"Then, I"m going. How about Lidi sleeps a little?"
"… I"ll do that"

It"s afternoon, having embraced Lidi to my heart"s content I feel satisfied. As I promised to Alex, I"m getting ready to return to work. Lidi is weakly looking at me with drowsy eyes from the bed.
Still, when I told her I"ll have Clara bring her something to eat later, she gave an easy-to-understand broad smile. I couldn"t take my eyes off that cute smile.
Unable to endure, I brought my lips near.

"My lover is really cute. I"m off"

When I kissed her, Lidi"s face dyed obvious bright red.
She wriggled about, perhaps she"s embarra.s.sed.
She became my lover by communicating her feelings, and tempts me with her increased loveliness.
Or rather, when I say "lover" she happily turns bright red up to her ears, it"s too much.
It must be embarra.s.sing to have our intimate relations.h.i.+p frankly described as lovers rather than betrothed. Still, the aspect of her that"s happy about it is extremely cute.
But, I"m troubled looking at such her, since I want to seclude ourselves in the bedroom for the next three days rather than stuff like going to work.

"Such a face makes me want to embrace you again… I"ll do my best to come back quickly"
"… Idiot… But I"ll be waiting. Err, err, see. Freed, thank you for believing me. I was very happy. Have a good day"

The hem of my clothes was tightly grasped.

―――― Cute.

Her expression as she glimpsed at me with upturned eyes perfectly conveyed that she loves me. I understand that she trusts me.
Feeling that, my whole body grew hot.
I mechanically cleared out my throat, and heartbroken over separating from Lidi hurriedly left the room.

I can"t help but feel happy.
While walking through the corridor to the office, I only thought about her.
When I embraced Lidi under the guise of punishment last night, she was lovely as she lewdly cried while receiving it, before I noticed I was driven crazy.
While I loosely thrust into her, she writhed while spilling tears and repeating "Feels good" in a hoa.r.s.e voice, I felt like I wanted to embrace such obscene her forever.
When I said "I love you", she returned the same "I love you too" in an unclear voice.
That made me tremendously happy.
Actually feeling that I obtained all of Lidi, my body screamed with joy.
And so, I couldn"t hold back my desire to embrace her more than usual.
Wanting to c.u.m inside her again and again, I shot my s.e.m.e.n while hugging her.
Lidi was lovely as she accepted it while trembling, I craved for her more and more.
I thought she may get exhausted of me seeking intercourse without getting tired, and go to sleep, but today Lidi could go along with it until the end.
When I said "We"ll continue at night", although she complained "You still want to do it? It"s too much", she didn"t say she hates it. It"s a secret, but I wanted to push her down once again when saying "Dummy" she pierced my chest with upturned eyes while blus.h.i.+ng.

"Haa…"

I felt like the breath I exhaled contained considerable sweetness.
Anyway, I can"t think about anything but the words that bring me happiness. Such is my current state.
As I am now, even if something troublesome was brought up, I could take it on without thinking twice.
However, at the very least I absolutely don"t want to leave Lidi"s side.
She finally conveyed her feelings and became my lover, I want to spend a sweet honeymoon with her.
That"s my current wish.

I went around the corner and saw the door to the office in the back.
And so, I forcibly switched over my thoughts. I mustn"t be thinking about her forever. I have to properly do my job.
Feeling like I regained my calm, I recalled a story I heard from Lidi. It"s just the right story to exercise my head.

"… Transfer, huh"

After confirming there"s n.o.body around, I muttered that.
Lidi"s story was so unexpected I couldn"t help but be surprised.
As she told me "I have memories of my previous life" with a stiff face, her small body was trembling on my lap.
I immediately understood she was nervous that I"d doubt and deny her.
Seeing her like that I strongly thought.

…  There"s no need for Lidi to worry. It"s a completely needless anxiety.

There"s no way I would doubt Lidi.
After a long time she finally told me she loves me, so no matter how crazy her story was, I would accept it.
It was precisely because I love her.
Therefore I could accept her confession with calmness that went beyond my expectations.
I processed her words as facts, and asked for a full story.
Her story about the world of her previous life piqued my curiosity…
And what weighted on my mind the most was her relations.h.i.+p with Sion.
I sensed there was something more behind her words that they were acquaintances in the past.
They had looked strangely suitable for each other.
I ended up thinking they had a s.e.xual relations.h.i.+p.
… Of course, I understand.
There"s no point in asking. It"s an old story, and she already lives in this world.
Moreover, she gave her virginity to me and has the King"s Flower on her body.
That"s all.
Still, the worthless feeling of jealousy tormented me.
The night when we first met and she became indecently disheveled. It was her first time, yet it didn"t seem like one… What if she had experience from her previous life.

"… No, let"s stop"

Reaching that point, I stopped my thoughts.
It"s over. That thing is over.
Lidi who"s alive now chose me.
She answered that she"ll always stay with me.

Then, that"s fine. Then, I won"t question her further.
I am the only one who has the right to embrace Lidi now.

Lidi said she doesn"t intend to reveal her ident.i.ty to Sion.
But, in the worst case it might get exposed. She"s fundamentally careless. It"s not entirely impossible.
I"d be lying if I said I"m not worried about how he would act if he noticed.
My instinct tells me he might try to steal Lidi, I don"t think I"m overthinking it.

―――― Even so, even if it"s so.
Rather than keeping Sion away driven by jealousy, I want to thank him.
According to her words, it"s Sion who encouraged her. She said she wouldn"t notice her feelings without his a.s.sistance.

Honestly, that was the most surprising about this.
I never would have expected him to do such a thing.
I could only be astonished that I received an unexpected support from the party that in the worst case could have stolen her from me.
―――― As a result, she now smiles by my side as my lover.
It"s unmistakably thanks to him.
If not for his support, we"d still continue misunderstanding each other.
I don"t want to spend my days doubting my beloved.
He deserves me to suppress my jealousy and thank him.

Of course, I have no intention of telling Sion the information on him I learned from Lidi. Even if it"s the truth, it"s too crazy. As Lidi said, normally you wouldn"t believe it.
Sion is an intelligent person just like Lidi, no, even more so. Even if he finds something strange, he won"t go out the way to say it. Then it"s right for me to also feign ignorance.
But, supposing he confesses to it and asks for cooperation in returning home.
If it"s within my capabilities, I"m willing to cooperate.
I think he"s extremely excellent and if possible I wish he stays in and works for Wilhelm, but still if he said he wants to return, I"d accommodate him as much as possible.
That"s my thanks to him for returning Lidi into my arms.

"Phew…"

Having decided on how to deal with Sion, I put a hand on the office door.
As soon as I entered the room, I met eyes with Alex who was working at his desk.

"Ah, Freed. Are you alright… Huh, looks like I don"t need to worry"

Seeing me Alex immediately ascertained my state, and laughed with relief.
I returned a light laugh, and sat at my seat.

"Thanks. I"m in a perfect form"
"… Looks like it. What. Ain"t you like a different person from yesterday. Shoulda come in the morning if you were well. I was so busy here I thought I"d die. Really, seeing your state, you managed to reconcile with Lidi, right?"

I wryly smiled at Alex who decided on his own that Lidi was the cause.
He isn"t wrong, but I once again thought that it was really just me worrying over Lidi.

"It"s not like we got in a fight. It was my bad for worrying. ―――― I"m already alright"

When I clearly informed him, perhaps because he sensed something, Alex fixed his eyes on my face.

"… Say, perhaps you"ve finally made Lidi yours?"

Alex was astonis.h.i.+ngly perceptive.
I don"t intend to hide it, so I said the truth without hesitation.

"Saying made yours sounds bad… She finally accepted my feelings, and then we became lovers, that"s all"

When I did, Alex let out a large breath.

"Finally, that idiot. It took her so long…. Nn? That means, perhaps, you were absent the whole morning because…"

I nodded to Alex who looked like he guessed.

"It"s as you imagine. I enjoyed a sweet time with my new lover"
"s.h.i.+t… As expected. Well, it can"t be helped now that your feelings are mutual, but… you, do it in moderation, okay? Just because you"re both in love, don"t go crus.h.i.+ng her in your embrace, okay?"
"I can"t promise that… But I"ll try my best"

Unable to say that I did just crush her in my embrace, I replied vaguely, to which Alex knit his brows.

"You already did, huh… Nn? Wait… That means, I suffered as a consequence of your flirting?"
"I"m happy to have a reliable brother-in-law"
"You only speak like that when you use me"
"Fufu… It"s true that I"m grateful"

Even though I felt sorry for Alex who muttered Go explode, I laughed.
I made him worry.
Alex is always like that. He notices abnormalities in others before anybody else and provides support without making it known.
Just how much did such Alex help me; after all I"m glad from the bottom of my heart that he came back to the Royal Capital.
I looked at the doc.u.ments piled up on my desk. Because I skipped out yesterday and today in the morning, there"s a fair amount of them.
Even so, I don"t feel like working overtime. I want to quickly finish and return to my dear lover who"s waiting.
And then, I want us to embrace each other until we get tired.
With an utterly amazed face, Alex said.

"… It"s fine you"re looking happy… but your face is loosening. Ladies would scream if they saw it"
"I don"t care how I appear to anybody but Lidi. But, I finally obtained what I wished for. Think you could let me be at least a little happy?"
"Really…"

Alex took a single breath, and spoke once again.
His eyes were terribly serious.

"Now that your feelings are mutual, I"ll repeat it… Cherish her. If by any chance you hurt my little sister, both I and the old man will never forgive you"
"I know that… Lidi is the only one for me. I swear I will cherish her for all my life"
"… Then it"s fine"

I"ve had no intention of letting her go from the start.
I"ll spoil her as much as possible and carefully protect her, while deep down wanting to keep her in the depths of the Royal Palace.
As I said for all my life without getting worked up, Alex slightly nodded like he was convinced.
And said.

"… I really beg you… She"s got a bad mouth, but she"s my dear little sister. Protect Lidi so that she can smile"
"Yeah. I promise"

Of course, I"ll be the one to protect Lidi. I won"t hand over that role to anybody else.
I strongly nodded in response to his words loaded with various meanings.