Black poked Liene’s nose, who was bewildered.
“It’s not like Nauk, but it’s a place for convenience. We need a place to rest.”
“Well, um... You’re really rich.”
“Thanks to the adjutant’s ability.”
The mansion was large enough for all of Tiwakan to rest and sleep comfortably, and it was also well-organized. The person in charge of managing the mansion said that workers would be sent early tomorrow morning.
“There was a house.”
Liene sighed as she looked at the interior of the mansion, which seemed to be better decorated than Nauk Castle.
Black pressed his lips to Liene’s crown from behind.
“It’s not a house.”
“It’s a house, but why do you say it’s not a house...?”
“Because the Princess wasn’t there.”
“...”
Liene tilted her head back and met Black’s eyes. The round tip of her nose, which was visible upside down, was strangely adorable.
“You’re not saying that for nothing, are you?”
“I don’t think I’ve ever said something for nothing.”
“That’s right. You’re that kind of person. Haven’t you ever thought about living in Bluewarren? With such a nice house?”
“It’s a lively and convenient place, but even here, I’ve always been a stranger.”
“I see... Sometimes it’s strange.”
“What?”
“You came back to Nauk. You must have been all over the continent.”
“Not really.”
“Even so, there must have been many places better than Nauk. And yet you came back.”
“As I said, there was no Princess anywhere else.”
Liene snickered.
“I thought you were just saying that to make me feel good. You weren’t sincere to me when you came back to Nauk, were you?”
“You probably knew. That this would happen in the end.”
“Hmm... That sounds like you were just saying that to make me feel good.”
“Actually, I didn’t think I’d be saying that either. But the Princess...”
Black paused for a moment and furrowed his eyebrows.
Liene reached out her hand to touch Black’s eyebrow.
“What about me?”
“I guess I couldn’t help but think that way after finding out that you never gave your heart to Klinefelter.”
“Ah...?”
“It must have been like this. Whenever.”
“Ah...”
When Liene nodded slightly, Black wrapped his arms around her neck and kissed her.
The kiss with their lips in reversed positions felt new, but it was still good the way it was before.
“When we get back, I’ll have to take care of Nauk Castle too. I can’t make you live in a place worse than where you were before.”
Black picked Liene up in front of the stairs in the middle of the mansion.
“Does this house look good to you, Princess?”
“How could I say no?”
“Then take it.”
“...Yes?”
Thump, thump.
Black started climbing the stairs while holding Liene.
“There are a couple more places besides this one. Take them all. I don’t need them anymore.”
“Wow... There’s so much. But I don’t need them either... No, no. Give them all to me.”
Liene dug into Black’s neck.
“I don’t want you to have anywhere else to go. Give me everything. Don’t leave anything out.”
That was why she woke up early.
When Liene sat on the balcony railing, Black supported her waist.
“The air isn’t dry because it’s by the river.”
“It’ll be even better at this hour.”
Liene said, looking at the river flowing gently but steadily.
“Will Nauk be like this?”
As she asked, the ring she had received from Bliny hung as a pendant around her neck.
Black reached out and picked up the ring.
The ring that had been big for Bliny was also big for Liene. She decided to wear it around her neck because she thought she would be fiddling with it the whole time like Bliny if she wore it on her thumb.
“If this ring really acts as a key. That’s what it will be.”
“...I can’t breathe.”
Liene rubbed her cheek against Black’s hand holding the ring.
“It’s so good... It’s so dreamlike.”
Black put down the ring and cupped Liene’s cheek.
“Just wait a minute. It’ll be real soon.”
“I wish we could go back soon.”
Black laughed out loud.
“When we were in the bathroom together yesterday, didn’t you say you wanted to stay a few more days?”
“Um... I meant it at that moment. I’m sorry. I changed my mind.”
“I’m a little sorry. I was excited at the thought of staying a few more days.”
“I know. I was like that too. Until yesterday.”
“Not anymore?”
“Yes. When I hear the sound of the water, I can’t think of anything else. My heart... keeps pounding.”
Black sat down on the balcony floor and brought his eyes up to hers.
“Princess.”
“Yes.”
“So are you done with the thoughts you had when you left Nauk?”
“Ah...”
Liene said she had something to think about as she said she would go to the Kingdom of Sharka with him.
"I want to see outside of Nauk if I really want to wear this crown, if I’m ready if I’m worthy."
“...Actually, I don’t know. I’m not sure if I’m ready or not. Somewhere in my heart, I still think that you should be the King of Nauk. My crown was given to me without qualification.”
“You were the one who protected Nauk with that crown on your head.”
“Because I thought it was my job. But now...”
“Now?”
“I don’t think it really matters what happens. What does that matter? They say water is returning to Nauk.”
Black let out a strange sigh that sounded like laughter.
“I think that’s what it means for the Princess to be qualified.”
“If there’s one thing I did well as the monarch of Nauk, it was accepting your proposal. That’s why you came back, and the water is returning.”
“Yes. That’s what I think.”
Even if you don’t think about it in your head, you must vaguely feel it in your heart.
Being qualified to wear a crown isn’t something that comes simply from inheriting royal blood.
Neither the King of Sharka nor the Grand Princess of Bliny were particularly suited to wearing a crown. Having seen such people with her own eyes, she must have come to a conclusion.
Liene lifted the ring.
“But this is the ring of the Gainers family. Shouldn’t you keep it?”
“So it’s the Princess’s.”
“...Is everything you have mine? Then it won’t work.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m greedy. I don’t feel bad at all about taking your house, and I’m just happy. You have nowhere else to go but Nauk. In that sense, I want to take everything else.”
Black got up. He pulled Liene’s dress string slightly as he turned her toward him, who was sitting with her feet on the railing.
“That means I’ll never leave you, Princess... Isn’t that scary?”
“Why is that scary? Isn’t the opposite scary?”
“If the Princess takes everything I have, I’ll have nothing left to lose. Except for the Princess.”
“You can just ask me to feed you. And, yes. I’m curious about what she's going to talk about.”
“I wanted you to tell me before I spoke. Then let’s finish eating and go. I’ll go with you.”
“It’s not like Nauk, but it’s a place for convenience. We need a place to rest.”
“Well, um... You’re really rich.”
“Thanks to the adjutant’s ability.”
The mansion was large enough for all of Tiwakan to rest and sleep comfortably, and it was also well-organized. The person in charge of managing the mansion said that workers would be sent early tomorrow morning.
“There was a house.”
Liene sighed as she looked at the interior of the mansion, which seemed to be better decorated than Nauk Castle.
Black pressed his lips to Liene’s crown from behind.
“It’s not a house.”
“It’s a house, but why do you say it’s not a house...?”
“Because the Princess wasn’t there.”
“...”
Liene tilted her head back and met Black’s eyes. The round tip of her nose, which was visible upside down, was strangely adorable.
“You’re not saying that for nothing, are you?”
“I don’t think I’ve ever said something for nothing.”
“That’s right. You’re that kind of person. Haven’t you ever thought about living in Bluewarren? With such a nice house?”
“It’s a lively and convenient place, but even here, I’ve always been a stranger.”
“I see... Sometimes it’s strange.”
“What?”
“You came back to Nauk. You must have been all over the continent.”
“Not really.”
“Even so, there must have been many places better than Nauk. And yet you came back.”
“As I said, there was no Princess anywhere else.”
Liene snickered.
“I thought you were just saying that to make me feel good. You weren’t sincere to me when you came back to Nauk, were you?”
“You probably knew. That this would happen in the end.”
“Hmm... That sounds like you were just saying that to make me feel good.”
“Actually, I didn’t think I’d be saying that either. But the Princess...”
Black paused for a moment and furrowed his eyebrows.
Liene reached out her hand to touch Black’s eyebrow.
“What about me?”
“I guess I couldn’t help but think that way after finding out that you never gave your heart to Klinefelter.”
“Ah...?”
“It must have been like this. Whenever.”
“Ah...”
When Liene nodded slightly, Black wrapped his arms around her neck and kissed her.
The kiss with their lips in reversed positions felt new, but it was still good the way it was before.
“When we get back, I’ll have to take care of Nauk Castle too. I can’t make you live in a place worse than where you were before.”
Black picked Liene up in front of the stairs in the middle of the mansion.
“Does this house look good to you, Princess?”
“How could I say no?”
“Then take it.”
“...Yes?”
Thump, thump.
Black started climbing the stairs while holding Liene.
“There are a couple more places besides this one. Take them all. I don’t need them anymore.”
“Wow... There’s so much. But I don’t need them either... No, no. Give them all to me.”
Liene dug into Black’s neck.
“I don’t want you to have anywhere else to go. Give me everything. Don’t leave anything out.”
“Yes. But please do something for me, too.”
“Yes. I’ll give you what I can give you.”
“Not things.”
“Then what?”
Black paused for a moment and brought his lips to Liene’s ear. Liene’s cheeks flushed as he whispered something.
“That’s a bit too...”
“Can’t I?”
“If I say no, you’re not going to give me the house?”
“Yes.”
Liene laughed out loud because Black was so firm in his refusal.
“Then there’s nothing I can do. Yes. I’ll do it.”
“It’s a promise.”
The steps climbing the stairs suddenly quickened.
Black took Liene to a bathroom with a large bathtub.
After a while, breathless laughter could be heard from the bathroom.
From the balcony of the room Black used on the third floor, she could see the river flowing behind the mansion.
Liene, who woke up at dawn, put on the same pajamas Black wore and opened the balcony door.
It was the time when the dim dawn light touched the water's surface, creating a cold and languid mist.
“...Why are you up so early?”
Black got up right away and chased after her, even though she had said she would move quietly.
“I heard the sound of water.”
“Was it noisy?”
“No. Rather than being noisy... It was unfamiliar because it was a sound I couldn’t hear in Nauk.”
“Not things.”
“Then what?”
Black paused for a moment and brought his lips to Liene’s ear. Liene’s cheeks flushed as he whispered something.
“That’s a bit too...”
“Can’t I?”
“If I say no, you’re not going to give me the house?”
“Yes.”
Liene laughed out loud because Black was so firm in his refusal.
“Then there’s nothing I can do. Yes. I’ll do it.”
“It’s a promise.”
The steps climbing the stairs suddenly quickened.
Black took Liene to a bathroom with a large bathtub.
After a while, breathless laughter could be heard from the bathroom.
***
From the balcony of the room Black used on the third floor, she could see the river flowing behind the mansion.
Liene, who woke up at dawn, put on the same pajamas Black wore and opened the balcony door.
It was the time when the dim dawn light touched the water's surface, creating a cold and languid mist.
“...Why are you up so early?”
Black got up right away and chased after her, even though she had said she would move quietly.
“I heard the sound of water.”
“Was it noisy?”
“No. Rather than being noisy... It was unfamiliar because it was a sound I couldn’t hear in Nauk.”
That was why she woke up early.
When Liene sat on the balcony railing, Black supported her waist.
“The air isn’t dry because it’s by the river.”
“It’ll be even better at this hour.”
Liene said, looking at the river flowing gently but steadily.
“Will Nauk be like this?”
As she asked, the ring she had received from Bliny hung as a pendant around her neck.
Black reached out and picked up the ring.
The ring that had been big for Bliny was also big for Liene. She decided to wear it around her neck because she thought she would be fiddling with it the whole time like Bliny if she wore it on her thumb.
“If this ring really acts as a key. That’s what it will be.”
“...I can’t breathe.”
Liene rubbed her cheek against Black’s hand holding the ring.
“It’s so good... It’s so dreamlike.”
Black put down the ring and cupped Liene’s cheek.
“Just wait a minute. It’ll be real soon.”
“I wish we could go back soon.”
Black laughed out loud.
“When we were in the bathroom together yesterday, didn’t you say you wanted to stay a few more days?”
“Um... I meant it at that moment. I’m sorry. I changed my mind.”
“I’m a little sorry. I was excited at the thought of staying a few more days.”
“I know. I was like that too. Until yesterday.”
“Not anymore?”
“Yes. When I hear the sound of the water, I can’t think of anything else. My heart... keeps pounding.”
Black sat down on the balcony floor and brought his eyes up to hers.
“Princess.”
“Yes.”
“So are you done with the thoughts you had when you left Nauk?”
“Ah...”
Liene said she had something to think about as she said she would go to the Kingdom of Sharka with him.
"I want to see outside of Nauk if I really want to wear this crown, if I’m ready if I’m worthy."
“...Actually, I don’t know. I’m not sure if I’m ready or not. Somewhere in my heart, I still think that you should be the King of Nauk. My crown was given to me without qualification.”
“You were the one who protected Nauk with that crown on your head.”
“Because I thought it was my job. But now...”
“Now?”
“I don’t think it really matters what happens. What does that matter? They say water is returning to Nauk.”
Black let out a strange sigh that sounded like laughter.
“I think that’s what it means for the Princess to be qualified.”
“If there’s one thing I did well as the monarch of Nauk, it was accepting your proposal. That’s why you came back, and the water is returning.”
“Yes. That’s what I think.”
Even if you don’t think about it in your head, you must vaguely feel it in your heart.
Being qualified to wear a crown isn’t something that comes simply from inheriting royal blood.
Neither the King of Sharka nor the Grand Princess of Bliny were particularly suited to wearing a crown. Having seen such people with her own eyes, she must have come to a conclusion.
Liene lifted the ring.
“But this is the ring of the Gainers family. Shouldn’t you keep it?”
“So it’s the Princess’s.”
“...Is everything you have mine? Then it won’t work.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m greedy. I don’t feel bad at all about taking your house, and I’m just happy. You have nowhere else to go but Nauk. In that sense, I want to take everything else.”
Black got up. He pulled Liene’s dress string slightly as he turned her toward him, who was sitting with her feet on the railing.
“That means I’ll never leave you, Princess... Isn’t that scary?”
“Why is that scary? Isn’t the opposite scary?”
“If the Princess takes everything I have, I’ll have nothing left to lose. Except for the Princess.”
He believed that Liene knew what that meant.
“That’s what I want you to do.”
She gave him the answer he desperately wanted to hear.
“Then take it all.”
“There’s no need to talk about anything else later.”
“The Princess.”
The two hugged each other without saying who would go first.
Their lips, soaked in the morning air, were sweet. After swallowing their lips for a while, their pajamas became loose.
“I want to sleep a little longer... What about the Princess?”
“Me too.”
“Then let’s go in.”
Black carried Liene and left the balcony.
They were lying in bed side by side, but sleeping became a lie.
The two pairs of disheveled pajamas fell to the floor, and the bedroom was filled with the sound of their breathing.
In the end, they were eating the breakfast they had brought to the bedroom at a late hour.
“...Princess Bliny?”
“Yes, Princess.”
Randall brought Bliny’s message.
She said she had something to say to Liene.
“Hmm...”
“Personally, I don’t think you need to listen to it. It’s probably just nonsense anyway. You’ll be sorry for going all the way down there.”
Randall shook his head.
“What about you?”
Black lowered his head to bite the bread Liene was holding in her hand while she took a bite and answered.
“...It’s not important. If you don’t want to see her face, just ignore her.”
“I’m more concerned about why you’re eating the bread in my hand instead of yours. But I’ll see her.”
“I feel like you're feeding me. Do you really have to see her?”
“That’s what I want you to do.”
She gave him the answer he desperately wanted to hear.
“Then take it all.”
“There’s no need to talk about anything else later.”
“The Princess.”
The two hugged each other without saying who would go first.
Their lips, soaked in the morning air, were sweet. After swallowing their lips for a while, their pajamas became loose.
“I want to sleep a little longer... What about the Princess?”
“Me too.”
“Then let’s go in.”
Black carried Liene and left the balcony.
They were lying in bed side by side, but sleeping became a lie.
The two pairs of disheveled pajamas fell to the floor, and the bedroom was filled with the sound of their breathing.
***
In the end, they were eating the breakfast they had brought to the bedroom at a late hour.
“...Princess Bliny?”
“Yes, Princess.”
Randall brought Bliny’s message.
She said she had something to say to Liene.
“Hmm...”
“Personally, I don’t think you need to listen to it. It’s probably just nonsense anyway. You’ll be sorry for going all the way down there.”
Randall shook his head.
“What about you?”
Black lowered his head to bite the bread Liene was holding in her hand while she took a bite and answered.
“...It’s not important. If you don’t want to see her face, just ignore her.”
“I’m more concerned about why you’re eating the bread in my hand instead of yours. But I’ll see her.”
“I feel like you're feeding me. Do you really have to see her?”
“You can just ask me to feed you. And, yes. I’m curious about what she's going to talk about.”
“I wanted you to tell me before I spoke. Then let’s finish eating and go. I’ll go with you.”
“Sometimes I don’t understand what you want from me. But since you want it, I want to give it to you. What else do you want to eat besides bread?”
“Grapes would be nice.”
“Here you go.”
Black gently swallowed the grapes she brought to his mouth, including her fingers.
Randall scratched his cheek awkwardly.
“The Grand Princess can just look at this. Then she won’t have to bother you by saying things like we should talk.”
“...I don’t know why you’re still here.”
Randall straightened his back as Black paused for a moment while chewing the grapes.
“I’ll go out right away. Enjoy your meal.”
The distance between them grew closer as Randall left. Liene smiled as she watched Black pull the chair he was sitting on toward her.
“What’s it this time?”
“Grapes.”
“Honestly, I did it on purpose. I was going to bite your finger again.”
“You didn’t bite me.”
It felt like she was being eaten, not bitten.
“If you’re going to give it to me with your hand, I don’t mind anything other than grapes.”
“Then this.”
Liene picked up the roast pork with thick cinnamon cream spread on it as if she were joking.
“Are you still going to eat this?”
“Give it to me.”
Black took a bite of the roast pork, and the cream slid down Liene’s wrist. Then her lips moved along the cream mark.
“Ah... this is too much.”
Liene smeared the cream on her finger onto Black’s cheek.
“You should experience it too. If I get this on me, I’ll feel like I’m food.”
Black stuck out his cheek.
“Eat it.”
“Really...”
Liene licked his cheek, smiling bitterly.
It wasn’t any tastier, but it was definitely tastier. It was incomprehensible, but it wasn’t completely incomprehensible.
Breakfast took quite a while because they were joking around with each other.
“Grapes would be nice.”
“Here you go.”
Black gently swallowed the grapes she brought to his mouth, including her fingers.
Randall scratched his cheek awkwardly.
“The Grand Princess can just look at this. Then she won’t have to bother you by saying things like we should talk.”
“...I don’t know why you’re still here.”
Randall straightened his back as Black paused for a moment while chewing the grapes.
“I’ll go out right away. Enjoy your meal.”
The distance between them grew closer as Randall left. Liene smiled as she watched Black pull the chair he was sitting on toward her.
“What’s it this time?”
“Grapes.”
“Honestly, I did it on purpose. I was going to bite your finger again.”
“You didn’t bite me.”
It felt like she was being eaten, not bitten.
“If you’re going to give it to me with your hand, I don’t mind anything other than grapes.”
“Then this.”
Liene picked up the roast pork with thick cinnamon cream spread on it as if she were joking.
“Are you still going to eat this?”
“Give it to me.”
Black took a bite of the roast pork, and the cream slid down Liene’s wrist. Then her lips moved along the cream mark.
“Ah... this is too much.”
Liene smeared the cream on her finger onto Black’s cheek.
“You should experience it too. If I get this on me, I’ll feel like I’m food.”
Black stuck out his cheek.
“Eat it.”
“Really...”
Liene licked his cheek, smiling bitterly.
It wasn’t any tastier, but it was definitely tastier. It was incomprehensible, but it wasn’t completely incomprehensible.
Breakfast took quite a while because they were joking around with each other.
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