"Eh?"
"It"s safer than staying in the ducal residence, and more importantly I can protect Lidi here. I think it"s not a bad idea?"

When I couldn"t say anything to Freed"s suggestion, unexpectedly Brother responded with enthusiasm.

"… That"s right. That might be for the better. I"ll be absolutely relieved to leave you to Freed rather than the people of our agency… Lidi, do it. I"ll inform old man"
"Just… just a minute, don"t decide this on your own"

As I hurriedly stopped the progress of the talk, Freed next to me also added.

"I won"t say it"ll be until the wedding ceremony. It"s only until we can confirm your safety. I won"t lock you up either. I"m fine with Lidi spending time freely"

I reacted a little to the words that I won"t be locked up.
In that case――――.

"… Could I get the permission to enter the kitchen?"
"Lidi?"

Not understanding the meaning, Freed asked back, to which Brother first tried to provide the explanation.

"Yup, it"s the best bait for her. Freed, Lidi"s hobby is cooking, she"s the owner of the original recipe for our ducal house"s "daif.u.ku""
"That daif.u.ku"s!?"

It wasn"t Freed but Glenn who raised his voice.
Will of course knows, so it"s Freed and Glenn who are unaware.
I tilted my head as Glenn opened his eyes wide in surprise.

"That"s right, perhaps Glenn likes sweet things?"
"No, I don"t particularly like them, but I often hear that name from those I am socializing with. I see, you are the owner of the original recipe"

I wondered about the content of Glenn"s impressed words.
Socializing… Ah, it"s about madams he accompanies at night. Certainly, daif.u.ku is especially popular amongst women. I can understand if Glenn heard it from them.
With a nod I made a suggestion.

"If you want, I can tell you how to make it?"

He"s Will"s younger brother. Will always takes care of me, so I don"t mind. That"s why I tried asking, but he returned a reserved answer if there"s an opportunity. Even though there"s no particular reason to hold back.
While at it, I tried asking Freed.
But, Freed shook his head in regret.

"No, I"m happy, but I"m not very good with sweets… But I see, it"s Lidi who made daif.u.ku that Alex brings occasionally"
"She"s the ducal house"s cherished chef, see?"

For some reason Brother bragged.
Freed nodded and said to me.

"Then, Lidi. I"ll recommend you to the kitchen. So stay in the Royal Palace"
"… If you give me a separate room"

Originally, I thought I wouldn"t mind staying if I was shown the kitchen, so I readily nodded. But, there"s just one thing I can"t give up on. That is separate rooms.

"I can stay here if you let me use the guest room"
"Yup, that"s rejected"

I tried stating my wish, but it was easily cut down.
I don"t have enough Delris-san"s medicine to share the room with Freed. My body won"t last if I"m attacked each time the two of us are in the room.
Doing it every day… I don"t mind that, but then I"d like to decrease the amount of times a little.
Be that as it may, I can"t say that in front of this lineup.
Unable to say the reason, ultimately I decided on repeating my request.

"… Please"
"Nope"
"… I want my own room if I stay"
"We"ll live in the same room soon anyway, so it"s best to get used to it now. My room is s.p.a.cious, so there"s no problem with two people living there, is there?"

That"s not the problem!
When I groaned gugugu, Brother looked at me with pity.
Wow, he absolutely understands why I don"t want it.
It"s too unpleasant for my real brother to know that.
When I scowled at that brother, he awkwardly looked away, still he took Freed"s side.

"Aah, you see. You may not think it"s a good idea, but I also think it"s better if you stay in Freed"s room, okay?"
"Older Brother!?"

He understands why, yet he still recommends it!
I was so surprised by Brother"s fiendish act my eyes were round.

"No! That"s not it! It"s a crime prevention measure!"
"… Crime prevention measure?"

When I suspiciously asked Brother, who had sold off his younger sister, Brother rapidly nodded.

"There"s a super powerful barrier raised around Freed"s room. Its purpose is to enhance security, so it"s naturally the safest place you can be, right?"
"Barrier…"

Those words reminded me of what I heard from Cain.
Certainly he also said that. That there"s a powerful barrier set up.

While I was beginning to be convinced, Freed too pressed for the answer.

"When you"re inside my room, you"ll be absolutely beyond their grasp. You can spend time in peace. In the first place, it"s common sense that there"s no way Lidi would stay in the guest room. The guest rooms are in the general area, right? If Lidi, who"s already recognized as royalty lodged there, it"d be chaos for soldiers"
"Royalty… I see, I understand"

To my regret I agree with Freed"s words.
Having been told a convincing explanation, I couldn"t oppose anymore.
After causing a terrible trouble already, I don"t want to inconvenience soldiers.
I"m already recognized as royalty, there"s no way I can lodge in the general area. Having it pointed to me, it"s a sensible reason.
However that and sharing the room are different matters, but I could only nod to it after the talk about the barrier was brought up.
Ultimately, I came to the conclusion that I have no choice but to stay in Freed"s room.

"Alright, it"s decided. As I said earlier, I"ll explain the reason to old man. Tell me if you want something delivered. I"ll have Zechs bring it"
"… Then, the complete set of cooking utensils for now. I think you"ll know what I need if you ask Thomas"
"Got it"

When I informed him of what I wanted, Brother produced a pen and paper and wrote a note to not forget it.
Seeing such us Glenn stood up.

"It seems we came to an agreement. Then I"ll be returning shortly"
"Glenn, don"t forget to strengthen the security"
"I understand. I will revise the security plan and submit it today"

Raising his face, Brother pointed his pen at Glenn. As Brother told him to strengthen the security with a serious face, Glenn returned a short acknowledgement.
Will who was lost in thought also stood up.

"Your Highness. I will also return. I intend to look into the matter of the magical tool a little more"
"Ah, please do"
"Lidi, what will you do? … If you"re returning… I"ll escort you"
"Ah, yup"

I thought a little about Will"s suggestion.
Will is the Commander of the Magic Division, so he has the qualifications to enter the royalty quarter. That"s why there"s no problem for him to escort me, Freed and Brother have their jobs too. It"s clear looking at the pile of doc.u.ments at their desks. I shouldn"t hinder them. But…

"Freed, I wonder if I can"t stay here?"
"Lidi?""

As if he heard something unexpected, Freed blinked his eyes.

"Of course, I"ll go back if I"m a nuisance, but if I could stay…"
"I don"t mind… Alex?"
"Ah, right, you must feel scared today. I understand wanting to be near others. Fine, if you can be within sight it"s a relief for us too"
"… Thanks"

Relieved I gave my thanks, and turned to Will.

"Sorry. That"s how it is. But, thanks"
"… I understand. I also lacked consideration… Sorry"
"No"

Will doesn"t need to apologize.
This is… merely my selfishness. I want to stay with Freed a little longer.
Earlier it was too sudden so sharing the same room only brought to mind spending nights together, but now that I think about it calmly… I don"t find living together with him unpleasant.
Rather, because from a while ago I felt like being with him as much as possible, it"d be harder to wait for Freed alone in the room.

While I thought about such things, those two went to their own posts.
Brother and Freed also stood up and began working at their desks.
I was allowed to observe them while drinking freshly prepared tea on the sofa.

After I got my fill of Freed working properly, we ate dinner and returned to his room.
My heart was still loudly thumping.
Thinking of what I"d promised yesterday that we"ll be doing from now, I felt my body burn hot.

Why are you getting so bashful this late, me.

With my heart violently pounding, I entered the bedroom. I"m too embarra.s.sed by my expectations.
Freed hugged me and lightly dropped a kiss on my lips… Sweet.
But, when I thought of wrapping my arms around his neck and opening my mouth, for some reason he separated all too soon.

"Eh…?"

Reflexively I looked up at Freed who acted different from usual.
Freed stroked me with a gentle expression and while hugging me entered the bed.

"Freed?"

Although he"s tightly hugging me, he"s not doing anything.
Normally the moment we enter the bedroom I"d have my clothes taken off at a dreadful speed, yet what does it mean. When I once again stared at Freed, not understanding the meaning of his behavior, while still hugging me Freed said.

"I won"t do anything today"
"Eh"

Why, how comes?
While I was confused unable to comprehend the meaning, Freed loosened the arm hugging me a little and stroked my back. I was bewildered by the compa.s.sionate gesture that wasn"t s.e.xual at all.

"Lidi felt scared today, didn"t you. I"ll hug you like this, so let"s sleep already"
"Bu… but, I promised yesterday…"

Why must I be the one to bring it up. When I informed him despite thinking so, he laughed that it"s fine.

"Lidi is more important to me than such a promise. Sleep comfortably today. You might not be aware, but I think you must be shocked more than you think, and above all tired"
"Freed…"

Normally I"d be deeply moved.
But hearing his words, I felt like collapsing from a shock in a different meaning.

You! You don"t have to mind me!
If you think I"ve received a shock, isn"t it fine to comfort me in your embrace.

Not in my wildest dreams would I think I"d have such foolish thoughts.
Freed continued.

"There"s no need to force yourself just because you promised. Of course, I want to embrace my beloved woman. If I said otherwise, I"d be lying, but see. It"s okay to have such days once in a while"
"… Yup"

Being told that much, I couldn"t do anything.
I nodded with heartbroken thoughts.

… What can I say.
Even though I came here fully motivated, I absolutely didn"t think I"d be made to wait.
Just today, I thought it"d be fine to be crushed in his embrace and yet! Or rather, I wanted him to embrace me and yet!

"Good night, Lidi"
"… Good night"

Seeing his gentle smile, I understood he worried about me, so I couldn"t say anything more.
In the end, feeling frustrated I decided to sleep in his arms.
Only today his warm temperature felt hateful.
I brought my cheek to his chest while thinking.

… Waaah. I wanted to do it!

Uugh. Painful.