Three days after I had been brought along by Freed.
Finally the audience day arrived.

As expected, last night Freed stopped at sleeping while hugging me close, so I got enough sleep. I could greet the morning full of energy and stamina.

But, there"s one problem.
When the breakfast ended and Clara came to pick me up for the audience preparations.

"Let"s make up for yesterday"s part tonight"

I was secretly whispered that into my ear.

It can"t be helped I reflexively did a double take at Freed.

As for me, the ducal house carriage is coming so I thought of going home right after the evening party finished, but I wonder if it"s impossible after all.
… I had such a hunch somehow.

To be honest, I wonder if I could stay for a while.
I have a reason for this, actually I"m interested in the castle"s kitchen.
Surely there should be a great amount of ingredients not found in the ducal residence. Among them are perhaps some that can be used in reproduction recipes.

Ah, the kitchen of the Royal Palace. If permitted, I"d absolutely like to take a look.

With that sort of reason, supposing Freed let me visit there freely, I may even extend my stay… Is what I think.
But, once I say that, I have a scary hunch I won"t be able to return to the ducal residence.
Little by little I notice I"m being skillfully coaxed, I think it"s likely to be a pattern.
I better not ignore such intuition.

… Let"s observe the situation a little longer.

When I nodded, having decided to rely on my crisis sensor, my waist was tightly constricted. It hurts.
I was in the middle of having the defensive armament called corset put on.
I forgot.

"Princess Consort, I will tighten a little more. May I"
"Hey… As expected, more is no good… My organs will fly out… Don"t tighten so much!"

I"d been brought to a dressing room by Clara and court ladies.
It"s made of two connected adjoining rooms, in the inner room there are tons of clothes, accessories, and cosmetics. The amount being too much, I unconsciously muttered "Who uses these" to which I received a dreadful reply "Everything has been freshly arranged for Princess Consort".

I"ve heard that Freed also seems to have an exclusive room and is preparing over there right now.

As for me, I"m standing in front of a large full-length mirror in the front room.
There a court lady called Annie is tightening my corset.
She"s got her hair in a single-knot flipped ponytail1 and looks about my age, but for a woman she"s tall… and strong.
Under Clara"s instruction from a while ago, she"s tightening the corset to the point where my insides will fly out. Her strength doesn"t seem to be woman"s, this morning"s breakfast nearly came up.

"It"s alright. Princess Consort is very slender. Enough that something like a corset is unnecessary. But it"s a rare opportunity, so I"ll tighten a little more. The dress will look better"

"Tighten", what a dreadful word resounded.
I"ll die if it"s tightened any more.

"Any more is impossible…"
"No, Princess Consort. It"s a rare debut to a foreign country, we"ll make Princess Consort even more beautiful… Annie, please take off another three centimeters"
"Yes, Head Court Lady Grimm"

Hii!!

Clara mercilessly gave directions. The order was ruthlessly executed, my waist and stomach were squeezed.
It"s hard to breathe.
In the mansion I was given relative freedom, although I wore corsets, they had never been tightened like this.
For the first time it became so harsh here. I wonder if perhaps everybody always tightens so much. If that"s the case, they have my true respect.

"Kh… It hurts…"

After I was tightened despite my objections, the prepared dress was put on.
As usual the design has the collar wide open, the shape has the waist squeezed to a ruthless degree. The flowing lines are beautiful enough to be captivating.
Certainly, the usual me might have a little trouble fitting in, I couldn"t help but be convinced.

Next, two people did my hair and three put on my makeup.
Meanwhile, instructions from Clara didn"t stop.
What"s with this color of makeup, I don"t like the hair ends so undo the rolls, it looked hectic, yet also somewhat fun.

"We are grateful for the patience. Princess Consort looks perfect"

I"m not sure how much time has pa.s.sed.
With Clara"s satisfied voice I was finally released.

The court lady who applied the final touch of lipstick separated from me and I finally stood from the chair I"d sat on.
I"m beyond tired.
I"ve been carefully polished like never before at my home, I"m already totally exhausted.

As I checked the result of their work in the full-length mirror I stood before, as expected of professionals, the me who was reflected in the mirror was made into a surprising beauty.

My eyes with double eyelids were made to look bigger, they have a more wide-open impression.
The dry skin that I"d been worried about, as the result of being polished in bath by court ladies during these few days in the Royal Palace is a touch unbelievably smooth, so much it s.h.i.+nes.
Thanks to the makeup, my face lines look more shapely than usual. My hair, that had received meticulous treatment, is loosely wound and gathered on the side. The hair ornament decorated with diamonds makes the whole impression brilliant.

The impression of every part seems to have risen by two levels. And when put together… It"s staggering.

Unconsciously I stared at the mirror with mouth agape like a fool.

… Yup, amazing. This is already in the realm of special effects makeup. Ho***wood. There"s nothing but to take off my hat to the pros" technique.

My gaze was fixed on my reflection in the mirror, but I came to my senses at Clara"s voice.

"His Highness Friedrich is coming"
"… I understand"

Clara and court ladies deeply bowed.
From behind I heard a sound of footsteps.

He"s sure to be surprised by the special effects makeup.
I absolutely want to see that face. Thinking so I looked back… And the time stopped.

"Lidi?"
"…"

Freed opened his eyes wide seeing my appearance.
That"s fine. It"s within expectations.
That"s why it"s fine, but the problem is not there.

Foolishly, I completely forgot.
The audience of the foreign royalty. Of course, it"s the etiquette to face them in the formal wear.
In short, he"s wearing the military uniform I saw at the time of the engagement ceremony…

…
…

Freed in the military uniform…

After all, he"s too cool…!!

In an instant my brain overheated. I felt like I made an explosive sound.

Blinking would be a waste. I gazed at him unblinkingly, solidified like plaster, I couldn"t even move an inch.

… It tastes sweet. I licked Freed"s appearance in the military uniform.
There"s nothing like being calm because I saw it once before at the time of the engagement ceremony.

The destructive power is as amazing as ever.
The combat military uniform is good, but after all in my opinion the dazzling ceremonial formal wear suits Freed more.

The brilliance of many layers of aiguillette enhances his magnificence.
The decorations he"s carrying, like a large ribbon or a star, look gallant, even the flower symbol decoration on top of the star only adds him flair.
The jet black military uniform with standup collar is made of the finest cloth.
Pure white silk gloves. Leather boots with s.h.i.+ny tips.
On his back is a black mantle with lining embroidered with "Double-headed Dragon" crest, he"s as prince as it gets.
There"s zero impression of weakness in the slender yet trained him. If I had to say, when he changes to formal wear his soldier part becomes prominent, the indescribable manly atmosphere he creates wafts through the air.

Given the situation, I could only sigh in admiration.

As I single-mindedly gazed at him without even a quiver, Freed"s mouth loosened from noticing my behavior.

"… Ah. It"s that"

He slipped a chuckle and slowly approached me. What a staggering s.e.x appeal.
I was lightly pulled, and fit perfectly inside his arms.
Of course, there"s no way I"d oppose.

I was hugged by the prince in a military uniform!!

Again and again terrible things seem to go through my head.
The uproar went a little out of control. Why do I feel like the part of me in charge of restraint joined the clamor. Please be quiet.

"Lidi?"

Having my face examined, it suddenly turned bright red. I can"t help but be embarra.s.sed.

"Ye… yes…"

As I replied in a very thin voice, Freed who brought his face within 10 cm of mine laughed a little.

"What, you"re fascinated by me again? You truly like it"
"No, how should I say it, it was a reflex… Sorry"
"Why are you apologizing? I"m happy… Lidi, you"re so beautiful. I don"t want to show Lidi who"s so beautiful to other men, but it"s the truth it"s thanks to that Crown Prince coming"

I don"t want to show you to anyone, I want to monopolize you, as he sweetly narrowed his eyes, I felt my whole body turn beet red. What"s with this situation.

The military uniform, then those lines thick with sweetness at the point-blank range.

Freed might just make me die in agony.
Reflexively I hung my head.

"Ah… Thank you"
"Don"t look down. Show me your face more?"

My body trembled with a start as Freed softly raised my chin.
As if to say nonono I shook my head, and again hung it.

"Um… It"s embarra.s.sing, so don"t look too much"

Does the destructive power of his words, that I"m used to always hearing, change along his appearance. I"m already on the verge of a knock-out from the too high offensive ability of the military uniform.
I honestly want to be complimented for not getting a nosebleed.

Hugging my body that flushed, Freed fixedly looked down at me.
My heart got painfully exposed.

While I couldn"t lift my head from the agony of shame, I heard Freed sigh above my head.

"Jeez… You"re terribly cute. Hey, what will you do if you incite me at such a time?"
"Eh…"

Drawn by the troubled voice, I raised my head to see Freed looking at me with eyes so sweet I felt I"d melt.
It was a spectacle awful for the heart for me, whose attraction increases by not 30%, but 50% with the military uniform.

"Freed…"

… Yup, after all it"s wonderful.
I looked at him in ecstasy.
Stared with s.h.i.+ning eyes by such me, Freed whispered to me in a greedy voice.

"Lidi is very beautiful today, but after all I can only see you as cute. I don"t want to go to the audience. I want to hog Lidi to myself"
"Eh…"

I reacted to the husky voice close to my ear.

What should I do… I"m happy.
I wonder if I"ve already lost two or three screws in my head. Normally this would be unthinkable.

To not ruin my makeup, Freed gave me a kiss on my forehead.
Such a gesture is also decisive, I"m becoming more and more intoxicated.
Freed met my eyes and muttered in a pa.s.sionate voice.

"… Take responsibility… I"m looking forward to tonight. Okay?"

I offered no resistance to those words.
I couldn"t look away, caught in the blue that"s like a deep sea.
Before I could think about it, I nodded.
Or rather, I don"t feel like disobeying his order when he looks like this.

"… Yes"
"I"m glad… With this I feel like I can endure the whole day"
"… Idiot"

Embarra.s.sed by his happy smile, I said a little amazed.

"Lidi…"
"… Ah… Freed"

Once again our eyes met, and spontaneously our lips came together. At first they just touched, but soon it turned deep.
At the urging of his tongue I opened my mouth to welcome him.
As if to say he cannot wait his tongue entered inside. Our tongues intertwined, and I was sucked.
Before I noticed his hand supported the back of my head. In response I wrapped my arms around his back.
I entrusted my body to Freed, and while I was completely drowned in the deep kiss with him, I heard an ostentatious cough from behind… I returned to reality at once.

"It is wonderful the relations.h.i.+p is going well, but the makeup put on Princess Consort at great pains will come off. Your Highness, stop at this for now"

At Clara"s words I let out a small hii. I stole a fleeting glance at my surroundings, only to see bright red court ladies hanging their heads in embarra.s.sment.

Eeh? We were seen!? Or rather, I completely forgot!!

Contrary to the fl.u.s.tered me, Freed was calm.
Disappointed over parting with me, he said to Clara.

"Even though it was a precious good atmosphere, I wonder if you could not disturb it. Clara"
"Disturb… I had no such intention at all. But today the time is already running low"
"… I understand. Clara, redo Lidi"s lipstick"
"Certainly"

Freed showed a gesture of licking his lips and sweetly smiled at me.

"Don"t forget your promise just now. Tonight, you won"t get to sleep?"

Tonight too, there"s no mistaking, huh.
Even so, enticed by the military uniform I obediently nodded.
While at it, I recalled the time when I had been embraced because of my carelessness about the military uniform.

I alone had squealed in agony.

I was thinking of going home, but it"s completely ruined.

… Well, in other words.

He"d already cut off my way back home, it"s truly disappointing I hadn"t noticed.

1) with one knot ↵