I turned 16, a little while after Kite's wedding.
　Finally, I'm an adult.
　However, we haven't thrown a coming-of-age party in preparation for the Tri-nation Conference, so I haven't been officially recognized as an adult yet.

　Depending on the timing of the kingdom's war, when the council is over, we'll celebrate Sherry's coming of age and our marriage together.
　If the war drags on, or the kingdoms don't come to us, then the whole thing will be postponed.

　Going back to the Triumvirate Conference, the Triumvirate Conference starts in ten days.
　They'll all be here for a week or two.
　During that time, I have to serve the bigwigs from each country.

　And now I was having my last meeting with the emperor before the Triumvirate.
　In the conference room at Mladin Castle, the emperor, Cliff, Elise and their men, and I are there.
　It's been a long time since I've seen you because of this, Cliff. Cliff seems to be in good spirits now, but I'm sure he'll be busy assisting the emperor.
　He's as diligent as ever, which is a big relief for us.
　So, Cliff is in charge of the meeting today as well.

''I heard that lords and gentlemen from many countries will be arriving here as early as tomorrow, but is there any news that they have entered the Empire so far?
　What we're discussing now is the status of each country's progress.
　Slow or fast, the host city will have to react.

Yes, sir. The Church State was preceded by reports that the Pope's right-hand man, the Fontaine family, had entered the Empire . We have not yet received any reports from the kingdom.
　Mr. Cliff's question was quickly answered by Elise's man .
　The Fontaine family, that's a name I've heard somewhere: .......

''The kingdom is not going to come until the last minute . But still, isn't the House of Fontaine the house where the current saint is located? What do you want?
　The current saint?　Oh, you're the one who became a saint after you kicked Leena and her friends out .
　When it comes to that house, he seems to think that ...... Leena is a hindrance to him .

''No, I don't think there is any hostility. The House of Fontaine is a house that is known to be better than the Empire.
　Yeah, really. So unexpected.

The eldest daughter of the Fontaine family recently engaged to the next head of the Baudelaire family. I suppose we shouldn't be too alarmed.
　Oh, yeah. The Fontaine family is Frank's fiancée's house.
　I thought that name sounded familiar on the street. Frank, I hope you're getting along with your two fiancées: ......?

Right. Then I'll leave it to Leo to deal with the Fontaines, who arrived early. The saint will be with them, so let Shelley deal with the saint.

Yes. I understand.
　I nodded at the emperor's words.
　Because this is the job I've been entrusted with this time.

Now, regarding the kingdom, besides the king, will a princess and a brave man be allowed to participate in the Triumvirate Council?

'Yes, sir. Princess Elemenane, who was expected to be pregnant and not join us, has been reported to be on her way here with a brave soul.
　I see. Princess Hélène, recently pregnant. So it was supposed to be safe for her to not attend the Triumvirate Conference.
　I was wondering if I could talk to the kingdom properly without Princess Hélène. ...... It seems we're safe.

I'm sure you're right. You are in charge of the princess's safety.

Yes. I'll take care of it.
　To the Emperor's reassurances, I responded emphatically.
　Well, I don't think Hélène will be assassinated if Kite is here.

　After making one last check, I returned to my room.
I'm home.

"Happy coming of age, Leo!

'Wow!　Huh?
　When I entered the room, Shelly and the others, who were waiting at the door, hugged me.
　I was caught off guard and lost my momentum and fell down.

"Huh. Are you surprised?
　Leena, who's on top of me, asked happily.

"Yeah. You scared the hell out of me. Were you waiting at the door the whole time I was in the meeting?

That's right. Since this is the coming of age, won't you miss it if we don't celebrate it on our own?

'I'd like to say, though, that we were all sitting in our chairs earlier because we got tired of waiting. If you hadn't let me know that Bell was approaching us by scent, I would have missed it.
　Ha, I see. The meeting went on longer than expected.
　There was no way I was stuck at the door at that hour.
　I patted Belle on the head.

"Thanks, everybody.
　I got up and hugged the five of them together again.



You're welcome. So, yes. Our gift to you.

"Wow. Thank you. Here we go.
　Sherry gave me a palm-sized box.
　I took it and immediately inspected the contents.
　There's a beautiful, shiny magic stone inside.

Could it be that everyone's magic is inside the stone?
　The magic stone and Shelly, Leena, Belle, Lou and Elsie, I can feel the magic of all five of them coming from the magic stone.

After much consideration, this is the result.

No one, not even Leo, could build this!

Yeah. I couldn't build this one if I tried. I'll treasure it forever.
　Elsie's right, it's impossible .
　The amount of magic power contained in the magic stone is amazing, and I wonder if they spent a year or so preparing it ......?
　Really, best present ever.

Do you want me to build you something magical to do with it?

No, I'm gonna keep it for you. I'll feel you all around me wherever I am.
　I can't turn my gift into a magic item.
　I want to keep this one as a magical stone.

That would be nice.

I'm glad you like it.

Yeah. Thank you all so much for that beautiful gift.
　He put the magic stone in his pocket and kissed everyone as a thank you.

"Heh-heh-heh. Leo kissed me for the first time.

'Huh?　Come to think of it, haven't I kissed Lou before?
　I casually kissed Lou as well, as a casual flow, but come to think of it, it was my first kiss with Lou .
　Looking at Lou, who was unusually blushing, I wondered if this wasn't a good first kiss?　Or so I thought.

'Lou, he's surprisingly shy.

I was too embarrassed to tell you, wasn't I?

Shut up!
　Sherry and Elsie's words made Lou blush even more as she got angry.
　She's grown up on the outside, but Lou is still a kid .

''Haha. I'm glad we're all getting along so well.

That's because you've been living with them for nearly five years.

'Right. It's been five years since I met Lou: ......
　Time flies.

We're almost of age.

So you're finally going to get married.

'You're married: ....... It's hard to feel like you and Leo have been living together this long.
　Well, Belle, especially since she was with me.
　Lately, she's even gone from being a maid and master to seeing me as a lover.

Well, I think you'll feel it when you're married. Especially you, Shelly.

'What?　Why?

A legitimate wife should have an inheritance as soon as possible.

Yeah, well, you'll have to go to ...... and do your best.
　At Elsie's words with a grin, Shelly was blushing as she put her hand on her cheek.

'Well, well . . well, I guess you don't have to get so worked up about it. 'Yeah,'

Ha ha. Leo and Sherry are both red-faced!
　Shut up. I mean, you didn't blush just because he kissed you!

Oh, by the way, I think the Faithful are arriving tomorrow.
　Things got awkward, so I just changed the subject.
　Why don't you talk about it when I'm not around.

You're moving fast.

'Yeah . . but the Pope's men are just here first.

Yeah, that's why. Have you heard which house is coming?

Uh, ...... or did you say the Fontaine family. See, Frank's engaged.

I see. It's an imperialist aristocracy.

"Imperialists?

''Yes. There's an imperial faction in the Church State that wants to get along with the Empire and a kingdom faction of nobles that wants to get along with the kingdom.


　Come to think of it, it was said at the meeting that since he was a nobleman rather than the Empire, he wouldn't be hostile .
　By the way, you should have only been in the Church Country when you were little, but Leena remembers it well .

''That's right. Thank goodness you're the next Papal Imperialist.

That's not true. The Fontaine family has no qualms about killing their sister when it gets bad for them. You can't trust that family.

What?

My mother was killed by the Pope and his brother, the head of the Fontaine family.
　Wait a minute ...... I can't get my head around a sudden unexpected fact that jumped out at me.
　First of all, the head of the ...... imperialist Fontaine family killed his own sister because something was amiss .
　And that sister is Leena's mother: .......
　So you shouldn't trust the Fontaine family .
　I see. I understand.

'So it was: ....... Then I shouldn't trust the Church State either?
　Unlike the Kingdom, the Church State has nobles who want to get along with the Empire . I was happy until just now because I thought that ...... reality isn't so sweet.

''Yes. You shouldn't trust that place.''

Thanks for the tip.
　You've gone to great lengths to tell me things about your past that I would rather not remember.
　I need to make use of this information.
　As I held Lina tightly, I promised myself that I would.

No. ......

Hey. So, Leena shouldn't meet that ...... Fontaine family, right?
　As I was stroking Leena's head, Shelly asked me that in a reserved manner.
　Starting tomorrow, Sherry and Leena were supposed to be with me when I greeted the nobles.
　Moreover, the reception of the saints was going to be left to Sherry and the others.
　Yeah. It'll be hard on Sherry, but Leena can rest.

No. Don't worry about it. I don't think she's going to do anything. You're working as an imperialist now.

Yeah?

It's gonna be okay. You can't keep being scared, and you can't keep moving forward.

Yes, ...... I get it.
　He says he's going to do his best.
　It would be too much to interrupt him.

That's okay. If anything happens, I'll have your back!

Ha ha. As long as Lou's there to protect you, you'll be safe.
　Even I can't beat Lou now.
　True, it's beautiful, but it's just as scary.