"Tailor! Done! Now for the embroidery patterns!"
Inside the Textile Management Bureau's workshop, Totorot called out excitedly.
"Aesc's outfit will have purple roses! As for Shiomi's... hmm..."
When it came to deciding the embroidery patterns, Totorot found herself stumped. She realized that despite being companions, she didn't know the slightest thing about Tenkei Shiomi's preferences—yet she knew the others so well.
"Use silver thread for the roses."
Shiomi's voice came from the doorway.
Startled, Totorot looked up to see him entering with Aesc, Baobhan Sith following behind.
"Eh? You're back from the war already, Shiomi?" she exclaimed, clutching her head in mock surprise as she shouted cheerfully across her private workshop.
"I figured Aesc's welcome ceremony for me had the whole city out watching the spectacle. You didn't go?" Shiomi asked, not at all offended. He exchanged a quick glance with Aesc, both of them sharing an amused look.
Aesc, with a teasing but gentle tone, said, "Alright, alright. We've been companions for so long—missing one welcome doesn't matter. She's been focused on designing our new clothes anyway."
"Whether for official occasions or casual ones, she's made plenty," Shiomi remarked.
Totorot puffed up proudly. "This isn't just for any formal event! These are the clothes you'll wear when you're crowned King of Britannia. And by then, Aesc will be the Queen Consort—she needs her outfit too!"
"The coronation ceremony..." Shiomi raised an eyebrow and shook his head with a wry smile. "Didn't I say we're still far from that point?"
Aesc sat down in a nearby chair and picked up a fabric sample from the table, examining it closely. "My husband may be swift and decisive in battle, but he's exceptionally cautious in all other matters. Still, we can't ignore the will of the people of Britannia."
"The Witch is right," Baobhan Sith added. "Under the Sage's leadership, Londinium has become Britannia's strongest nation. The Earth Clan and the northern Mirror Clan have expressed their intent to submit. The territories of Fang and Wind have already been incorporated. Wing remains neutral for now, but that's only a matter of time—"
She concisely laid out the current state of Britannia. Though Londinium's rule only truly extended over the southeastern part of the island, years of constant warfare had left only scattered forces unwilling to submit—those who still rejected coexistence between humans and fairies.
"And the King Clan," Shiomi said, watching as Totorot flipped open her sketchbook to show him her embroidery designs. "Don't forget—if not for how things ended, the 'Summer War' wouldn't have concluded so hastily."
"Do you think Mab still wants to fight again?" Aesc asked. "Since Londinium's founding, she's often reached out for diplomacy and trade."
Shiomi folded his arms thoughtfully. "Maybe it's all just to lower our guard. She could be waiting for the moment I can't resist crowning myself King of Britannia—then she'll rise, rally the dissenters, and bring them under her command."
"Hm... that's not impossible," Aesc admitted, half persuaded.
"Oh, you're all overthinking it," Totorot said with a laugh. "We can make the clothes now—you never know when you'll need them! I don't really understand all that strategy stuff, but if another 'Summer War' happens, I'll be on the battlefield too!"
Aesc frowned slightly. "You haven't gone rusty, have you, Totorot?"
"I'm a fairy! How could I go rusty?" Totorot declared confidently.
Shiomi, however, didn't seem so sure. He looked between Baobhan Sith and Totorot. "Fairies in Britain rarely live beyond a few hundred years, yet you've both stayed by our side for over a thousand..."
"No," Baobhan Sith replied calmly. "I can feel it—I haven't aged at all."
"Me neither! Me neither!" Totorot said brightly. "And what about the Black Knight? He's been with you even longer, right? He still looks exactly the same!"
Aesc pondered for a moment. "According to past records, Britannia's fairies usually die either after losing their purpose or by turning into Mors during calamities. Add to that the countless conflicts and wars, and only a few high-ranking fairies manage to live long lives."
"Like Minerva of the Wind Clan!" Totorot pointed out. "I remember that one's been the clan leader for three or four thousand years already."
"Is that so?" Shiomi recalled.
It was most likely a consequence that arose after the fall of the Rain Clan. Conversely, it also meant that fairies like Totorot, Baobhan Sith, and the Black Knight—those who had long stayed by their side—had been under his and Aesc's protection all this time. They would not perish in calamities, nor face enemies they could never hope to defeat.
Thinking of this, Shiomi felt a quiet sense of warmth. The longer one lived, the more one came to treasure old friends. He reached out and gently ruffled Totorot's hat.
"Come to think of it," he said, "shouldn't the Queen be a little more dazzling than the King?"
"What do you mean?" Totorot perked up, instantly curious.
The opinion of the person wearing it was what mattered most. If the clothes she'd poured her heart into didn't match their taste, Totorot would be left with regret.
"Adorn the hem of the skirt with pearls, and add a World Tree motif," Shiomi suggested, looking at Aesc. "The World Tree suits her better than roses."
"The World Tree is beautiful, but wouldn't it look too barren?" Aesc replied.
"Then let's take a different approach—what if the entire pattern is decorated with pearls instead?" Shiomi offered.
Aesc almost choked on the tea she'd just lifted to her lips. "Wouldn't that be too extravagant?"
"You're the Queen who will rule beside me," Shiomi said as he walked over and took her hand. "You can't be crowned without brilliance to match."
"How did we end up here..." Aesc murmured with a faint smile and a touch of reproach.
From traveling across Britannia to uniting the clans, to suddenly becoming the ruler of Londinium—then conquering and subduing opposing forces—she had gradually set forth on the path to unifying the land through war.
Every day demanded new decisions, and life overflowed with constant change. Only when she occasionally turned back did she realize just how far they'd come, as if there had been a single moment that divided past and present.
Aesc didn't reject what they had now; she simply found herself reflecting on the journey that brought them here.
"Step by step, we've made it this far," Shiomi said thoughtfully. "Totorot, please keep refining the clothing designs. If you come up with new ideas, have someone deliver them."
"That won't do," Totorot replied firmly. "I'll bring them myself—it's more reassuring that way."
"Either way is fine," Shiomi said with a faint smile. "I'll leave it to you."
...
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