Her Lips

"Ah～, welcome back～"

Buried under a mountain of documents, Guinevere greeted Ria in the office.

Though fatigue showed on her face, her eyes alone sparkled with intensity. Ria had already heard from the court ladies that the queen had been staying up all night messing with her golems.

"Looks tough."

"Not really. When you're doing something you love, you forget all about being tired."

Indeed, that was probably true.

In her previous life, Ria had trained in swordsmanship while coughing up blood. And things like organizing laws were mentally exhausting work.

"I wanted to talk to you about something…"

"Sure, I was wanting a little break myself… Want to take a bath together?"

"Ah, sounds good."

These two may not look it, but they shared many similar hobbies and tastes. Loving baths was one of them.

The two entered a vast bathtub filled with hot water.

Dismissing the court ladies, they created a space for just the two of them.

Shizuna might feel danger to her person in this situation, but Guinevere knew she wasn't Ria's type.

Guinevere had her hair wrapped up in cloth, but Ria let hers drift freely in the water.

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

"It's about Carla."

Ria told her about Carla's behavior at Maradas Fortress.

"I see, that does sound like something that girl would do."

It didn't seem to be anything unusual to Guinevere.

Floating her large breasts in the hot water, she said something striking.

"Do you want that girl?"

Ria's breath caught.

Guinevere had guessed exactly what she was thinking. Had she really been making such a lustful face?

"If you're serious, you have to convey your feelings head-on. Clumsy tactics won't work. But if you face her sincerely—"

With her finger, the queen lifted a strand of Ria's hair.

"That girl will respond to you."

"I'm a woman, you know."

It was a bit late to say it, but Ria said it anyway. The queen simply laughed in response.

"So what?"

"You should understand this as a queen too. A relationship between two women is already unfruitful enough, and on top of that, she's a noble."

As the queen silently urged her to continue, Ria let out her feelings of helplessness.

"She has a duty to leave behind her bloodline, doesn't she?"

Even if Carla was called her wife, if someone else came along, she would have to let her go. Ria had always been prepared for that.

"Wrong. Not wrong, but wrong."

The queen smiled mysteriously, as if presenting a riddle. This attitude of knowing Carla better than anyone irritated Ria.

"What's wrong about it!?"

Ria raised her voice without meaning to.

Yes, she might as well admit it.

She was jealous of this woman.

Of this woman who knew Carla better than she did.

"To get that angry about it, you really must love that girl…"

She deflected Ria's intimidation with just a light shrug. What a remarkable woman.

But the smile that followed was gentle, yet somehow lonely, leaving Ria at a loss for words.

"I'll tell you. That girl's secret."

The queen's golden eyes pierced through Ria. It was an intense gaze. If she looked away now, she would surely be scorned.

"That girl cannot bear children."

Ria's memory of what happened after that was unclear.

When she came to, she was sitting on the bed in her room, still in her bathrobe with her hair barely dried.

This was the first time she had been so shocked by something concerning someone other than herself.

"She doesn't menstruate. The doctors say it's something she was born with."

Guinevere had said something like that, but it no longer mattered.

Just as Ria couldn't become a man.

Carla couldn't bear children.

It hurt.

Why did it hurt? She had accepted as natural that she herself couldn't have children. So why, when it came to Carla…

Even without children, a person can live. She had been prepared for that. It had been the same in her previous life.

But Carla's case was different.

She had decided to live for others after learning she couldn't leave behind descendants.

Only Guinevere had known about that resolution.

Only her best friend had been told. Not Ria.

Though perhaps it wasn't the kind of thing one would talk about anyway.

If Carla couldn't have children, then even if she stayed by Ria's side for life, it wouldn't be unnatural.

She didn't know how long those who possessed the Dragon's Bloodline might live…

"Ria?"

She had heard the knock. She knew who was outside the door.

That's why she didn't answer.

"I was told you called for me…"

Carla entered the room naturally, placed the documents she was holding on the desk, then walked over to Ria, who was still in her bathrobe.

"Your hair is still wet."

Carla took out a handkerchief and tried to dry Ria's hair, but instead, her arm was grabbed.

Ria stood up, restrained both of Carla's hands, spun her around, and pushed her down onto the bed.

"Ria?"

Even in this situation, there was no wavering in Carla's eyes.

A strength that seemed able to accept anything—or perhaps a kind of self-abandonment.

"I heard from Guinevere. That you can't have children."

She knew her own voice sounded terribly cold.

"Yes. That's why I never married."

Indeed, she was an eternal maiden.

A terribly distorted ideal goddess for men.

Beautiful, never aging, her love overflowing endlessly, bestowed fairly upon all.

Drops of water from Ria's hair fell and wet Carla's face as she lay pinned beneath her.

"You are my wife."

This time, without any hesitation.

Ria kissed Carla.

Once, twice, and on the third time, the tip of her tongue parted those lips.

She traced along her soft tongue as if savoring it. The sweetness sent shivers down her spine.

Beneath her body, Carla trembled.

With lingering reluctance, Ria separated her lips from Carla's.

A thread of saliva briefly connected them.

"Someday, without fail…"

Ria groaned. As if making a declaration.

"Someday, I will make your body and heart mine. I will make it so you cannot live without me. So that you think of nothing but me."

Saying it like a curse, Ria released her hands.

Carla remained lying on the bed for a while, but eventually she sat up and straightened her slightly disheveled hair.

Then she began fixing Ria's bathrobe, which had become disordered, as Ria still sat on the bed.

Her fingertips brushed ever so slightly against Ria's skin.

It was surely just coincidence, but Ria shivered at the subtle pleasure.

"I live for my country and for my people."

Carla declared.

"And now, for you who lead them."

It wasn't what she had hoped to hear, but for Carla, it was a confession.

"Someday, I will make you obsessed with me."

With a bow to Ria's parting shot, Carla left the room.

Ria didn't know.

How intensely Carla's heart had been pounding beneath her.

Ria didn't know.

That Carla had touched her own lips, savoring the sweetness of Ria's.

Ria didn't know.

How much Carla already loved her.

… Ria didn't know.

Several days passed after that.

Word came that the fortress they had established as a bridgehead at the southern end of Cordova was under attack by a large Cordovan army.

Ria set forth with only the Ogre army and Casalia army at hand to lead the relief force.

Behind her, of course, was Carla.

"The enemy force is approximately five corps strong. It appears they prioritized speed, so their siege weapons and supply trains are minimal."

Fio's report came from the beastkin within Cordova's territory.

They had only become Cordovan territory about ten years ago, and since they had been treated as a race entirely beneath humans, they immediately offered their full cooperation to Ogress.

Ria responded in kind, officially recognizing each tribe's leader as a noble. How succession was handled within the tribes was not her concern.

When the Cordovan army learned that the opposing force exceeded their own, they immediately withdrew.

She didn't know who their commander was, but it was a wise decision. After all, they faced approximately double their numbers. And thirty thousand of them were ogres.

They should have known from the battles so far that they couldn't win in a direct confrontation.

"Things are going to get a bit troublesome from here."

Ria muttered, but Fio unexpectedly threw her a lifeline.

"But Ria-sama, according to Cordova's military regulations, if they encounter the enemy, they're supposed to be punished for retreating without engaging at least once, unless there are exceptional circumstances."

"Well, what do you know."

She instinctively checked the document, and Ria laughed. It was a mocking laugh.

"Cordova is suffering from institutional fatigue."

"Institutional fatigue? What's that?"

Fio didn't seem to understand what it meant, but Ria could clearly perceive it.

Now that she thought about it, while the Cordovan army's movements were disciplined, they lacked the vigor befitting a military force.

War was literally a fight of blood against blood. It was a mistake to demand complete human reason and order in such a setting.

This war might end sooner than expected. That's what Ria thought.

If war was humanity's unforgivable sin, then ending it quickly was the least a ruler could do.

"In addition to the beastkin, increase the human scout units as well. Also, spread rumors as much as possible in human-inhabited towns."

Cordova was a nation that had rapidly expanded its territory, which meant it hadn't completely won over the hearts of its new territories' people.

Given the oppressive rule they had experienced, if their former lords returned leading armies, there was a high likelihood of rebellion.

At this time, Ria decided to end the war with Cordova quickly.