"Your Majesty… Aaahh!!"
That screech woke me and Mom up. The two of us vigorously opened our eyes and saw each other. Only then did we realise how physically close we were. Our noses were virtually touching. Mom had her arm around me. I clung to her body. I didn"t know why we ended up in the position. I remember that I wasn"t sleeping in this position. For some reason after waking up, I was in mom"s embrace.
It made sense as to why the maid screeched. We only had our underwear on. Mom"s b.r.e.a.s.t.s were visible, because of her side-on posture. Mom had removed her dress and thrown it aside, as well. Her white leg was pressed on top of mine. It was a pretty bad scene to be caught in no matter how you looked at it, particularly after knowing our ident.i.ties. Therefore, the maid thought she was finished.
Mommy Elizabeth and I were shocked for a moment. We quickly put distance between us and sat up. We both turned toward the maid despite not coordinating it prior. The maid trembled as she said, "I-I j-just came, mm, the banquet"s preparations, should start… Sorry! Sorry!! Sorry!"
"There"s nothing to be sorry about. Her Majesty is my mom." I rubbed my face: "I honestly never thought I"d fall asleep. Mom, are you awake? Go and arrange for someone to help Her Majesty wash up. We"ve still got time, so there"s no need to worry. I"m going to wash up first, too. Have someone arrange it."
It was best we didn"t wash up together. We didn"t care, but Vyvyan was around. If she found out that we washed together without informing her, she"d lose it. If an accident happened, the losses would outweigh the gains.
"I"ll come back to pick you up before the banquet, then, Mom."
I picked my clothes up from the ground and draped them over.
n.o.body had the right to dress me after Luna"s departure, so I was responsible for tidying my own room henceforward. After Luna left, I felt that I picked up my housekeeping skills from school again. I used to think that Luna didn"t serve much of a purpose to me, because I could look after myself, but I eventually realised that I literally couldn"t get everything done in time.
Freya hinted to me time and time again that I needed a personal servant, but I"d rather wake up an hour early than get myself another personal servant. I said that Luna would be my only personal servant, and I would stand by my word. If I had a new personal servant, it would mean I betrayed Luna.
It might"ve been excusable if Luna was still alive, as I could console her, but she was no longer with, so who was I going to comfort? How was I going to comfort Luna if she felt sad about it? Yes, she couldn"t get angry, hurt or jealous anymore, but my conscience would still want to apologise to her. The problem was I wouldn"t be able to find her again.
That was why I couldn"t have another personal servant. Luna was my only one. That was the case then, it was in the present, and it would still be so in the future. I honestly saw her appear before me at Ling Yue"s place, last time.
"Was that my imagination or a hint of some sort? I don"t get it. If it was my imagination, why did I only see her at Ling Yue"s place?" I wondered.
However, after catching a glimpse of her last time, my memories of her and my feelings for her have continued to resurface in my heart. I really wanted to do something for Luna. I killed Mera with my own hands. Philes was cremated. But Luna"s corpse was still intact, and it wouldn"t rot.
How could Luna be revived? Could she be revived? According to my initial thoughts, the answer was "no". The dead couldn"t be revived. That was a rule set in stone. However, I wasn"t in the same world as the one I came from. This was a new world. This was a world filled with things that didn"t exist in the world I came from.
"Luna might have a chance." I decided, "I need to find her a new heart. I"ll look into it once I finish my duties."
I stood up. I wiped myself dry and then picked up my clothes by the side. Next was the banquet to welcome Mommy Elizabeth to the North. A minor accident occurred at the last banquet to welcome Mommy Vyvyan, but I didn"t think there"d be an issue this time. If I was late again this time, Freya wouldn"t help me hold banquets again.
I got dressed then returned to my room. The lady-in-waiting came up to begin putting on makeup. My makeup was done very quickly. I basically didn"t need any makeup. The ladies-in-waiting remarked that my skin and appearance were decent thanks to my two moms. It was just that I wasn;t like my father. Inard, who managed to win Elizabeth and Vyvyan"s affection couldn"t be ugly, nonetheless.
"Your Majesty, you look very handsome now."
I nodded: "Uhm."
I stood up and checked myself out in the mirror. I didn"t have any particular opinion of myself, but I hoped Mommy Elizabeth thought I looked all right. Sometimes, she looked at me with the gaze she looked at my father with. That made me somewhat unhappy. I used to think Mom had it hard, but at some point, I started to be quite unhappy when Mommy Elizabeth and Mommy Vvyvyan mentioned Inard whilst looking at me.
"Freya."
Freya walked in from outside. With a smile, she asked, "Onii-sama?"
"Neither of them will be here tonight, so I will be entrusting Lucia and Nier with you. I don"t trust anyone else. You"re the only one I trust."
Mommy Elizabeth and Mommy Vyvyan were both attending the banquet tonight, so they"d be back very late. If anything came up, I"d have to trust Freya to look after Lucia and Nier.
She nodded and smiled: "Not bad, Onii-sama. At least, you began to prepare on time. The people attending the banquet this time will be the same people from last time. Make sure you are not late this time, as I will not hold the fort for you this time. I cannot help but feel that it is not a very good idea to have Queen Vyvyan and Empress Elizabeth both attend this banquet."
"Their relations.h.i.+p is actually quite good. They"ll be fine if there"s nothing involving me."
"What I meant was, if you and Empress Elizabeth arrive late by a few hours, there will definitely be trouble with Queen Vyvyan. I presume she would go searching for you, and when she does find you, we will have a homicide case without a doubt. The Imperial Palace is new. Please bear that in mind, Onii-sama. I do not want the palace to be damaged by blades and magic in less than a year. Please bear that in mind."
"… I reckon what you said makes a lot of sense. I"m going to go find Mommy Elizabeth now, then. Freya, I"m leaving Lucia and Nier with you."
I stroked her head and then left the room. I looked at Tanya, who was now dressed in formal clothing. I pinched her face with a smileL "Tanya, you look very cute right now. To be honest, Nier also attended banquets with me in the past. However, she was dressed in her uniform and was unwilling to dance with me… Nier really hated me at one point."
"So if I head back and get changed and refuse to dance with you, will you marry me, too?"
"Of course not!! Don"t go back and change! Don"t go! I was just sharing the past, not sharing life advice!"
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