What About Me?
It was during the monster subjugation campaign.
The young noblemen had all departed for the front lines, while the young noblewomen and their escort knights remained behind at Valdrova Castle.
What was there for the ladies to do?
Women who had never so much as gotten a drop of water on their hands could do little more than gather together in their rooms. Those who were particularly skilled with needlework embroidered the clothes of the young men they admired as a quiet expression of their feelings.
Whatever the case, after seeing the men off, they were left anxious and lonely.
Even if they believed in victory, the possibility of defeat never stopped whispering in their ears, shaking their hearts.
And for those who thrived by slipping into the cracks of wavering hearts, it was the perfect environment.
As fate would have it, one such being happened to be living in this castle.
"Boring."
Penelope muttered with an empty expression.
"I finally fulfilled the dream I'd always wanted to achieve in the mortal world... so why do I feel so little satisfaction?"
Her long-cherished ambition had been to create a garden.
She had even succeeded in filling it with precious, innocent young noblewomen, yet she felt no sense of accomplishment.
Of course she didn't.
All Penelope had really done was cast a net into a fish pond where the fish were already trapped, or spoon-feed herself food that had already been prepared.
"...Right."
A realization suddenly struck her.
"If I'm going to become a first-rate demon, I should be able to accomplish things with my own abilities!"
She clenched her fist in determination.
"Next time, I'll infiltrate the Imperial Palace and build a garden there!"
She never once considered the possibility of getting caught.
With that bold resolution, she wandered through the castle.
"Come to think of it... where am I?"
She had been strolling around so aimlessly that she'd completely lost track of her location.
Valdrova Castle was enormous.
Walking around without paying attention was practically asking to get lost.
On the other hand, that also meant she had stumbled upon a place she had never seen before.
"Is this... the audience chamber?"
The place where a king officially received his subjects.
Since it belonged not to an ordinary monarch but to a dragon, its scale rivaled that of an emperor's throne room.
"Now that I think about it, I've never actually seen anyone use this place."
It was the throne Valdrova was meant to sit upon.
As Regent, Ferda had no right to occupy it.
He could easily have found a justification if he'd wanted to, but he refused. Instead, he preferred meeting visitors in the reception room or his office.
As a result, very few people knew what lay inside.
"Hmm..."
Penelope narrowed her eyes.
Curiosity sparkled within them.
"Maybe I'll take a little look."
Without the slightest hesitation, she opened the great doors and stepped inside.
"Whoa...!"
A gasp escaped her lips.
She had expected furniture covered in dust cloths and thick layers of dust since no one ever used the room.
Instead, the chamber was maintained impeccably.
If the chandeliers were lit, the entire hall would shine as brightly as midday.
Behind the throne stretched a majestic mural of a crimson dragon, painted with enough grandeur to intimidate any visitor.
"Now this is what you'd expect from a dragon! It's so extravagant! Why leave a place like this unused?!"
As she wandered through the audience chamber, her eyes settled on the throne.
She imagined herself sitting there.
It would surely feel incredible.
"Hmm..."
Once you want to sit down, the next thing you want is to lie down.
And if you want to lie down, you might as well sleep.
Her feet shuffled forward.
"Ah, whatever."
In the end, she surrendered to temptation.
She climbed the steps and plopped herself onto the throne.
"Oh...! Ooooooh!"
The instant her backside touched the seat, a thrill shot through her body.
"So this... is the air a king breathes?!"
It couldn't even be compared to the satisfaction she'd felt when creating her garden.
It was as though every craving she had ever harbored was finally being fulfilled.
Penelope recalled the past.
Why had she dared challenge her own mother, Sitri's Life Vessel?
Because she wanted to drive out that Great Demon and become Hell's new Great Demon herself.
The problem was that her plan had ended with "take over the Life Vessel somehow," so she wound up being chased by her mother instead.
Still, one thing remained unchanged.
Her ambition was very much alive.
Completely immersed in playing queen, she could no longer contain herself.
"Ohohoho! Attend me! Is no one there?!"
Her clear, ringing voice echoed throughout the audience chamber.
"From this very throne, I hereby declare the Kingdom of Penelope's Harem! Which fair maiden wishes to become the first concubine of this Great Demon Lady Penelope?!"
She delighted in imagining beautiful girls desperately pleading before her throne.
"You? Or perhaps you? It matters not. Come closer and let me..."
Her voice faltered.
"...Huh?"
The imaginary beauties surrounding her dissolved like smoke, and reality came rushing back.
Yet one figure remained.
Standing at the tip of her outstretched finger was a woman of ordinary build with crimson hair.
But there was nothing ordinary about the pair of horns upon her head.
Golden eyes.
Vertically slit pupils.
Even someone utterly lacking in perception would have recognized her instantly.
The mistress of this audience chamber.
The very dragon depicted in the mural behind the throne.
Valdrova.
Penelope had barged into the audience chamber without permission, sat on its throne, and was now pointing directly at its rightful owner.
"U-Um..."
Her slender finger slowly curled back into itself.
Her posture stiffened into a respectful bow.
"Ah... hahaha!"
She burst into exaggerated laughter as if nothing at all had happened.
"W-Well then... terribly sorry about this! I was just wandering around without knowing where I was going, and before I knew it I'd ended up somewhere far above my station, talking to myself and everything!"
She cautiously tried to slip past Valdrova.
"Then... if you'll excuse this humble one!"
Just as she was about to dash past Valdrova's shoulder—
"Wait."
She never made it to the doorway.
One simple word.
Only a single syllable.
Yet her body refused to move another inch.
It felt as though the flow of mana, her heartbeat—everything—had been seized in an invisible hand.
For the first time in her life, Penelope truly understood.
So... this is what a dragon is.
Looking at Penelope, who was trembling like a prairie dog frozen in place, Valdrova quietly said,
"Can we... talk for a moment?"
At that instant, Penelope instinctively understood what was about to happen.
Zed... I'm going on ahead.
She left her silent last words.
Thanks for the money. I got to meet so many wonderful people because of it. I can't pay you back in this life, but when you come to Hell, I'll repay you then. ...Wait, if I go to Hell, I'll probably die there too.
Penelope lamented inwardly.
Damn it... If I'd known this was coming, I would've just spent every last coin.
***
Ten minutes earlier, Valdrova Castle.
It's quiet.
Valdrova walked through the castle.
Normally she would have been clad in armor, but today she wore a dress.
Since the Spring Festival, she'd slowly begun allowing herself to walk around the castle without armor.
Even so... meeting people is still difficult.
Ironically, the person Valdrova found hardest to face was Ferda.
His kindness, his attentiveness, the way he always considered her feelings...
Those very qualities frightened her, making her worry that she might let her guard down.
So she deliberately wandered through the parts of the castle where people rarely visited.
Her route eventually led her to the audience chamber.
This is... where I was supposed to sit.
Back when she had first become engaged to the Third Prince, she had only one throne made.
She had never intended to rule this land herself.
That seat had always been meant for the Third Prince.
Though she had inherited the title of Princeps, she believed it was better for the prince to reign than for someone like herself, who felt she had accomplished nothing.
The Third Prince would rule.
And Valdrova would stand beside him as his devoted wife.
That had been her dream.
But...
Reality had not unfolded that way.
On the very night the Third Prince arrived in the Principality, he looked at Valdrova and said,
"So you're going to babble about love? Figures. You're nothing more than a watchdog after all."
The gentle demeanor he'd shown that morning had vanished without a trace.
Instead, he scowled and hurled those cruel words at her.
"I only came here to use you. I was going to butter you up a little, then put a dog's collar around your neck. Did you really think I'd ever love you? You're nothing but the Butcher of the Dragon-Human War. A dog should know its place."
He spat out those cruel words without hesitation.
There was no doubt that some kind of magic had compelled him to speak them.
But that changed nothing.
Those words were still the Third Prince's true feelings.
The moment she heard them, her blood boiled.
Valdrova could no longer contain the storm raging inside her.
In the end, she killed the Third Prince with her own hands.
Once again, she had failed to overcome herself.
Once again, she had taken someone's life.
She loathed the part of herself that had lost all reason.
She convinced herself that she didn't deserve happiness.
Even so...
A tiny, selfish part of her still wished for one more chance to be happy.
If I'm wrong this time too...
Then, for everyone's sake, I'll give up on ever dreaming of happiness again.
And then...
The last person to reach out to her was that man.
"It's a pleasure to meet you... my heart."
Ferda was the complete opposite of the Third Prince.
From the very first moment they met, his clear eyes looked directly at Valdrova.
He didn't seem like a man who sought marriage in order to rule.
He seemed like someone who wished to rule so that he could marry.
Why couldn't I have met someone like him from the beginning?
If only I'd met Ferda sooner...
Maybe I wouldn't have become so afraid of meeting people.
Maybe I could've found the courage to help Mr. Ferda more.
Maybe we could've accomplished so much more together...
I want to overcome this fear.
I want to be someone who can stand beside him and help him.
That was Valdrova's heartfelt wish.
"Ohohoho!"
...
...
...
Just then, laughter suddenly echoed through the halls.
It was definitely coming from beyond the door.
What's that?
Valdrova cautiously entered the audience chamber.
There she found a pink-haired demon sitting on the throne, completely immersed in role-playing.
That's... the girl Mr. Ferda brought here, isn't she?
Penelope.
A demon.
Luri had told her Ferda kept her around because she played an important role, though Valdrova wasn't exactly sure what that role was.
Her?
No matter how she looked at her, Penelope seemed more like a mischievous child than anyone important.
"You? Or maybe you? It doesn't matter. Come here and let me..."
Then Penelope pointed straight at her.
"...Eh?"
She froze.
After that, Penelope awkwardly tried to sneak away.
But Valdrova wouldn't let her.
"Wait."
Normally, she would have pretended not to notice and let the person leave.
Yet, for some reason, she couldn't simply let this one go.
Without even understanding why, she said,
"Could we... talk for a moment?"
***
Penelope and Valdrova sat side by side on a bench bathed in pale blue moonlight.
Both of them sat quietly.
Neither spoke.
I want to run away.
Penelope felt as though she were sitting on a cushion of thorns.
She usually followed her instincts without hesitation, but somehow, she couldn't bring herself to move.
Desperate to escape the suffocating silence, she finally forced herself to speak.
"I've committed an unforgivable crime."
"...But now that I think about it, maybe I haven't. All I did was sit on the throne, right? That's not exactly a capital offense."
"No... Actually, after thinking it over, it probably is a capital offense. Especially considering I just kept rambling afterward!"
"Haha... I really got carried away, didn't I? I'll shut up now."
For Penelope, the saying 'The mouth is the gateway to disaster' fit all too well.
Silence settled over them once again.
With every passing second, it felt as though her heart was slowing to a stop.
"Um..."
"Y-Yes?!"
This time, Valdrova spoke first.
"I... I didn't ask you here just to scold you for coming in."
"R-Really? Ah, of course! Someone as generous and compassionate as Lady Valdrova would surely forgive the mistake of an insignificant nobody like me!"
"...There was just something I wanted to ask."
"Something you're curious about?"
A way out.
Penelope's face brightened as she thumped her chest.
"This Penelope will answer anything within her power!"
"Then..."
"...What's this Harem Kingdom you were talking about?"
"...Eh?"
Penelope immediately found herself facing the greatest obstacle imaginable.
It wasn't exactly an easy question to answer to another woman.
Especially after she'd just pointed at Valdrova and tried to recruit her into said harem.
"W-Well... a harem is... basically polygamy."
"Polygamy? What's that?"
"It means one man having multiple wives. You could say it's the kind of dream many men have."
"...Huh? I thought you were a woman."
"I am."
"Then... what does that even mean?"
...Good question.
A harem full of women.
She pictured herself surrounded by countless beautiful girls.
What exactly would they even do?
Maybe... have tea parties together?
"Oh! What I actually meant was that I'd build a Harem Kingdom for Lady Valdrova!"
"But... I'm a woman."
"Women can absolutely have a harem of women!"
"I see..."
Valdrova imagined herself happily chatting together with all those women.
For some reason, the image made her heart feel light.
It almost felt like she'd become one of the refined noble ladies she'd always admired.
"So... a Harem Kingdom is a good thing?"
"Y-Yes! O-Of course it is!"
Penelope was certain Valdrova had misunderstood something.
But now was hardly the time to correct her.
She simply laughed awkwardly.
"Hahaha..."
"Since you're Sitri's daughter..."
"That makes you a demon of lust, right?"
"Y-Yes..."
"Then... you know a lot about men?"
To Penelope, men were about as significant as rocks lying by the roadside.
She normally paid them no attention.
The only time they mattered was when she tripped over one and got annoyed.
Unless someone was exceptionally handsome like Zed, they were all the same to her.
"I know what makes a woman attractive!"
She deftly sidestepped the question.
"What makes a woman attractive..."
Oddly enough, that answer seemed to satisfy Valdrova.
She gently touched the part of her jaw that wasn't hidden beneath her mask.
Just as Penelope nervously wondered whether she'd stepped in something she shouldn't have—
"So... you really understand women?"
"Absolutely! I know exactly what kind of beauty drives men crazy!"
"I see..."
Valdrova fell silent for a moment, deep in thought.
Then—
"All right."
She nodded.
Though her voice carried the weight of a great decision, what she actually did was incredibly simple.
She reached up...
...and removed the mask she had always worn.
For the first time, she revealed her bare face.
Then, with a shy, almost nervous expression, she asked,
"What... do you think of me?"
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