made me drag three hundred men all the way to the royal capital, do you think?"
"All right, all right! I get it! I understand! I'll pay today! So please don't start tallying up the expenses for three hundred people right in the middle of the main street..."
Stepping out onto the main street, colored cloth hung on both sides of the road, and stalls lined up offering roasted meat, fish, sausages, pastries, and even fruit wine. There were also shops selling regional textiles and carved wooden toys; a sizable crowd had already gathered since morning.
"Heh... This is impressive."
"It's the Founding Festival, after all. Many merchants come from the provinces. Some people transport goods specifically for this season, and inns and taverns get very busy."
As Alecia explained this, her eyes weren't just taking in the stalls. She was observing the road's congestion, the patrolling soldiers, and even how the wagons were parked.
"...Are you working even when you come to a festival?"
"I don't intend to work the entire time... but I want to see whatever I can with my own eyes. Just from the papers arriving at the royal palace, you can't tell whether the streets are truly easy to navigate, can you?"
"Being a king really is a pain."
"I don't want to hear that from a duke."
Even as she said that, Alecia's gaze stopped at a stall right beside us.
Meat was sizzling over charcoal.
"All right, let's eat."
"...Wasn't that switch a bit too fast?"
"Working constantly won't fill your stomach, will it? Boss, give us two meat skewers!"
"Coming right up!"
Alecia took out her coin purse and handed some coins to the shopkeeper. Seeing her take the change herself, I inadvertently stared at her hands.
"Oho... You can actually pay for things yourself."
"What's with that phrasing? Even I can do basic shopping, you know."
"I thought once someone became king, the people around them did everything. If you hand over the money yourself, you can learn what the commoners are paying for and how much. I see... this counts as royal experience too."
"Don't sound so condescending!"
The Imperial Guards all averted their gazes simultaneously.
I took a bite of the meat skewer.
"Delicious...!"
The aroma of charcoal and savory fat burst throughout my mouth. It was far better than I expected.
"Alecia! Let's get those sausages over there too! Also, that chicken skewer stall next to it looks promising."
"You've suddenly started enjoying this immensely, haven't you...?"
"Of course I have! A top-four finish is guaranteed, and not a single coin is leaving my wallet today!"
"...It's not free! I'm the one paying for it!"
"From my perspective, it's totally free, isn't it?"
Alecia made an indescribable face before ultimately laughing.
◇
I ate meat, devoured sausages, and even got her to buy me sweetened nuts.
It felt like it had been ages since I could eat whatever I wanted without holding back.
"If you're going to eat with such joy, shouldn't you indulge yourself a little more regularly? You're not a count anymore, you're a duke, you know?"
"Even for a duke, money is finite, you know? While fixing roads in my domain, I have to feed my troops... Plus, we need arms and armor, and I have to pay wages to the people at the estate. If I served lavish meals every day for myself as well, no amount of money would ever be enough."
Alecia looked at me with a slightly surprised expression.
"Is that so...? What do you usually eat?"
"Not much different from the people at the estate... If it's meat, then meat; if it's stew, then stew. If there's anything different about me, it's just drinking alcohol at night."
"That's unexpected... I thought you laid out extravagant feasts every single day."
"I have my dream of a life of decadence, after all. What's the point if I run out of money before making that dream come true? While I can, I need to save as much as possible."
After a brief pause, Alecia smiled softly.
"You're truly sensible in the strangest ways, aren't you? Not suddenly changing your lifestyle just because you became a duke..."
"What do I gain from only me eating expensive meals? Delicious food is something best enjoyed once in a while. Though I do want my alcohol, of course."
Today was one of those "once in a while" occasions. And Alecia was footing the bill.
There wasn't a single reason to hold back.
"Next is that one."
"You're still eating!?"
"It's free, after all."
"I told you, I'm the one paying!"
This time, even one of the Imperial Guards had their shoulders trembling with suppressed laughter.
◇
Once we broke out of the crowd, something suddenly came to mind.
"Come to think of it, what's Regnard doing right now?"
Alecia's pace slowed just a fraction.
"He hasn't made any noticeable moves so far... but having lost his right of succession, he can no longer contest the throne like before, and I hear he's living quietly at his estate in the royal capital."
"What? Has that guy mellowed out?"
"I wonder... I believe he has accepted the outcome. But I know full well that my elder brother isn't the type of person who can live without thinking ahead. If I cause this country to falter, he certainly won't sit idly by and watch."
There was no hostility in her voice. She was wary, yes, but that wasn't all. They were siblings, after all, so was that only natural?
"He really is a troublesome older brother..."
"...I'm sure my brother wouldn't want to hear that from you of all people, either."
I didn't quite get her point, but it seemed he wouldn't be trying anything anytime soon. That was good enough for me. Just then, Alecia turned her face toward a stall to the side. A man carrying a large basket was heading straight toward her.
"Hey, watch where you're looking. You'll bump into him."
Grabbing her shoulder, I pulled her toward me.
The basket passed right beside us.
"..."
Looking to my side, Alecia was strangely close. Her hair almost brushed against my shoulder, and her blue eyes were right there.
...She was close. Looking at her up close like this, she really was beautiful.
"...What is it?"
"No... just thought you were close."
Having said it aloud, it felt a little awkward. Alecia's cheeks were also slightly flushed.
"...You could show that you're at least a little conscious of me, you know?"
"If you get injured, I'll naturally be concerned, won't I?"
"That's not what I meant... Oh well, whatever."
This time, she gave a somewhat troubled smile.
◇
By evening, the lanterns suspended above the street began to be lit. My belly was full, and my money remained untouched... It was undeniably an unmitigated success.
When I sat down on a bench at the edge of the plaza, Alecia took a seat beside me.
"Aah... That was fun! It's been so long!"
Stretching her arms out, she looked completely different from the Queen seen in the royal palace.
"Have you really gone without a breather for that long?"
"Especially so after becoming king... People come in the morning, people come in the afternoon, and documents arrive at night. I'd love to go back and tell my past self, who thought I would have more freedom."
"...As I thought, being a king really isn't something anyone should aspire to."
"Which is why I said I don't want to hear that from you, a duke!"
"I treat titles as nothing more than decorations, anyway."
Alecia turned to look at me.
"Just because people started calling me a duke doesn't mean I suddenly got any smarter, right? When dropping the title of duke gets things done faster, I use it. That's all."
I turned my gaze to the festival streets. People heading home carrying their purchases... merchants packing up empty baskets... children laughing with full bellies.
"...Looking at this, doing things the way I've been planning all along is the right call."
"What do you mean?"
"Stabilizing the lives of the commoners. Building roads, reducing bandits, and making sure they can eat and work. If I do that, they'll produce goods, sell them, and earn money on their own, won't they? Then the gold coins flowing into my pocket will naturally increase as well. Instead of forcibly squeezing them dry and ruining them, having them earn over the long run is far more profitable. In other words, the completion of a perpetual motion machine."
Alecia's eyes widened slightly.
"...Even though you claim to only be talking about gold coins, the end result makes you sound entirely decent as a lord... You don't get drunk on your title, nor do you try to hoard luxuries for yourself alone."
"Wrong. I'm being frugal now so that I can live in luxury in the future."
"Even so."
Alecia watched me for a moment, then let out a small laugh.
"As I thought... there is no one more suitable to be my husband than you. It would be troublesome if the person standing beside the king thought even the crown was great and mighty... When I make a mistake, I'd hate to be told I'm right just because I'm the king! You would stop me normally, wouldn't you?"
"If it means I'll take a loss, I'll stop you as a matter of course."
"That's exactly why."
Following Alecia as she stood up, I also rose to my feet. At that moment, something soft pressed against my arm. Alecia was wrapping her arm around mine.
"...Hey. What are you doing?"
"Oh? I'm just taking the arm of the man I want as my husband."
She was distinctly closer than when I pulled her shoulder earlier... The soft sensation was pressing right against my arm, so expecting me not to be conscious of it was asking the impossible.
Noticing that, the corners of Alecia's lips curled up slightly.
"...Are you at least a little conscious of me now?"
"...Shut up. I have a dream of a life of decadence, you know."
"You're still talking about that?...Well then, include me in that—"
"Don't be ridiculous! Putting royalty into my life of decadence is something even I wouldn't do! That's the very definition of supreme disrespect!"
Alecia's eyes went wide.
"Even if you're fine with it, I'm not! Leaving my name in history is one thing, but getting remembered dishonorably as 'The Duke Who Dragged the Queen into a Life of Decadence' is the one thing I refuse! If some weird book is written about it hundreds of years later, I won't even be around to correct it!"
Alecia burst into uncontrollable laughter.
"Fufu... Then I'm separate from your life of decadence, aren't I?"
"How did you reach that conclusion?!"
"You just separated them yourself, didn't you?"
Damn it...!
I tried to retort, but no clever words came to mind. Looking satisfied, Alecia smiled and kept her arm linked through mine.
On the way back, along the lantern-lined street, Alecia spoke up.
"You're paying next year, you hear!"
"Why do I have to pay! Even today didn't come close to covering the cost of dragging three hundred men here!"
"That's completely different! I paid this year, so next year is your turn!"
"The way you say that makes it sound like it's already decided I'll be accompanying you next year too, doesn't it?"
Alecia fell silent for a single moment.
"...Would you hate that?"
Only that question sounded strangely sincere.
I recalled today's festival. The food had been delicious. My wallet hadn't taken a hit. The festival itself had been far more enjoyable than I anticipated.
On top of that—seeing Alecia laugh with a completely relaxed expression, looking so different from how she was at the royal palace, hadn't been bad at all.
"No... If it's like today, it's not bad at all."
A slight bit of pressure tightened around my linked arm.
"Then it's settled! Next year, you are definitely paying!"
"So why the hell do I have to be the one paying?!"
In the end, that was the one point I couldn't agree with until the very end. Walking along the lantern-lit street, I glanced to the side several times to see Alecia laughing happily.
She was close... The soft sensation was still pressed against my arm. Earlier, one could have claimed it was to avoid getting separated in the crowd, but the foot traffic had dwindled considerably by now.
...Well, whatever. It wasn't an immediate concern anyway. I had no intention of dragging royalty into a life of decadence, nor did I plan on leaving a disgraceful name in history.
"...What is it?"
"No. Nothing at all."
When I looked forward, Alecia gave a small chuckle beside me.
Even so, for some reason, I didn't feel like asking her to let go of my arm right now, and watching Alecia laugh happily beside me made shaking her off feel wrong.
Somehow, she seemed to be finding a way in through an entirely different route from my dream of a life of decadence—and that was just a tiny bit troublesome.