The meeting with King Maxim finished in about ten minutes.
Although he seemed to want to talk more, his son Leonard stopped him, and Kousuke canceled.
He didn’t seem to be in much pain, so it felt like he could have talked more, but it’s also possible that his body was overly excited because of our visit.
It was decided that it would be better not to push him unnecessarily.
After leaving King Maxim’s private room, Kousuke and his companions returned to the room where they had been waiting earlier.
Since Leonard also entered with them, it seemed he had intended to do so from the beginning.
Kousuke and his companions are not the type to get angry about meeting only for a short time with a sick person, but the royal family also has a reputation to uphold.
Even though it was a meeting that Floria had requested, it would not look good to the outside world if they were sent away after such a short time.
Furthermore, there was the implication of concealing King Maxim’s condition by having Leonard attend him for an extended period.
The waiting room (?) where Kousuke and his companions were led was close to King Maxim’s private room, so it was suitable in that respect as well.
Sensing these hidden circumstances, Kousuke and his companions settled into their seats and began talking with Leonard.
The first to break the silence was Floria, King Maxim’s niece and Leonard’s cousin.
“I was quite surprised. No offense, but you looked worse than I expected.”
Floria’s tone was not that of someone addressing the Crown Prince, nor was it that of the former Queen of Razek Amamiya.
Seeing King Maxim confined to his sickbed, she felt as if she were talking to her cousin, Leonard.
Leonard, without showing any concern, nodded slightly.
“Ah. That’s right.”
His eyes, rather than those of a Crown Prince, were those of someone looking at a cherished cousin.
Kousuke understood that Leonard was adjusting his speech to match Floria’s current emotional state.
Sensing Leonard’s demeanor, Floria sighed and continued.
“Given his condition, it must have been going on for a while, right? Yet, it doesn’t seem to have spread much outside?”
“Haha. You think so too, don’t you? I thought so myself until recently.”
To Leonard, who said this with a slightly lonely expression, Floria looked incredulous.
“…No one noticed?”
“Ah, yes. Can you believe it? Even the maids around him didn’t notice.”
To Floria’s surprise, Leonard nodded again, this time with a self-deprecating smile.
King Maxim’s poor health had gone unnoticed by almost everyone until very recently.
Even the doctor himself was surprised, not only by the fact that it had been going on for at least six months before it was discovered according to his diagnosis, but also by his own inability to realize it.
Leonard had believed King Maxim’s words that it was training to become king and had continued to handle official duties, and above all, it was the Prime Minister, his closest confidant, who had prompted it.
That Prime Minister was also surprised by King Maxim’s condition.
It seemed King Maxim had truly been bearing the burden of his illness all by himself.
When Leonard learned of this, he was conflicted, wondering why he hadn’t been told and contemplating that this must be what it means to become king.
Sensing Leonard’s inner turmoil, Floria, from her experience as queen, could only nod.
“…I see. As expected of the son of that old man.”
“…That’s right.”
At Floria’s words, Leonard showed a small smile.
King Philip, the former king, had always shown a strong demeanor to his grandchildren until the very end, making this comparison even more understandable.
Sensing the somber mood, Kousuke and Silvia deliberately refrained from joining the conversation between the two.
They felt it would be better for those who were close to them to talk together.
However, perhaps thinking that Floria’s words had faltered, Leonard turned his gaze to Kousuke.
“…It has been a long time since we last met. Thank you for coming all this way for my father.”
Leonard’s address to Kousuke was entirely that of the Avatar.
However, Kousuke felt that there was a sense of familiarity in it, and it was probably not his imagination.
Kousuke bowed respectfully to Leonard.
“Not at all. This time, it was Floria’s wish.”
“Is that so? Still, I believe my father would have been pleased to meet with the Avatar.”
“Is that so? If so, then that’s good.”
The conversation between the two at this point was conducted without regard for external appearances.
Normally, if the Avatar were to visit a king of a country directly, it would cause quite a stir.
However, this matter was, for the most part, known only to a limited number of people.
Furthermore, since it was framed as visiting an acquaintance, there should be no further complications… or so it was thought.
However, even if complications were to arise, there was no route to contact Kousuke and his companions directly, so there was no problem at all.
Sensing that the atmosphere had changed after Leonard greeted Kousuke, Silvia, who had been silent until then, nudged Kousuke’s arm.
“Yes. I understand.”
Kousuke nodded at Silvia’s signal, while Floria and Leonard tilted their heads at the obvious exchange.
Seeing their reactions, Kousuke paused for a moment before speaking.
“–I would like both Floria and His Highness Leonard to listen to this without misunderstanding…”
As Kousuke paused again to confirm, Leonard nodded, and Floria frowned.
Kousuke’s cautious demeanor was not unusual, but for Floria at that moment, it felt subtly different from usual.
Kousuke looked alternately at Floria and Leonard, then glanced at Kouhi.
Sensing Kousuke’s intention, Kouhi immediately erected a small barrier in the area.
Only Leonard and the four of them were within the barrier.
Although the escort knights were in the room, they were excluded from it.
Since Kousuke was the Avatar and his cousin Floria was present, the security was kept to a minimum.
The guards attempted to move when Kouhi used magic, but Leonard, knowing who she was, stopped them, preventing them from approaching further.
However, even Leonard did not understand why Kousuke had instructed Kouhi to erect a barrier with such intensity.
“This seems to be a barrier of concealment, but is there a particular reason for doing this?”
Leonard cautiously surveyed the surroundings as if confirming the barrier.
Floria also tilted her head, not understanding why Kousuke had suddenly done something like this.
“Kousuke? What’s going on?”
Given that Kousuke had gone to such lengths, using Kouhi to set up such a strict barrier, Floria understood that something out of the ordinary had occurred.
However, she found it strange that she didn’t know the reason, even though Silvia seemed to.
Looking at Silvia, Kousuke relayed to the two what he had felt before facing King Maxim.
“Regarding the room where the King was, it seems some kind of magic was being used.”
At Kousuke’s words, Floria and Leonard’s expressions changed in an instant.
Floria and Leonard, feeling a sense of nostalgia and a hint of loneliness about various things.
And Kousuke, ending with a suggestive remark.
To be continued in the next installment! lol
