Nier looked at my cloak covered in red fox fur and asked, "Did you come back from Ling Yue"s place?"
Ling Yue vigorously rubbed herself against me before I left, thereby covering me in her fur before letting me leave. I peeled off a lot on the way back, but I never thought there"d be so much left. I really hoped her fur would grow back after.
"Yes," I honestly admitted to it.
Nier looked at me with a complex gaze while holding onto my cloak. She then sighed and handed my cloak to a maid: "Throw it away. It"s covered in fox fur and a rancid stench. Your Majesty, I now wish to know how Ling Yue is doing."
I dallied. I imagined lots of reactions Nier would have, such as getting angry, jealous or pus.h.i.+ng me down without a thought and then wringing me out several times. I never thought she"d accept my answer so calmly and even ask how Ling Yue was doing. I didn"t think Nier liked Ling Yue. I gave an honest answer: "She"s all right. She"s not in human form right now, but I can tell that nothing is out of the ordinary."
Nier nodded: "Our trip this time won"t affect her, will it? Did she have any special requests for you when you visited?"
"No, actually. She just wanted me to return to her side a bit sooner. Mm, yeah, that"s all. A woman would want her husband by her side, after all, right?" I looked at Nier with a smile: "To be honest, I initially thought your relations.h.i.+p with Ling Yue would be bad, but it sounds as though I was excessively worried. You do care for her quite a lot. I never thought you"d come to like her after being in contact with her just once."
"I don"t like her. I"m just worried that she"ll affect our mood on our trip." Nier shrugged. Frankly, n.o.body could tell if she"s proud or not from that expressionless att.i.tude of hers. Nier might truly think that way. She explained, "If you thought about another woman while you were with me, I would be very jealous. Hence, I hope you can look at me sincerely when you go out with me, and look only at me."
I smiled, and then took hold of Nier"s hand. She had "serious", written all over her face. She stated, "Your Majesty, you don"t need to look at me with that playful gaze; I"m being serious. I genuinely don"t want you to think of other women. You can only think of me when you go out with me."
"I"ll have to give you my apology, then," I said. I cleared my throat and adjusted my expression, "After all, I still need to think of Daisy."
Nier froze. She revealed a tender smile and clasped my face: "I honestly thought you"d say Lucia. If you did, I"d probably strangle you. But it appears that you"re understanding the heart of a woman better and better."
"Honestly, Nier, I"m very happy to see that you"re starting to have these thoughts women have."
I kissed Nier"s lips. She smiled: "Women and blades are things that easily change. I am your blade and your woman, so isn"t it normal for me to have thoughts a woman would?"
"Yeah. I"m very glad. Nier, it"s rare for Daisy to not be with you at night."
Daisy had already been sent to Mommy Elizabeth"s place, for we were leaving tomorrow; meanwhile, Lucia planned to spend the night with her children. I intended to spend the night at Nier"s place, since the two girls would definitely make a ruckus at night. I liked them, but having Lucia being kick or slap me due to the girls crying when I was hugging her at night was sad. I remember Mommy Vyvyan said she kicked Inard off the bed when I cried back then, too, regardless if he was actually in the way or not.
"The maternal instincts of elves are too frightening," I thought.
"You want to be the one that takes the initiative or something again?"
Nier brushed my nose then looked at the door behind her. There was a cloak missing from the clothes hanger. What that meant was that the maid would definitely bring a cloak in later. That was why she didn"t begin her feast and waited, instead. I kissed the tip of her nose: "Of course, I don"t mind if you want to be the one who takes the initiative; however, we can only do it once. We have to leave tomorrow. Life out on the ocean is tiring, so don"t tire yourself."
Nier rolled her eyes at me and, with a smile, replied, "Mm, I know. Don"t I restrain myself every time?"
"I can"t tell that you"re joking."
"That"s because I"m not."
Nier pinched my face with a smile. The maid then came in from behind with a cloak. She nearly dropped to her knees out of fear when she saw us in an embrace. Nier shook her headL "It"s all right. Hang it up, and then you can leave."
"Yes… Royal Princess."
The maid trembled as she hung it up, and then jogged away. Nier called out to her, causing her to stagger. She fearfully turned around. Nier pouted her lips as a signal: "Shut the door when you leave."
"Understood!"
The maid shut the door as though she was spared from capital punishment. Nier sulked, "Dear, sometimes I feel that the maids around you are tense."
"They are in the presence of the ruler of the nation, after all. Moreover, I seem to have become a cruel ent.i.ty from the perspective of the anthropoids, as I buried alive so many of their soldiers when I conquered the North. My team also exterminated that village. There are laws now, but they still call me a ruthless ruler."
"But you"re not."
I explained, "I think I can be considered one. I haven"t killed as many people as Mommy Elizabeth has but not much less, either. And I dare guarantee that the number I kill in the future won"t be less than her even if I"m not a tyrant. It"s just that I kill those the law deems deserving to be killed."
Nier nodded, and then wrapped her arm around mine. She smiled: "But, initially, I didn"t think about so much. I just wanted to say that, while I didn"t like Luna at the start, I must admit she was very fit for the job of a personal servant. I haven"t seen another maid like her since."
"Of course. Luna was my personal servant. She"s a one and only and there won"t be another in the future, either."
"Sorry, Dear. I touched your sore spot."
I kissed Nier"s face. In a soft voice, I told her, "It"s all right. Speaking of which, I"m not so apprehensive about what happened to Luna anymore. In the past, I"d feel very bitter and upset, but I just really miss her now. The memory is no longer so painful."
"I"m glad to hear that. The one thing I"m most reluctant to see… is that sad gaze of yours…"
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