Chapter 288: Now Then, To Her Majesty

Lily pulled my son from her mouth and licked it. Watching that, Anouk spasmed now and then. Had she enjoyed herself enough? When you did it alone, how different was imagining all sorts of things in your head from seeing it live? Had it made good material?

Even so, I could not shake the feeling I would see this disastrous scene again. I did not want to step into that swamp, and yet what if Lily and Anouk became a two-woman act? I had just a tiny bit of hope for that too. No, no. I must not raise a flag like that. I must not imagine two rears lined up side by side. I was royalty, they were high nobles, and I must not think that if I ordered the maids such a thing would be easy!

Anouk rose sluggishly. She looked at my face and turned away, but what was there to be embarrassed about at this point? I had my son dangling slack now that it had left Lily’s hands. A little juice was dripping too. Anouk had her face averted, but her eyes still caught my son. Did she want to lick it?

Then suddenly, shing! A switch flipped in Anouk. She took my hand.

"Now, let us go!"

she said, and pulled me outside.

From the back of the room,

"Aaaah, I am still not ready..."

Lily, drool? or fluid? running from the corner of her mouth, tried to put on her trousers and fell. Anouk, who cared nothing for Lily’s circumstances, pulled my hand and ran! Jumped! Ran! Jumped! She crossed walls, ran roofs, leapt streets, and headed for the palace. Lily was visible far behind.

Anouk, no matter how I thought about it, this felt like payback for not getting to drink. As if I could see the scheme of shaking Lily off and, if possible...! Or did she have no such thought, and simply want to reach Her Majesty quickly? My thinking was just vulgar, surely.

When we reached the roof of that familiar palace gate, people were waiting. They nodded at the sight of Anouk. Then those people took the lead, advanced over the roofs, and aimed for Her Majesty’s room. I knew only part of the Mainz Kingdom palace, so I did not know where the rear palace was. We arrived at the same room’s balcony as before and went inside.

Her Majesty was waiting in the room. The first to receive me were several men and women. All of them had their faces hidden. You could tell men from women by their builds. Lily arrived late. Haa, haa, haa. Lily was breathing hard. Her appearance had grown younger, but the inside might not have caught up yet.

"You finally came."

Her Majesty spoke in a voice with no feeling in it.

"Lord Marie, forgive me for summoning you so suddenly. In fact, I have at last decided to ask for your help, Lord Marie, and that is why I called you."

"At last, help?"

"Yes. Three nights from now, at the same hour, please come here. Of course I will have Anouk guide you. Otherwise you cannot enter the palace. Then I would like you to move together with these people. I will explain the details on the day. This will be the first time for you, Lord Marie, so I want you to watch what these people do and how they move. I would truly prefer to finish this work without borrowing your hand, but there are few capable people suited to it, and they wear out and drop away. That is why I very much want your cooperation, Lord Marie. Would that be all right?" ℯ

The tone was mild, but from around Her Majesty’s brow a fierce pressure? energy? will? was pouring into me. There was no longer any option of saying no.

"Understood. For me, everything is experience, so I will take part."

At my answer Her Majesty let out a breath of relief. She must have considered the chance I would refuse. There may have been various arrangements for what to do if I refused, and I think the relief was that she no longer needed them.

"I am glad you will cooperate. I feel easier."

Her Majesty said it with a smile. Then,

"Now, Lord Marie. Did you bring the medicine?"

she said, as if it were only natural. Huh? Not even five days have passed. Only four. Her Majesty alone has a short interval. Then again, a certain country’s queen had been drinking it every day, so it was nothing much.

"Yes. Here."

I took it out and held it forth. An oh! rose from the masked people. Was a mana bag rare even to them?

Her Majesty drank it down in one go and returned the glass.

"Lord Marie, is this freshly made, by any chance?"

"No, it is not. Today the summons came before I made any, so this is yesterday’s production."

"I see. That is a shame. I felt it took a little time even though you were here, Lord Marie, so I thought you might have been making it just then, but I was wrong. I cannot imagine Anouk received any, of course."

Her Majesty glared at Anouk. Anouk trembled.

"Th-that is unthinkable!"

You did not drink it, no. I watched you watch someone else drink it. I could tell Lily had frozen behind me. Should that have been taken into a glass without Lily drinking it, and brought along?

"Your Majesty, may I ask one thing?"

"What is it?"

"From now on, when I meet Your Majesty, would it be better to assume I will always provide medicine?"

"Yes. Would you do that?"

The tone was soft, but a clear will came through.

"Does that mean, for example, that if you have drunk it when we meet at noon, you will drink it again when we meet at night?"

"Of course! Please do it that way."

Do you want to drink it that much!? rose as far as my throat, but I could not ask.

"If we meet so often that the stock runs out, what should I do?"

"In that case, could you have Anouk help you make it?"

At Her Majesty’s answer Anouk sucked in a sharp breath. Her Majesty was putting it as a request to me, but in practice it was an order. Did that mean make it with Anouk in front of Her Majesty? It was possible Anouk would be taken to the brink, and then, now!, it would be poured into Her Majesty’s mouth. What should I do? Better not to store much stock, I thought. But Lily, hearing Her Majesty’s words just now, had surely resolved that she would never allow such a thing. Had she not thought of keeping excess stock?

"Then please come in three days, Lord Marie."

"Understood."

If that was the end, it felt as if I had been summoned just because she wanted to drink the medicine. Then she said,

"Lord Marie, that plan is moving forward. Ufufu."

That plan? What? I could not remember, and when I looked at Lily she shook her head that she did not know.

"Lord Marie, have you forgotten? You spoke with the Duchess, the talk of turning it into a play. We are advancing that. I met the playwright, explained, and had him start writing. The playwright was extremely interested as well, his eyes shining, so please look forward to it."

and so on. Her Majesty said unnecessary things. I could feel Lily giving off an atmosphere of, what is this about? For my part I was growing sick of explaining.

Her Majesty smirked and slowly began to speak. The masked people seemed interested too, and pricked up their ears.

"Lord Robin had not told Lily, had you? I thought so. Then I will tell her. We have decided to have the previous contest between Count von Kirchhoff and you, Lord Marie, staged at a commoner theater. I, the Duchess of Vélez, Countess von Kirchhoff, and the Marchioness of House Schult will tell the playwright about that night, and from that the playwright is writing the script. The playwright is praising it as the first interesting incident in a long time, and he says he will show us the finished outline the day after tomorrow. Well, Lily, are you interested?"

If Her Majesty tossed it to her, Lily could hardly say she had no interest.

"If you would allow it, please let me read it as well!!"

Lily’s words came out with force. Aaaaaah. Lily was a party to it. She had been at my side the whole time, so she would have mountains to tell. I could not help worrying that a story already inflated would be inflated two or three times more! I had not wanted Lily of all people to hear this! Because Lily had not talked enough about that time. I thought she had spoken to the embassy servants, but not to anyone else. That being so, she must have been dying to tell someone about it. To have people happy to listen, and to have what she told turned into a play, would be exactly what she wished for. Her Majesty and the others had spoken to the playwright as spectators, but Lily was a party, so the playwright would want her raw voice as well. Rudolf and I had not been expected as storytellers from the start.

"Lord Robin, once it is finished I will send word, so please wait."

Her Majesty’s finishing blow stabbed my chest. Before I could answer, Lily said,

"Yes! We will be waiting! Lord Robbie looks unwilling, but I will bring him no matter what!"

She answered with her feelings riding her voice, so happy she could not stand it. Haaaah.