ITIF SS 7

What Never Changes

“It’s simple.”

He answered while spreading butter on a small piece of bread.

“Simple, you say?”

Giselle Grante’s head tilted involuntarily.

“I just clearly showed them exactly how much I cherish and love you, Giselle.”

The moment she heard those words, Giselle Grante’s face flushed bright red.

Things had changed quite a bit recently. But considering Kavelaseth’s past personality, this was an impossible occurrence.

The idea that he had verbally conveyed to someone other than herself—to her family, no less—how much he loved and cherished her was unimaginable.

Cooling her heated, reddened cheeks with the back of her hand, she asked again.

“……Is that the entirety of your secret method?”

Kavelaseth, who seemed to ponder for a moment, pushed a buttered piece of bread into her mouth and said.

“I don’t think I did anything particularly special besides that.”

Chewing on the freshly baked, fragrant bread, Giselle Grante nodded slightly.

‘Well……’

Her family loved Giselle Grante dearly.

If they learned that Kavelaseth loved her just as much as they did, there would be no reason to oppose their marriage.

Having finished organizing her thoughts, Giselle Grante looked at him.

When their eyes met, Kavelaseth’s gaze curved into a gentle line.

His expression seemed to say she was so pretty eating well.

‘He always looks at me with those eyes, so there was no room for doubt.’

Giselle Grante nodded once more.

Pushing the now-empty plate to one side of the table, Kavelaseth spoke.

“Giselle. I also have something I want to ask you. Now seems like a good opportunity.”

“What is it?”

“I’ve been thinking about it. Trinity, Giselle Grante.”

“…….”

“Which of the two you’d prefer I call you. What form of address you’d like to hear. I’ve wanted to ask you that at least once.”

Giselle Grante shrugged her shoulders and said brightly.

“Either is fine with me.”

Had her explanation been insufficient?

Even at her answer, Kavelaseth furrowed his handsome brow slightly.

“What do you mean by that?”

To Kavelaseth’s question, Giselle Grante added quietly.

“Actually, something like a name doesn’t really have any meaning.”

In truth, based on outward appearance alone, calling her Giselle Grante would be correct.

But regardless of outward appearance, the contents within remained unchanged.

Whether Trinity, Giselle Grante, or even someone else entirely, she was still herself.

It meant her consciousness never changed. Absolutely never.

Kavelaseth, who had kept his mouth shut for a moment as if pondering, murmured with an expression of understanding.

“……I see.”

Giselle Grante gently placed her hand on top of Kavelaseth’s hand on the table.

He immediately turned his hand over and interlaced his fingers between hers.

And while softly caressing her hand, he whispered quietly.

“It looks like you’re done eating now.”

Kavelaseth’s red eyes, which had been staring intently at her face as if nailed there, glanced toward the bed.

****

Even though he was incredibly busy, Kavelaseth consistently made time to spend with Giselle Grante.

Sometimes it was limited to having dinner and conversation, but generally they spent intimate time in the bedroom.

At other times, under the pretense of incognito inspections with minimal escort, the two would go out together to the busy streets.

As their shared time and memories accumulated, they learned new things about each other they hadn’t known before.

The two would often converse about current topics or things they saw before them, and right now, a wandering traveler was delivering a storytelling performance in front of them.

“Ah, yes! Have I told you about when I traveled to Ernesto?”

The passersby who had been listening attentively to the wandering traveler’s story shook their heads.

He then puffed up a bit and pointed his finger toward the edge of the square, adding.

“Ahem! Then I must tell that story. From here, if you go this way! Straight south, you’ll reach the Kingdom of Ernesto. That place is…….”

Giselle Grante’s steps slowed a bit.

Perhaps because she seemed interested in the wandering traveler’s story?

Kavelaseth immediately led her to a nearby bench.

“Are you interested in the Kingdom of Ernesto?”

Around the time the wandering traveler’s storytelling was nearly finished, Kavelaseth asked.

“I’m not entirely uninterested. More than that, have you been there, Kavel? To the Kingdom of Ernesto?”

“I’ve been there a few times. What about you?”

“Now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve been outside the imperial palace much…….”

She blinked slowly at Kavelaseth’s question, then quickly added.

“……Oh, right! I’ve been to the west.”

“What did you do there?”

“Just…… I think I went on business.”

Her voice was quite calm, but she couldn’t stop her expression from contorting.

Kavelaseth, who had been carefully observing her expression, soon muttered as if to himself.

“It must not have been a pleasant memory.”

From that, Giselle Grante realized he knew about her past.

She had once been forced to kneel before the chieftain of the barbarians.

However, since it hadn’t been made public, more people didn’t know about it than did.

Kavelaseth apparently wasn’t one of them.

“Where else have you been?”

“Nowhere. I haven’t been anywhere.”

When Giselle Grante shook her head, Kavelaseth asked meaningfully.

“You’ve never traveled even once?”

“No.”

Giselle Grante bit into the apple she was holding with a crisp sound.

Looking back, the trip to the western part of the empire on the Emperor’s orders had been the farthest she’d traveled in her life.

Of course, after becoming Giselle Grante, she could move around a bit more freely, but that didn’t mean she was in a carefree position to travel here and there every season.

She had things to do.

She had to take revenge on those who killed Trinity, and that revenge had just been completed.

She had no purpose after the revenge ended.

If Kavelaseth hadn’t extended his hand to her, asking her to become Empress when she felt empty and hollow…….

For a while after the revenge ended, she was overwhelmed just trying to keep up with the complex and rapidly changing emotions that swept through her.

She had only now found stability.

“I’ve never traveled, but would that be a problem?”

She asked while taking another bite of the sweet apple.

“Not exactly, but…….”

Uncharacteristically, Kavelaseth trailed off. Lost in thought perhaps, he gazed into the distance in silence for a while.

“……?”

Giselle Grante was about to ask what he was thinking about so deeply but soon stopped.

The sunset happened to be too beautiful just then.

****

After returning from outside the imperial palace, Giselle Grante couldn’t see even a strand of Kavelaseth’s hair for several days.

She asked Count Preston, the Emperor’s closest aide and assistant, for the reason, but he only repeated the same words.

[…..My apologies, His Majesty is extremely busy at the moment.]

And when she could see his face again, she was a bit shocked. In just a few days, his face had become quite gaunt.

“If something’s going on, will you tell me about it? If there’s anything I can help with, I want to help.”

“Good.”

Kavelaseth continued with an expression as if he’d been wanting to hear those words from her.

“Can you spare some time for me? A few days or so.”

“Of course!”

Giselle Grante nodded without a moment’s hesitation.

If she could be of help to him, that would be truly wonderful.

His eyes, which had looked even sharper due to becoming gaunt over the past few days, curved into gentle lines.

Kavelaseth pulled her into a tight embrace as if caging her. He seemed very pleased with her answer.

The moment she moved her lips, not knowing what to say, Kavelaseth spoke.

“Prepare to leave immediately tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow, immediately?”

When she asked with a bewildered face, Kavelaseth separated their pressed bodies. Then, observing her expression, he asked.

“Why, do you not want to?”

“That’s not it, but…….”

“If it’s because of work, don’t worry, Giselle, I’ll handle it so you don’t have to worry.”

****

When Kavelaseth asked if there was anywhere she wanted to go, Giselle Grante thought of the Duchy of Amaterasu.

She wanted to settle her affairs before the wedding.

However, there was a slight problem.

The distance from the capital to the Duchy of Amaterasu was quite far. It was absolutely not a distance that could be covered in just a few days.

Giselle Grante was worried the trip would be lengthy, but Kavelaseth readily nodded.

Even if it was a bit far, he suggested they pass through the Duchy of Cardia and the Kingdom of Ernesto on the way.

Since the Emperor and Empress were leaving the imperial palace simultaneously, the escort was selected from only the elite few.

And so the two set out on their journey, and they were on their way to their first stop, the Duchy of Cardia.

“……!”

Giselle Grante couldn’t take her eyes off the scenery visible beyond the carriage window.

She moved closer to the carriage window to get a better view.

“That appears to be a giant sequoia.”

When she turned her head, Kavelaseth, who had been resting with his eyes closed until just moments ago, was looking at her with half-opened eyes.

“Is that the name of that tree?”

Kavelaseth nodded and added an explanation.

“It’s known as the largest tree species in the world. And that is…….”

TL:

Unfortunately, I lack the three remaining side stories, if anyone is willing to rip the raws for me, I’d be really grateful.