Six months have passed, including the processing of Kassandra.
　April, when Hercule turned thirty-two years old.
　It was exactly one year after the end of the series of wars with the Kingdom of Cerda.



"Mmm, chu......, mmm.......
"Gghhhh ...... gghhh ......

"...... what is this?

　When Lunalie walked into Hercule's office, she immediately frowned.
　Two women, buttocks thrust out and blindfolded, were hard at work licking the man's feet.

　One of the women was a slender, dark-haired woman named Alicia.
　The other is a lovely looking girl with chestnut hair, Sonia.

　Alicia is dressed in an unusually short bulgaron costume, and Sonia in a slave uniform.
　Around their necks is a collar like a dog's collar, which somewhat inhibits their breathing, and they both seem to be in pain.

　Their hips are raised high, and they are not wearing any underwear, which means that their private parts are fully visible.

　Alicia and Sonia shuddered as they heard the sound of Lunalie's entrance and noticed her voice.
　Their skin reddened from embarrassment, and Alicia's long ears quivered, while Sonia's dog ears and tail quivered.

　This may be why their tongues stopped moving for a moment.

"Nggghhh ......
"Geez, .......
"Who says you can't rest?

　When Hercule deliberately moved his toes, the two moaned in pain.
　Then he started moving his tongue again.

"Ah, Luna. Welcome home.

　Lunalie lives her life between Nova Lemuria Palace and Erstadt Castle in Hayastan.
　Until the other day, she was ruling the Kingdom of Hayastan in Erstadt Castle, and today she came back.

"Yeah, ......, and what's this?
"Listen. These guys caused a duel in the corridors of the palace.

　Sonia and Alicia don't get along.
　Their history of conflict began a year ago when Sonia cursed Alicia.

　After the marriage of Hercule and Sonia was decided and the various processes were settled, Sonia apologized to Lunalie, Alicia, and Nia.

　At least, Sonia thought she had said too much.
　Lunalie accepted the apology easily, and Nia accepted it reluctantly to save Hercule's face.

　However, Alicia was the only one who stubbornly refused to accept it.
　Apparently, she was very upset about being called a "b*tc*".

　In the Bulgarian language, the word "dog" is one of the greatest insults.

　Perhaps because of this cultural situation and her own personality, Alicia demanded that Sonia apologize more sincerely, even breaking her knees to apologize.

　Sonia was offended by this.

　Indeed, it was Sonia's outburst that started the whole thing.
　It was polite and reasonable for Sonia to apologize until Alicia was satisfied.

　But after she apologized, she said, "You haven't apologized enough. It is human nature to be annoyed when someone says to you in a high-handed manner, "You haven't apologized enough.

　The two men argued, fought, and even killed each other.
　If Hercule hadn't stopped them, they would have gone as far as killing each other.

　After that, the feud between Alicia and Sonia was never resolved. ......
　And so it is now.

　Incidentally, the reason for this duel was that both sides refused to give way.

　Basically, when two people meet in a hallway, the inferior side gives way to the superior side.

　For example, if Hercule and Carolina were to meet, Carolina would move to the corner of the hallway and bow until Hercule passed.

　In the case of Carolina and Scheherazade, since Carolina, the first to marry, is slightly higher, Scheherazade avoids her without bowing.

　If Carolina Scheherazade and Lunalie meet, it is Lunalie who avoids them.
　Lunalie is a lady-in-waiting, and the kingdom of Khayastan is a small country.

　If it is Lunalie and Alicia Sonia, Alicia Sonia is the one to avoid.

　Alicia is the daughter of the Krom clan, a clan of the former Kingdom of Bulgalon, and therefore Alicia is lower in the pecking order.
　Sonia is lower than Hayastan in terms of power, but they are both queens of the same kingdom, and she is Hercule's wife. In this case, the younger and newer Sonia would be lower.

　So far, there is no one who disagrees with this order.
　The question is who is higher, Alicia or Sonia?

　Alicia argues, "Since both of us are going to be side chambers, we are equal in that respect. And since she is the older one, Sonia should give it up. In the first place, she won the war with Sonia. The loser follows the winner.

　Sonia's argument was that she was the queen of the kingdom of Cerda, even though she was a concubine. Don't lump me in with the women of some nomadic tribe. And even if you're an old hand, there's not much difference. And I was defeated by Hercule, not Alicia by any means. If it were a one-on-one fight, I would be stronger than Alicia.

　So, let's see who's stronger, shall we?

　That's what happened.

　At first they stared at each other, then they argued, then they fought, then the servants and soldiers rushed to call Hercule, and when Hercule rushed in, both of them had drawn their swords.

　As a matter of course, drawing swords inside the Nova Lemuria Palace is not allowed.
　It was a clear violation of the law.

　Since it was impossible to judge his side wife (or to be more precise, his fiancée who was to become his side wife) as a criminal, the duel was deemed to have "never happened".

　But if no punishment is given, it will happen again.
　That's why Alicia and Sonia are being forced to perform a humiliating service.

　Both of them are proud, for better or worse, so this punishment is hard to bear.
　Sonia, in particular, is not used to this kind of thing, and she is crying so much that her blindfold is stained, and she is sobbing at times.

"That was another stupid thing to do.

　Then Lunalie sighed.
　Hercule nodded his head in agreement.

I'd like to know what you think. Here, Lunalie. Tell these stupid dogs more. That will punish them more.



　Alicia and Sonia shudder at the word "dog".
　Both of them are red in the face.

"Yeah?　Then ......

　Lunalie pondered for a moment, then said with a snort.

"Dogs can listen to their owners' commands. They don't bite each other on their own. ...... Rude to dogs. If you don't understand me, you're no better than a dog.

　As expected, Alicia and Sonia had to endure this.
　Both of them shivered slightly.

　Hercule nodded in satisfaction.
　Then he sighed.

The wedding is coming up.
"Isn't that why?
"Well, sure.

　A few days later, Hercule would be getting married to Alicia, and a week after that, he would be getting married to Sonia.

　First, his wedding to Alicia had been postponed in order to prioritize his wedding to Scheherazade, which was immediately followed by the war with the Kingdom of Cerda, which had been postponed for a long time.

　On the other hand, Sonia's wedding must be held as soon as possible in order to stabilize the rule of the Kingdom of Chellda.

　Incidentally, there was also a dispute about which wedding should be held first.

　It was Hercule's decision to have Alicia's wedding first.
　He thought that it would be too rude to put off the wedding of Alicia, since he had been putting it off for a long time.
　However, Hercule could be reasonably considerate if he wanted to be.

　Sonia was dissatisfied with this.
　A few years ago, Sonia would have complained directly to Hercule and expressed her dissatisfaction.
　However, Sonia, who had been trained in hierarchy for a while now, couldn't complain to Hercule and instead took out her hate on Alicia.

I'm sure it'll happen again, but what are you going to do?　We need to set a pecking order.
I'm not sure what to do.

　In the meantime, Hercule thinks that it is reasonable to put Sonia on top.
　Because the Kingdom of Chellda is more powerful.
　But that would make Sonia more uptight, and Alicia would hate Sonia more.

"Since it's too much trouble, I'm thinking that Alicia will be on top in even-numbered months and Sonia in odd-numbered months.
"That's a good idea.

　That's a good idea." "It's a bit of a postponement, but I think it'll cause the least trouble.

By the way, ......
What's up?
You are now officially the Emperor of the Lemurian Empire, the King of Hayastan, the King of Cerda, and the King of Bulgalon.

　The former Kingdom of Bulgalon is ruled as a vassal state.
　The former Kingdom of Bulgalon is ruled as a vassal state, but Hercule wanted to ascend to the throne of the Kingdom of Bulgalon in order to consolidate his rule.
　The king of the Bulgaron Kingdom is an elective monarchy, elected by the votes of the Bulgaron tribes, so it is easy to ascend to the throne with a little political maneuvering.

I congratulate you on that.
"That's unusual. ...... Well, I'll say thank you. So?
What are you going to do next?

　Well, there's only one problem to solve now that we've taken care of the Cerda Kingdom.
　Yes, the problem of the West.

　That's why Lunalie's question was not "What are you going to do? but rather, "What are we going to do? is closer.

I think the Kingdom of Edelna can be dealt with later, but the Papal problem needs to be solved as soon as possible. The longer the Church is left alone, the more serious the schism will become.

　The Messianic Church has already experienced many schisms.
　The Messianic Church has already experienced several schisms. In order to avoid creating new religious problems, the Lemurian bishopric must be restored.

But in order to do so, King Ludwig I of the Fulling Kingdom stands in the way. That man is the protector of the Pope and the Kingdom of Edelna.

　Currently, King Ludwig I is trying to unite the Duitsch region.
　Unfortunately for Hercule, this unification project seems to be going well so far, and he has already added a third of the region to his map.

"Well, fortunately for us, the man has no territorial ambitions for the Lemurian Empire. It's only natural, given the distance.

　In other words, if Hercule hadn't touched Edelna, Ludwig I wouldn't have made a move.
　And Ludwig I seems to be avoiding confrontation with Hercule as much as possible.

　He must be aware of the fact that the Lemurian Empire's power far exceeds that of the Fulling Kingdom.

　For a man who looks so bold, he's quite a coward.
　He is a cowardly man.

Our country is now a snake after swallowing a rabbit. We can't move until the Kingdom of Chellda is digested. The same goes for the kingdom of Fulling, which is busy in the Duiche region. That's why we won't take direct military action, but will use political maneuvering to undermine the power of the Kingdom of Fuhring.

"...... cut down the lords, support the kingdom of Tretum, and unite the anti-Fullerling forces in the Duitsche region?

"You know exactly what I mean.

　You know exactly what I mean.

"But the Fulling Kingdom is surprisingly tightly knit. We can't break it down. We'll mainly be supporting the anti-Fullerling forces.

　And this is inextricably linked to the missionary activities of the orthodox Messianic and Mediumistic factions.
　Cecilia's cooperation is essential.

"What an abomination.

　Hercule said, then beckoned Lunalie to come to his side.

"What?
"Step over, Luna.

　Lunalie's cheeks flushed slightly.
　Lunalie gave a small nod and sat on Hercule's lap.



　Our lips touched.