The next couple of days after meeting Kara and Cera passed uneventfully, and before I knew it, the first day of the royal announcement arrived.
It is currently a couple hours after sunrise, and I've just received my wardrobe for the event via delivery to my guest room.
It includes three complete outfits of tops and pants, and one pair of soft leather boots. They all seem to be different variations of military style cotton vests over long-sleeved cotton shirts, and dark-colored cotton trousers. No doubt, they were very expensive.
I put on an outfit with a blue vest, white shirt, and black pants, then I put the other outfits, along with all my weapons and gear, into my item box. Then, I make my way out of my room towards Ilina.
I know that several nobles should have arrived by now, if not all of them, but I haven't seen anyone else entering the other guest rooms near my party. I can only assume that there are other halls with guest rooms, and that the nobles were intentionally placed there to avoid chance encounters with my group and me.
That's…probably a good idea.
I wave to Klaus as I arrive at Ilina's room, and he raises an eyebrow at me and smirks as he looks over my outfit.
"Thinking about joining the royal guard, Mizuki?" (Klaus)
"Do you think they'd take me? Maybe I could become Ilina's new bodyguard so we can quit having these chats." (Mizuki)
Klaus snorts at my dig, but I see the hint of a smile from him.
"Anyway, is Ilina decent? I was hoping to talk with her while we wait for the first meeting with the nobles." (Mizuki)
Klaus nods and knocks softly on the door.
"Princess, you have a dapperly dressed visitor. Shall I send him in?" (Klaus)
Oh, good one Klaus. I hear Ilina's voice from behind the door.
"Fufufu…sure, Klaus, go ahead." (Ilina)
I enter the room and look around for Ilina. I catch sight of her in front of a mirror fixing her hair, and she's wearing one of her signature grey dresses that hugs her figure. It…looks good on her, to say the least. Catching my gaze on her from behind, I see her smirk in the mirror.
She turns around to face me, then wraps her arms around me and kisses me deeply. She pulls away with a smile.
"Hmm…I guess Klaus wasn't entirely joking, you clean up nicely Mizuki. I take it from your ogling of me that I look nice as well?" (Ilina)
"Fufufu…guilty as charged. As I told you the first day we met, you're a very beautiful woman, Ilina. Speaking of our early days together, I see you still like fishing for compliments." (Mizuki)
"Tch…now that we're together like this, I think I'm perfectly entitled to do so. I hope you don't plan on suggesting otherwise." (Ilina)
I prepare to make a sarcastic remark, but Ilina pulls me in for another kiss and I forget about it. After she releases me, she sighs happily and walks over and sits in a chair at the table in her room.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" (Ilina)
I give her a puzzled look.
"Uhm…nothing, actually. I just wanted to see you. We're about to lay the groundwork that decides how people will react to our public romance in your kingdom, so I wanted to come make the most of our time together before things get hectic." (Mizuki)
"Well, that's sweet. I meant what I said before, though, I'm not giving you up if they don't approve. Worst case, we'll just leave my kingdom or go somewhere remote within it, and we'll help the elves discreetly when necessary. I never particularly cared if I was Queen, just whether my people were okay. Is that fine with you?" (Ilina)
"Of course, Ilina. I'll help you however I can, so long as it doesn't harm innocent people." (Mizuki)
Ilina nods appreciatively, and we fall into a comfortable silence. It's interrupted by a thought message from Nina.
[Fufufu…Mizuki, would you be a dear and help me finish putting on my dress? I'm in my guest room. Tell Ilina I said hi before you come here, though, I don't want to just snatch you from her without notice.] (Nina)
[Sure! I'm very excited to see you in it. I'll teleport over in a moment.] (Mizuki)
"Hey, Ilina, Nina just asked to see me. She said to tell you hello, so you don't think she's being rude by summoning me like this." (Mizuki)
"Of course, you should go. I appreciate her making the effort to be polite, so please tell her that. Honestly, she's been way more supportive than I expected." (Ilina)
"Well, I'm glad you guys are getting long so much better these days, so I'll make sure to pass along your thanks! Alright, I'll see you at the meeting soon." (Mizuki)
I give Ilina a smile and wave, and once she smiles back, I teleport to Nina's room. When I arrive, Nina's sitting on her bed patiently with legs crossed, but she stands up to greet me and smiles.
Honestly, my breath catches in my throat a bit seeing her. She's wearing a green dress that matches her eyes perfectly and makes her dark brown hair pop in contrast. Ilina may be the definition of objectively beautiful, but Nina's overall allure is unrivaled by any woman I've ever met.
"Uhm…you said you needed help putting on your dress?" (Mizuki)
It…doesn't look like it. Nina smirks and then slips her dress over her shoulders and lets it drop to the floor in one smooth motion.
"Fufufu…yes, I'm very clumsy. Could you help me put it back on?" (Nina)
I can't help but smile at her shameless behavior. I do as she asks, and when her dress is back in place, she wraps her arms around me and we both grin affectionately.
"Well, if your goal was to make me appreciate how you look in that dress, I thought so even before your little stunt." (Mizuki)
Nina smirks at me.
"Yes, I'm very pleased that you like it." (Nina)
Before we can continue with our back-and-forth routine, a knock resounds at the door to Nina's room.
"Lady Nedonera, it's Cayla. I've come to escort you and your two guests to the meeting room. The Queen, King, and nobles are already present." (Cayla)
I take a deep breath, then meet Nina's gaze.
"Alright, Nina, are you ready for another performance as my beloved Lady and master?" (Mizuki)
"Fufufu…I enjoy all of our schemes, Mizuki. This will be fun." (Nina)
I can't help but smile a little bit at her response. This may be in poor taste, but…I can't deny that's true. Even I'm a little excited.