After-Story Chapter 20: The Boisterous Everyday Life of the Kingdom of Euphoria (Part 1)

Some time after the continental reorganization was completed. Queen Jeanne and her consort and Prime Minister, Hakuya, were receiving guests in the audience chamber of Valois Castle, which adjoined the capital Valois in the Kingdom of Euphoria. This was the scheduled day for a meeting between the Kingdom of Euphoria and the Great Tiger Kingdom of Haan, which had been held many times before. The guests were the Great Tiger Kingdom’s administrator, Lumière, and General Shuukin, but…

“I have seen you several times at the summit, but this is the first time I’ve had the honor of greeting you like this!”

Today, their voices were mixed with one full of enthusiasm. A young man stood beside Lumière, clasped his hands in front of him, and bowed to Jeanne.

“My name is Kasen Shuri. I serve as Vice General under Lord Shuukin in the Great Tiger Kingdom’s military, and as an assistant under Administrator Lumière. Please allow me to introduce myself, Lady Jeanne!”

The one who spoke was Kasen, the young warrior renowned as the ‘Tiger’s Crossbow’ under Fuuga’s banner. He had a youthful face that made him look younger than his age, and his lively words made him seem like an energetic, promising young man. Moreover, the deep respect and admiration he held for Shuukin and Lumière shone through in every word, reflecting his sincerity.

Seeing Kasen stand beside Lumière and announce himself with such confidence, Jeanne was…

“…”

She was speechless. The guest had formally introduced himself, and as the host Queen, she should have said something, but an awkward silence ensued. Until a moment ago, Jeanne had greeted Lumière and the others with her usual expression. However, when Kasen began to introduce himself, she first looked back and forth between Kasen and Lumière, then she lowered her head and seemed to be trembling slightly.

“…Is something the matter, Your Majesty?” Hakuya, standing beside her, asked with concern.

Jeanne then lifted her face. “You…”

“You?”

“You did it, Lumi!” she suddenly shouted.

Lumière, called out of the blue, widened her eyes. “What is it, Jeanne, all of a sudden!?” Lumière retorted, instinctively dropping her formalities.

Jeanne stood up from her throne and strode toward Lumière, pointing at Kasen, who was staring at them with wide eyes.

“Lumi, you actually have such a sincere, innocent-looking, obviously younger man attending you?!”

“Eh, are you talking about Lord Kasen?”

“Yes! He’s younger, honest, and a handsome young man who purely looks up to you! Lumi, don’t you remember what you said back when you were in the Officers’ Academy!?”

“I said… Ah.” Lumière, who had been contemplating, suddenly looked stunned as something occurred to her. Then, in the next instant, her face flushed crimson as if a bomb had gone off. She then looked at Jeanne in a panic. “Jeanne! You remember that time!?”

“Of course I remember! It was a fun conversation from the days we spent as carefree friends without any obligations! I can recall every word of it!”

“Forget it! I wish I hadn’t remembered it!”

Jeanne and Lumière. They were once friends who supported Empress Maria’s rule, and at the same time, they became enemies due to ideological differences. But long before that, back in their Officers’ Academy days, before Lumière transferred to civil administration due to an injury, they were close friends. Since both were talented and beautiful, they received a significant amount of attention from boys during their student days.

However, while Jeanne’s status as Empress Maria’s younger sister made her such a lofty beauty that no one dared to approach her, Lumière was seen as ‘a beautiful woman who was realistically attainable compared to Jeanne,’ and was frequently approached by men.

She was particularly fixated upon by arrogant, older men from the upper class who were overly confident. Moreover, it was often transparent that these men were interested in her title as ‘beautiful and talented’ rather than Lumière herself, clearly viewing her as a tool for their own advancement. This caused Lumière to develop a strong dislike for older men.

One day, after rejecting an upperclassman’s advances for the umpteenth time, Lumière was having lunch at a café terrace and venting her frustration to Jeanne:

“Ugh, why are they so damn self-confident? They’re my equal in family background, and their ability is far below mine, yet they act superior just because they’re older! It’s astounding!”

“You’re quite worked up today, Lumi,” Jeanne said with a sigh. “Was he that unpleasant?”

“He was the worst. I politely declined, but he ignored it and persisted. Even when I clearly refused, he gave me a look like, ‘I can’t believe you rejected my offer’? Just how self-assured can one be? Ugh, I never want to age like that.”

“Age… they’re only one or two years older than us,” Jeanne said, astonished.

Lumière threw her body onto the table and grumbled, “If being older makes you feel entitled to patronize, then that’s senility enough. Seriously the worst. Older men really aren’t for me.”

“Honestly. That’s why rumors say you have a preference for younger men, you know?”

“That’s fine. It’s a baseless rumor anyway, since younger guys don’t hit on me at all.”

The capable Lumière was targeted by older men who saw her as a career boost, but younger men, conversely, found her intimidating. Thus, few junior men approached her. Lumière made no effort to hide her displeasure, angrily stabbing a fish fry on her plate with a fork.

“Maybe I should just awaken my preference for younger men for real.”

“Oh, come on…”

“If there was a handsome young man who was younger, honest, and purely looked up to me, I would definitely want him as my partner. Oh, and preferably a strong officer rather than a civilian would be nice.”

“I’m already worried you’ll miss your chance at marriage, Lumi,” Jeanne said with a sigh.

This was their memory from their student days. Jeanne remembered this conversation, and Lumière was now having her own words thrown back at her by Jeanne.

Queen Jeanne pointed at Kasen and spoke to Lumière. “A handsome young man who is younger, honest, and purely looks up to you! And an officer serving as Vice General! What, you actually caught your ideal partner!”

“Ugh… I admit Lord Kasen fits the description! But is this the time to bring it up!?”

“I apologize for that! But I was worried about my friend, who broke ranks with me over an ideal, and who I thought was struggling while shouldering the nation of Fuuga’s heir. To think she found her ideal partner and is doing so well! It made me feel stupid for worrying! It’s like a mix of ‘Congratulations!’ and ‘I’m not convinced’ all muddled up!”

“Besides, you don’t even know what Lord Kasen thinks of me!” Lumière shouted.

At that moment, Kasen’s eyes widened, and he replied, with a slight blush, “U-Um… I admire you, Administrator Lumière.”

“…” “…”

Jeanne and Lumière exchanged glances for a moment, and then Lumière’s face flushed crimson again. At Lumière’s expression, which Jeanne had never once seen during their student days, Jeanne was overcome by so many emotions that her smile became serenely gentle, as if she had reached Nirvana.

“Congratulations. I bless you, Lumi.”

“Stop with that gentle, ‘I understand everything’ smile! You just happened to marry a dependable, older husband yourself!”

“Hey! Don’t turn your embarrassment toward me!”

“I won’t be the only one embarrassed! I’m going to tell your beloved Lord Hakuya just how much this girl admired older, adult men back then!”

“Stop it, I said!”

The two completely forgot their statuses—former colleagues, former enemies, and current political leaders of the Kingdom of Euphoria and the Great Tiger Kingdom—and argued like students again. While the content was reassuring, given their strained past, it felt far too cozy for a bilateral meeting.

Thus,

“Ahem.” “Ahem.”

“?!“

Hakuya and Shuukin’s throat-clearing immediately silenced the argument. With the room quiet, Hakuya spoke.

“The story of Your Majesty’s preference for older men is extremely fascinating, and I would certainly like to request time later to hear the details…”

“Wait, Lord Hakuya!” Jeanne protested.

“However, to secure that time for conversation, let us first address the meeting.” Hakuya ignored Jeanne’s protest and proceeded.

Shuukin also nodded. “Yes. I will send Lumière and Kasen as a package later, so let’s start the negotiations.”

“Wait, Lord Shuukin!” “What do you mean, ‘send as a package’!?” Lumière and Kasen also protested, but Shuukin ignored them as well.

And so, with three of the five people present wearing disgruntled expressions, the bilateral negotiations began.