Julia and Iris, the two women, finished their meal and moved to the sunny garden. Julia and Iris enjoyed light refreshments while watching Ed running around with his dog in the distance.
"His Majesty returned to the palace at dawn. Lionel said that it would be better to move quickly to root out the remnants before the coming-of-age ceremony. After all, it is related to Tirve."
"Yes."
"Oh, how about you rest here until you get better? His Majesty will be busy until the coming-of-age ceremony anyway, and Julia has already finished most of the preparations for the ceremony, right? Just leave the rest to Her Highness the Grand Duchess. The list of Invitees is also in Lionel's study, so you can check it here if you need to."
"Oh, yes. I will. Thank you, Sister."
Thank goodness he was next to me when I woke up in the morning, I would have fainted.
Julia nodded as Iris continued to talk for a long time, lost in thought.
Of course, she heard it, but she only stored it in her head literally and didn't understand it as usual. Fortunately, her mouth, which had been well-trained through her education as a Queen, moved on its own.
"Julia, do you usually feel that dazed when you just wake up?"
Iris asked, picking up the teapot and pouring it for her. Julia, who had turned her head blankly, read the question in her raised eyes and suddenly came to her senses.
"No. Sorry, I seemed a little out of it today."
"It's okay. You're probably still a little tired. Since it's come to this, why don't you play around as much as you want at my house and then return to the palace the day before your coming-of-age ceremony?"
Let's go on a picnic together and go shopping together. Iris suggested with a voice that was the complete opposite of her proud face.
Iris's face was naturally cold, so no matter how happy she was, she felt cold, but now she couldn't hide her anticipation, so her excited voice sounded cheerful like a girl's.
A smile spread across Julia's face, who had been absent-minded the whole time.
"Yes, we play together. You know, I've never actually done that with a friend."
My sister is my first friend. Julia whispered as if she was telling Iris a big secret and filled Iris's teacup. Iris's eyes grew twice as big as before and she said shyly.
'This is my first time as a Queen.'
"Wow, really? It's an honor!"
As Julia smiled and cooed, Iris blushed and made a face that said she was dying of joy.
"Phew."
Julia let out a small laugh at the cuteness of such a girlish Iris. Then, Iris made an "oh no" expression, suddenly lowered the corners of her mouth, and spoke in a pretended haughty manner.
"Julia, are you kidding me?"
"No way. It's because I like being with someone as pretty as my sister for the first time. Yes, then what should we do first?"
Although the tone was openly humorous, Iris fell for the suggestion to play. The two women began to chat about making plans to play without realizing how much time had passed.
"How about Madame Elphaba's shop? They have some new lace designs there these days..."
"Mom! Ed is thirsty!"
Woof woof!
Edgar, who was playing on the lawn with his fist-sized puppy Lily, came running in panting. Julia, who saw him, smiled first and picked up the teapot.
"Eek, I feel like eating something cold."
"Good, Ed? If you eat something cold too quickly, your stomach will hurt, so let's eat this first."
Julia soothed Ed, who was grumbling, in a gentle voice. Then, she tilted the kettle over Ed's cup as he sat down next to Iris, stroking his hair with one hand.
"If you drink all this and come back to play with Lily, I'll give you ice cream."
"Wow!"
Because the dress was a little looser than her body measurements, Julia tipped the kettle and absentmindedly pulled the sleeves up a little.
By chance, very coincidentally, The long sleeves that had been covering her wrists rolled up, revealing her white wrists under the bright, sparkling sunlight.
"Julia, are you okay? I think you hurt the inside of your wrist where you held the kettle."
Iris, who was contentedly watching the picturesque scene between Ed and Julia, noticed something and asked worriedly.
"Huh? Hurt?"
No way. I healed everything with a healing potion at the hunting grounds?
Julia absentmindedly turned her gaze to the inside of her wrist where she was holding the kettle.
"What kind of wound..."
"Oh, Ed know what it is!"
Edgar, who had been pretending not to want to drink tea, pointed and shouted.
The red mark that was secretly hidden under the clothes, on the inside of the thin wrist.
"Last time, Lily sucked Ed and that's why she acted like that."
"Ah, wait, wait. Ed!"
Iris noticed something and tried to stop her son. But Ed just kept babbling as if he was excited to find out something he knew.
"She bit and sucked it like she was eating something delicious. I was crying because it hurt, but she kept sucking and kissing it, and it turned red and squeaky just like that!"
And then he ran off like a wild horse with a proud face. Iris avoided eye contact and put her hand on her forehead.
"I... I'm sorry, Julia."
The teapot fell from Julia's frozen hands.
Clang!
The Queen's dignity was shattered along with the teapot.
... Julia felt like crying.
Finally, Julia jumped up, her face flushed red.
"Well, I'll wake up first!"
And then she ran away, even stammering her words.
And that afternoon, she stayed in her bedroom, making the excuse that she had not fully recovered yet. She even ate the dinner that was brought into her room and sent the maids out.
"Ahh! Oh no! Mion!"
I said! That! That wasn't right!
Julia spent the night beating her pillow, blaming her husband who wasn't even there. She even kicked the blanket and rolled around on the bed until she fell to the floor.
Then, finally, around dawn, when the sun was rising. She fell asleep as if she had fainted from exhaustion.
***
"Her Majesty don't even step out of bed?"
It was just after lunchtime.
Iris, who came to Julia's room door because she was worried, asked the maid's words as if they were ridiculous. The maid, with a worried look on her face, winked at the tightly closed door and whispered.
"Duchess. Actually, yesterday morning, by chance..."
Iris wiggled her eyebrows at the whispered words.
"I know it may be presumptuous of me to ask, but I'm worried that Her Majesty might be feeling unwell because of that..."
"Yes, I understand."
Iris made a strange expression and dismissed the maid. Then, after knocking, she carefully opened the bedroom door and went in.
Click
"Julia, it's me."
The blanket covering the wide bed was bulging. Iris looked at it and approached, tilting her head, wondering if Edgar was here with her.
When she lifted the opaque canopy that had been lowered, shr saw Julia on the bed, covered with a blanket. Iris was surprised to see Julia, who was always calm and mature, acting like a child, and asked.
"What's wrong? What's wrong? Are you feeling sick...!"
"I, I'm embarrassed..."
"Yes?"
Iris was speechless for a moment.
No way... Is that why you're acting like this yesterday?
It was absurd, but Iris sat down on the bed and carefully took off Julia's blanket. Julia sat up with her head down, not even making eye contact.
"I didn't know Julia was so shy."
As Iris spoke to her as if it was nothing, Julia's head lowered more and more. Iris tilted her head in genuine bewilderment.
"Why are you bringing that up? After all, His Majesty and Julia are a married couple. Even if everyone else notices, they'll still be happy and say that your relationship is fine..."
No... That's not it, sis. I was embarrassed because someone caught me the first time I did it...
Julia nodded, swallowing the tears in her heart. Iris was right a thousand times over, but it was still embarrassing.
She didn't know it would turn out like this, and she didn't plan it, so Julia still couldn't believe it, but as soon as she did it, her husband's sister found out. And now she's getting comforted by her husband's sister!
"If you're really worried, just say you got bitten by a dog or a bug like Ed said. It's not even in an obvious place like your neck, so why worry?"
Julia silently tugged at the hem of her clothes. Iris, who had been trying hard to encourage Julia with her clumsy skills, looked down, wondering what was going on.
As the cloth covering her neck was pulled back, an indelible red mark was revealed on her elegant white neck.
"Oh, you can't say that the neck is explicit! It has to be at least the forehead that's explicit!"
Iris hurriedly tried to collect her things. However, she had already said. "You are blatantly showing off." Eventually, Iris, who felt that there was no answer the more she spoke, closed her mouth and glanced around.
Julia realized that she had unintentionally worried Iris. Well, it was time to get up. After being locked in her room for a day and feeling depressed, she didn't feel as ashamed as she did at first.
Julia came out of the blanket, smiling brightly as usual, although a little weak.
"What should I do? My coming-of-age ceremony is in four nights..."
Instead, realistic concerns remain...
These days, revealing necks and shoulders is all the rage, so Julia also had a dress designed like that for the coming-of-age ceremony to wear at the ball on the night of her coming-of-age ceremony. It would be nice if these marks disappeared completely, but if even a single trace remained, it would be a huge disaster.
"It's too late to get a new dress..."
Julia held up the hand mirror and looked at her neck from side to side, feeling worried.
Julia's neck was long and straight like a swan, and white as snow, making the scars stand out even more. When she looked closely, she was shocked to see that she really was advertising the neighborhood.
'If I go back, I really won't let you stay still!'
Endymion lied to Julia, who was so busy crying that she didn't notice at all.
Uncharacteristic of her gentle personality, Julia gritted her teeth and vowed revenge, but Iris's eyes suddenly sparkled.
"Then let's go out!"
"Going out, huh?"
"There's a new magic tool shop opening on Mysterion Street today! You can buy healing potions there and treat yourself. They even treat fractures, right? That'll take care of all that in an instant. And while you're at it, why don't you go shopping for a change of pace?"
A magic tool shop? Julia blinked in surprise.
All magic tools were strictly produced under the control of the Magc Tower, numbered, and were not easy to obtain as they were handcrafted Items made directly by magicians.
Even if you had billions of dollars, you couldn't buy the magical tools you wanted. Even the royal family of each country had to submit a request directly to the Magic Tower and meet the schedule to obtain the magical tools they needed.
The magic tools, or in other words, the power of the magician, were that strong. That is why the Magic Tower was a neutral zone that did not belong to any country. Magic was a power stronger than most countries, and if abused, it could lead to disaster.
It was surprising that a store specializing in selling magic tools was created in Semele in such a closed magic tower.
"Lionel told me the latest top secret: from now on. Magic Tower will open magic tool shops in each country. Starting with the major powers, they will open one in each country in order. I think Semele will be the first."
"I see. What kind of change of heart is this?"
For generations, the Magic Tower has been a conservative group, and while they do not seek power, they do not shy away from the power that magic gives.
That's why magicians had to get permission from the Magic Tower to get married, and they also registered the numbers of their magic tools and strictly managed where and how they were used. They controlled everything related to magic. However, it was quite interesting to see them open a magic tool shop and loosen up their control over magic a little.
"Well, His Majesty and Lionel will figure that out. Isn't that the job of the King and the Duke? We'll go and see for ourselves. We'll buy healing potions and anything else we want!"
It was a good idea. There were healing potions in the palace, but they were for serious situations and were difficult to use for personal use. Especially for 'this kind' of wound.
'That, that's absolutely not possible!'
I felt like I was going to faint just thinking about it!
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