Freya looked at my red scarf and asked, “Onii-sama, are you not hot?”
I touched my red scarf, guiltily shook my head and replied, “No, I just came back from the hot desert, so I feel like the temperature here is a little cold…”
Freya nodded and responded, “Is that so…? Why do you need to wear a scarf indoors then? If you are cold, I will go and order someone to add firewood.”
“Don’t, don’t, don’t. I’m comfortable like this. Really!”
I quickly stopped Freya.
‘Please do not make me take my scarf off. If I take it off, Vyvyan’s hickey will be revealed. The same goes for my chest. I still have the bite wound she gave me. How am I going to explain these marks to Nier tonight if she sees them…?’
‘I need to prepare my stuff to go see Lucia with Vyvyan. Then I’ll be able to tell Lucia that Nier made the marks. Then when I get back and Nier sees the marks, I can say Lucia left the marks. Damn, I’m a genius to be able to come up with a solution in such a short time frame. Mm, I can also travel between the two places smoothly with Vyvyan.’
“Though I do not know why you are in such a rush, I feel that it would be better if you informed the Princess first… After all, heading off in such a rush would worry her… Furthermore, the Princess has been missing you all this time. If you suddenly go again…”
I nodded then scrubbed Freya’s head. “I’m sorry to Nier, but I already told Mom and have to leave now. I can’t delay it any longer. Could I trouble you to tell Nier?”
Freya closed her eyes a little, enjoying it similarly to a kitten and then replied, “You still have lots of work to do here. There is a very important job coming up for you very soon, after all; therefore, I hope that you can come back soon.”
‘I don’t want to see Nier at the moment for sure! If she takes my scarf off, I’ll be exposed! According to what Vyvyan said, this is a mark women leave behind. As the Princess, Nier would consider it taboo. We might even have a daughter-in-law versus mother-in-low war on her hands.‘
’Actually, I don’t think so. Nier has never viewed Vyvyan as a family member. Her only mother-in-law to her is Elizabeth. The same applies for Lucia. I guess they could be considered courteous and respectful, since they don’t usually interact with their other mother-in-law.’
“I’ll be as quick as I can. Come to think of it, I spend more time away from Lucia.”
I chuckled and then turned around and lingered.
‘Why hasn’t my cape been draped on yet? Luna should’ve draped my cape on my shoulders by now.’
I waited for a few seconds until Freya looked at me with a weird gaze. That’s when I realised that Luna wasn’t here anymore.
I smirked then picked up my cape and wore it on. I sighed and said, “I’m honestly not used to Luna not being here. I feel that I can’t find anything… I sincerely hope she can be back soon…”
Freya looked at me as she said, “Miss Luna has only been gone for an afternoon and you have not gotten used to it. If you do not feel used to it, find another personal servant… Are you seriously not going to have someone look after you, just because of a single personal servant? While you can take care of yourself, you have to know that no single individual can handle all of your daily life necessities, alone. Luna is not a born-maid. Her standard as a maid is just average, inferior to Castell as a matter of fact.”
“Nah, don’t worry about it. Luna is just on break. It’s not as if I can’t take care of myself, and she’ll be back soon. I’m not worried. I promised Luna that she would be my one and only personal servant forever. I won’t switch her for someone else, even if they’re more experienced and competent. Her Majesty follows the same principle. Would she just abandon Castell, because there’s someone who could do a better job of looking after her?” I stroked her head then went on, “I’m leaving then. Freya, I’ll have to bother you for a while longer. I’ll have to rely on you with regards to the annual meeting.”
Freya proudly puffed her chest out and replied, “That will not be a problem, Onii-sama. I will definitely do my best. After all, it is not just your future, but also Her Majesty’s wish.”
‘I’m very assured by Freya’s work standard and ethic. She’ll be able to handle it. Freya could smoothly resolve it and then deal with each and every bit related to it even if it was a more complex problem. I trust her abilities. If you ask me what my true strength is, then Freya would be my strongest strength.’
I left the room and arrived at Mommy Vyvyan’s room. Vyvyan already had her magic circle ready. I’ve never seen Vyvyan draw a magic circle before. Vyvyan seemed to be reluctant to use the mana within her. She, instead, used the mana inside the elves’ spring water. I looked at Vyvyan but couldn’t sense anything odd with her body.
‘She also sucked a large volume of mana from me, so why was she reluctant to use her mana?’
I clearly noticed that Vyvyan didn’t use her mana, either, when she was brimming with murderous intent toward Elizabeth during their fight, as well. In fact, she focused more on defence than attack. Vyvyan rarely uses a sword, as she doesn’t like the feeling of cutting into people. However, her skills with a sword aren’t poor. Lorana said it herself. Her two best students were Elizabeth and Vyvyan. It’s impossible for a fight between them to be lop-sided.
‘Is Vyvyan not well?’
I looked at Vyvyan. I felt slightly concerned. I hesitated for a moment then asked, “Mom, have you not been well recently?”
Vyvyan paused to look at me then smiled as she said, “No. Mommy is well as always. Are you worried about something, son?”
I looked at Vyvyan and asked, “Uhm. I’m worried about your health… Recently… you seem to be very concerned about your control over your mana… Have you not been well recently or have you exhausted your mana inside your body?”
Vyvyan is a demi-god so she should have infinite mana inside her. But she’s been so cautious recently. There seems to be some sort of problem.
Vyvyan hesitated for a moment then touched her lower abdomen. I didn’t know what it meant… Instead, I followed up by asking a question.
Vyvyan hesitated for a moment then looked at me and replied, “I guess you could say that. Mommy feels as though Mommy hasn’t had enough mana to use recently… Mommy thinks it has to do with Mommy’s body, but the issue won’t persist for long. It should return to normal in a few months’ time. Mommy’s usual living activities aren’t affected. It’s just that Mommy feels a little weak when using powerful spells.”
“Sorry, Mom… You’re not in good health, yet I… yet I’m asking you to teleport me. If you don’t feel well… let’s ride there.”
I looked at mom apologetically.
‘Mom is not well and yet I’m still asking her to expend mana. I’m being too inconsiderate.’
Vyvyan revealed a consoled smile then waved her hand, and the magic circle began to rotate, creating a blue ray of light. Vyvyan looked at me with a smile and said, “Mommy will be fine. Plus, if we ride horses, we won’t make it back in time. Son, if you care about Mommy… then let Mommy refill Mommy’s mana before heading back…”
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