[YUZUKI]
Amaya Hirano.
Royal omega consort.
Yuzuki felt like she was about to go crazy.
Maybe it was because of the fierce determination she had seen in the royal consort's eyes, the kind that told her that she would fight. For her. For them. For what they had. Even if it was in silence. Beyond the whispers of the queen who had just returned.
Consort Amaya had looked like she had done this for way too long. And Yuzuki didn't know what to do with that. She didn't know whether to embrace the change for the sake of her vengeance against Kazuya or if she had to push her away.
Oh, but Yuzuki wasn't drifting.
She was planning. Recalibrating. Thinking. Strategizing.
Amaya had come to her like a gift from the goddess or a curse from the darn woman for revealing her identity. But Yuzuki didn't care too much about that.
Maybe that was why that evening, she called Rinko to her study.
"Your majesty…" Rinko began, but Yuzuki interrupted her.
"Yuzu. For you, just Yuzu."
"You called for me… Yuzu," Rinko said carefully, like the words coming from her mouth were strange to her. Then again, she couldn't deny that Yuzuki was slowly trusting her. That she was trying to get in touch with who she was and her memories.
"Amaya Hirano," Yuzuki sighed in defeat.
Rinko knew she was mated to Ayami Araki, and maybe that made her the best person to turn to in such a situation. Because honestly, Yuzuki was stumped. This was not what she had looked forward to.
But then she should not have expected things to go smoothly just because she had prayed desperately and the goddess had answered her.
She should have expected worse, and yet her comfort had made her forget what she should be thrust into.
Another person's life.
Power that she had never gotten to hold as a Fukada alpha.
Everything had intensified, and she should have known the stakes were way higher this time.
"Oh…" Rinko trailed off, unsure of what to say to that.
"Come on, girl… is that all you have to say about my predicament with two opposite women?" Yuzuki sighed and exaggerated as she looked at her enforcer and the wine person she trusted with anything for now.
"Well, it's… You have got your hands full… Yuzu," Rinko added carefully, and Yuzuki rolled her eyes at him.
"Don't get formal with me now… I get enough of that outside these walls," Yuzuki complained in frustration.
"You're the queen, and I'm your subject, your majesty."
"Can't it just be Yuzuki and Rinko?" Yuzuki asked, her voice low like she was not sure what to expect. She wouldn't be surprised if Rinko refused because, honestly, there were so many lines that lay between them.
So much that screamed queen and subject.
But Yuzuki needed a friend in this new kingdom.
She needed someone she could trust.
Someone to stand beside her confidently, someone to help her up when she faltered. Because the adventures she was getting into were insane, and if all she had with Rinko was just professionalism, she would have nothing.
"What?"
"Like friends. I don't remember most of the people. I know it's not what you expect for your queen, but everything is just crazy, and—"
"Okay."
"What?"
"I'll be your friend… For a month. If it doesn't work out. Then we go back to being a queen and her subject. Deal?" Rinko offered.
Yuzuki felt relief like she hadn't felt for a while.
"Okay… I'm Yuzuki Kuramitsu, nice to meet you," Yuzuki said seriously, and Rinko snorted.
At least now she knew she wouldn't be losing her head for talking casually to the queen of the largest kingdom in the realm.
"That's terrible, gosh…" Rinko added before laughing, and Yuzuki sighed exaggeratedly.
"Can't be worse than my love life…"
"You kissed her," Rinko stated flatly.
Yuzuki glared at her.
"It wasn't intentional… She just slammed her lips against mine, and the next thing I knew, I was kissing her. She didn't taste anything like Aya, yet she tasted familiar, and now I don't know what to do because if I let her go, there will be questions.
"Besides, seeing as I can't stop thinking about the enforcer, it will be a problem. If I keep seeing her, my conscience won't let me because I like Aya, and now I don't even know if this is what people in love feel.
"My goodness, this shit is harder than running a kingdom that's always at war. And you know what she told me? That she would remind me of what we had. What we had… that I don't even remember;
"... because it was clumsy enough to lose my shit in a borehole of all the things. Not to mention, I can't even think straight because now the memory of Aya's kiss that I had preserved for six fucking months is gone just like that.
"I already blew my cover at the battle, so everyone knows who I am, which means I can't be seen meeting Aya at the river and asking for that kiss. I am fucked. My life is shit, and I'm so alone that I asked my enforcer to be my friend.
"My life must be a fucking joke if I couldn't even make friends with anyone. What the hell kind of life was I living before this madness? I'm going to go crazy at this rate. I'm sorry, I'm ranting;
"... my life is just shit," Yuzuki rambled as she paced in her study, her hands flailing around while Rinko watched amusedly.
Rinko had seen the way this woman ran the kingdom, and there was no denying that she was the most composed version of herself, yet she was plagued by emotions.
And in that moment, Rinko understood why some of the most powerful people managed to make the worst of lovers.
"Are you a virgin?" Rinko asked.
Yuzuki stopped pacing.
"What did you say?"
"Are you a virgin?" Rinko asked, laughing softly.
"I have a freaking royal consort who stripped in my bed and showed me things I never want to see again, and she was alluring, so I feel like a traitor, what the fuck...
"Of course I'm not. What kind of question is that?" Yuzuki whined as she plopped on the couch in the room.
"Then you'll be fine."
"What is that even supposed to mean?" Yuzuki shrieked.
"It means you do what you must to get through this. Amaya is relentless. If she finds out you're interested in the enforcer, she will go there and start a fight. You're the queen. Be strategic," Rinko said calmly.
Yuzuki glared at her like that wasn't what she had wanted to hear.
It was a hard clap, though.
"You're supposed to be my friend," Yuzuki complained.
"I am your friend. That's why I'm telling you that. Besides, Amaya is intelligent; you'll definitely find a better use for her even when she warms your bed. Until then, smile, and when she comes back, endure it.
"Otherwise, you can forget about fighting for your precious Aya. Your worlds are different and complicated. If you want her in one piece, endure," Rinko said, sounding more like an older sister than a friend.
And Yuzuki…
She felt relieved for the most part.
"Can I take back my friendship offer? You're brutal," Yuzuki grumbled.
"Nope. What's done is done; besides, it's time for you to inspect the borders, your majesty. You coming? We'll be starting with the one that links Kuramitsu with Yamashita, if that sounds interesting enough.
"A little birdie told me that Kujo is busy and won't be at the border with her enforcer. Which means someone will get to see her beloved," Rinko said, and Yuzuki's eyes lit up suddenly.
"You serious?"
"We were to start with the western border, but seeing your current state, it is my duty as your new friend to get you a strong mood stabilizer before you start dropping bodies. What do you think?"
"I made the best decision asking you to be my friend. Let's go," Yuzuki chirped happily.
Rinko smiled genuinely for the first time since the accident at the borehole.
Perhaps this was her penance, too, for not protecting her queen the right way.
This time, she would protect her.
She would fight for her like she deserved. And no one, not even Ayami Araki, would be the reason Yuzuki got hurt again.
"Then dress pretty. You might not get that kiss… today, but you certainly don't want her remembering you as a servant for life."
Yuzuki rolled her eyes, but still got to work.