Kays Translations

Chapter 412: Lively and Cheerful

“Yes, that was when I first saw her at the royal castle. She looked just like an angel who had descended from the heavens…”

“Ah, skip the preface. Just tell me how far you’ve gotten.”

Axel gave me a reproachful look when I interrupted him, but he finally seemed to have overcome his hesitation. Good. If he kept hiding his feelings, he might realise too late that he had missed his chance. He needed to act while he still could.

“How far, you ask…? Well, we’ve held hands and taken walks in the garden.”

“Walks in the garden? Wait, don’t tell me that when you occasionally said, ‘I’m going to train alone,’ and went off somewhere…”

“Yeah, I was actually meeting with her.”

All colour drained from Ijidol’s face. He appeared genuinely shocked. Mira gently patted his arm in consolation. They could be surprisingly considerate.

Still hugging Mira, Ijidol turned to Axel with a resentful look.

“You’ve really drawn the short straw, Ijidol.”

“More importantly, what about you, Julius?”

“Oh, we’re already at the stage where we sleep in the same bed.”

Because we shared a room while travelling, Fabienne—unused to long journeys—found it difficult to sleep in an unfamiliar bed by herself. She therefore often ended up sleeping beside me, which apparently helped her relax.

To Fabienne, I was probably something like a body pillow. Mira was always between us, and Nero naturally slept in the neighbouring bed.

“How indecent.”

Axel muttered under his breath, jealousy colouring his voice. Apparently he and Caro had progressed no further than holding hands. During my stay, perhaps I should help their relationship along. Yes, that seemed like an excellent plan.

“What do you mean? We haven’t done anything indecent. Yet.”

“Yet?!”

Ijidol turned tomato-red. What exactly was he imagining? Perhaps he was secretly the most lecherous among us. Wait—Fabienne was blushing too. Could she have been expecting something?

“By the way, Ijidol, do you have someone you like?”

“I don’t have anyone like that.”

Ijidol drooped like a drenched cat. He truly seemed to have no one special. Flirting in front of him might therefore feel a little awkward, although he looked perfectly content while petting Mira.

While we discussed what sort of swimsuits to make, Caro arrived fresh from the bath. Her slightly flushed face looked more radiant than usual. I found myself staring—until something soft, like freshly made mochi, pressed against my arm.

Startled, I turned to find Fabienne puffing out her cheeks. She was jealous. I had not meant anything by it, so I hurriedly changed the subject and brought up swimsuits with Caro.

“Something like that exists? If you could make one, I would love to have it.”

“Of course. I’m making swimsuits for Axel and Ijidol as well, so I’ll make yours at the same time. I’ll ask your attendants for your measurements later.”

“Very well. I’ll have them pass the measurements to you.”

That settled it. At least we would not have to measure Caro here. She was about Fabienne’s height, although considerably less developed. She might be self-conscious about it, so I certainly would not mention it aloud.

Oh, I almost forgot.

“Caro, I was thinking of installing a shower magic tool in the bath. What do you think?”

“I don’t mind at all. The townhouse in the royal capital already has one, but the one in the domain capital doesn’t yet. I’ve found it to be quite inconvenient.”

“That’s good to hear. I’d also like to borrow the magic tool workshop in the domain capital—would that be alright?”

“I’ll consult my father about it.”

Caro agreed immediately. That settled matters on this side.

After we had talked for a while, Fabienne seemed much more at ease with the group. Hopefully she no longer felt alone here.

Back in my room, I decided to sleep early in preparation for the next day. We had separate beds, of course. Giles and Christopher had been preparing for the forest expedition with the knights and were now exchanging information with Nero in the adjoining room.

“Julius-sama.”

“Huh? Fabienne, what’s wrong? Wait, hold on…”

Carrying Mira, Fabienne slipped beneath my blanket with practised ease. Her previous experience had clearly paid off. I briefly considered sending her back to her own bed, but I could not bring myself to do it, so I gently stroked her back as usual.

Soon, I could hear her peaceful breathing.

“Do I have some kind of sleep-inducing effect?”

“Kyuu.”

Mira seemed to agree. The moment I stroked them, they too fell asleep.

That was good, of course. Unfortunately, it left me as the only person in the bed still wide awake.

Perhaps I should make myself a sleeping potion.

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