[Celestia's - POV, in the tent hours before]

The tent was small to begin with, but Luca's frantic pacing made it feel suffocating. He darted left and right like a cornered rabbit, his hands raised as though I might strike him at any moment. His breathing was absurdly loud, and his eyes kept flicking from the walls of canvas to me as if calculating escape routes.

I didn't move. I didn't need to. Standing tall, chin lifted, one hand on my hip, the other hanging loose at my side — I could feel the tension in my own fingers, an itch to just grab him by the collar and make him stop this ridiculous dance.

Then he blurted it.

"No, no, Your Majesty! You can't hit me!"

"Why?" My voice came out slow, cool, deliberate. "Because we're married now, huh?"

…That again. I felt heat prickle behind my eyes — not embarrassment, not exactly. Frustration. He had declared us married without my consent, and as if that wasn't enough, he'd also claimed I was pregnant. The audacity…

He scrambled back, waving his hands. "I—I didn't have any other excuse at the time! And you didn't seem to have one either!"

My gaze narrowed to slits. I tilted my head just slightly — the way a predator might measure the speed of its prey. "And why," I asked, stepping forward just enough to make him retreat again, "did you need an excuse? It's just chores."

His reply came in a rush, almost theatrical. "How can I allow the supreme empress to do menial tasks such as—washing soldiers' clothes! Cleaning the dishes! Scrubbing tents!"

I felt the hard edge in my posture loosen without meaning to. …Washing clothes. Cleaning dishes. I'd never done those things. And actually the excuse he used….. It should have sounded insulting, demeaning. Yet it… didn't bother me as much as I thought it would. In fact—huh? It doesn't?

He jabbed a finger at me. "But we wouldn't be in this mess if it wasn't for you!"

I arched a brow. "Because of me?"

"Yes! Why hide your strength? If you hadn't, we wouldn't even be here right now!"

I broke eye contact. It was small — just a tilt of my head, my shoulders lowering a fraction — but I didn't want him to see my face when I said it. "…I didn't hide my strength."

"That's right, you didn't—" he started, then froze, realising hitting. "You… didn't. Did Sir Rolph lie then? But why would he—"

"I don't…" I let out a slow breath, the kind that cools a blade after a fight. "I don't really have any strength now."

"…You're joking, right?"

"Do you think forcibly traveling with you through a space-time tunnel doesn't have repercussions? You are the one with the affinity for space and time, not me."

It took a moment for the words to land. Then—

"Ohhh… SHIT." His whole frame sagged under the weight of understanding.

I almost looked away. The truth brought a twist of guilt to my stomach — guilt because I had known the risks, and yet here I was, dragging him into my fate. "Yeah. I know. And now… it puts both of us in danger."

But he didn't even hear the last part. He was already kneeling by his pack, rummaging through it with quick, urgent movements, tossing aside supplies until his hand closed around a small glass vial. The moment he held it, his whole demeanor shifted — the panic was gone, replaced by a sharp, almost commanding focus.

"Sit. Sit, sit, sit," he said, pointing firmly at a crate in the corner. "You don't have any powers now, which means the injuries you got before we came here must be killing you. Take this — apply it on your wounds."

For a heartbeat, I just stared. The firmness in his voice, the weight in his eyes… it was the first time in a long while someone had cared for me without duty or politics behind it. Guilt tangled with something warmer, softer. It caught me completely off guard. "…Aren't you worried about being killed by devil cultists? Or… soldiers?"

He froze mid-step. The determination cracked.

"…Holy—SHIT!" He clutched his head, pacing tight, fast circles.

Outside this cramped tent, the world was waiting — enemies, chaos, death. And yet, for that one moment, before his panic came roaring back, Luca's first instinct had been… me.

It was foolish. Reckless. Dangerous.

…And I couldn't help the faint flicker of happiness it left behind.

I sat on the low cot, back straight, chin lifted. Even with bruises under my clothes, I would not slouch. But the faint heat on my cheeks was harder to hide. It wasn't from pain—it was from the ridiculous sight in front of me. Luca, of all people, kneeling at my feet with a vial in hand, fussing over my arm as if I were some fragile porcelain doll.

"I–I can do it myself," I murmured, keeping my tone imperial, though it lacked its usual bite.

He sighed like I'd just suggested something absurd. "Can you really?" His eyes flicked up to mine. "I saw how you did it earlier. Have you ever applied a potion on yourself in your life?"

I said nothing. My pride would not let me admit the answer, but my silence gave me away. He didn't wait—he just continued, his touch steady, the cool liquid trailing over my skin.

"Why waste this potion on these wounds?" I asked, softer now. "It's rare. Where did you get it?"

His hand stilled for a moment. I saw something pass in his eyes—some memory that didn't belong here—before he forced a faint smile. "It was given to me by a friend. And anyway… it's being used by the Empress herself, so it's worth it."

My lips tightened, but not in displeasure. I reached forward, brushing his fingers as I took the vial from him. "It's supposed to be drunk," Then I dipped my fingers into the potion and pressed it against a cut on his cheek.

He stiffened instantly. "D–don't waste it on me. I have my powers. I can live with it."

"Hmph." My voice was firm, but my hand didn't stop. "You might have to fight in the war. Anything can happen. Even a small wound can be fatal." It was the kind of lecture I'd give a soldier—except this time, there was more care than command in it.

I asked, "What will we do now, since I have no powers?"

"We'll see," he said with a sigh. "First, I'll fight in the war and search for clues about the devil emperor on the battlefield. You should look for anything suspicious here in camp."

Our eyes held for a heartbeat too long. It was neither comfortable nor unpleasant—just… strange. Like standing too close to a fire when you don't want to admit you like the warmth.

A sharp knock on the tent pole broke it. A soldier stepped in. "You're part of the 56th cavalry. Commander wants us on the training ground."

"I'll be back," Luca told me, glancing over his shoulder before stepping out into the night.

I remained still, the vial warm in my palm. The tent was quiet again, but the faint trace of that shared moment lingered, stubborn as a spark refusing to go out.

While Luca was away, I busied myself with the strategies on how to find the clues, but my mind kept circling back to the moment before.

When he returned, I asked without thinking seeing his battered appearance "What's with you? Has the war already started?"

The answer was in his eyes before he spoke — tension, unease. As he described the soldiers' desperation, the clinging-to-life look in their faces, I felt a cold weight settle in my chest. We weren't ready. Not for what was coming. And if we didn't prepare now, there would be no survival — only destruction.

"C–can you bring out the baby dragon?" I said suddenly.

He hesitated, worrying for her safety, but I already knew my answer. "Don't worry. I have an artifact to conceal her — and I still have my Vermillion Phoenix."

When the small girl appeared, leaping into my arms with a soft "Mama," the frost inside me cracked. I held her close, the scent of her hair unfamiliar yet comforting, fastening the silver necklace that wrapped her in invisibility.

In that moment, I wasn't just an Empress. I was… something softer. But only for her.

As Luca asked me about the vermilion phoenix, I just replied I broke into the mountain and formed the contract, I am of course that powerful, and.....I am obviously not over 50, Hmph.

I was quite exhausted, as I didn't have my powers at the moment, the exhaustion of the whole day washed over me as I said it to him, he nodded as he sat in the corner and I tried to sleep a bit.

After a few hours...

Huh? What's the noise? and where is Luca?