NOVEL NEXT 43. A peaceful morning?
In the morning, Julia woke up refreshed. As far as she was concerned, the events of the previous evening were just a strange dream. Yes, there are most definitely no women fighting over her. Certainly not.
"Did you sleep well, master?"
Julia opened her eyes as she heard the inorganic, emotionless voice that sounded like a young girl. And just as she expected, there was a naked black-haired girl—no, a sword spirit named Kana.
Unexpectedly, Lily was not looking at Kana as if she were plotting her death. Somehow the two girls got along, maybe way too much. However, it is preferable to them fighting.
"I did. But say, it's been on my mind for some time now, but do you know what clothes are?"
Julia lifted her head from the soft pillow, which Lily used as an opportunity, and they began cuddling with Julia. With a chuckle, Julia greeted Lily and gave her a head pat.
"Clothes? Master has not given me any."
Kana tilted her head, and as she talked, her voice sounded as if she were saying the most obvious thing in the world.
"And those stockings? Where did those come from?"
Not ceasing her Lily patting session, Julia pointed out the pair of black stockings Kana had worn since day one.
"Master only gave me these to wear; the rest is for the master to choose."
"What kind of pervert created you?!"
Julia yelled out, spooking Lily out in the process. Lily didn't let it bother her for long as she waggled her tail and snuggled up to Julia's chest. Kana seemed surprised, though her face lacked any sort of emotion to show it.
"You did master."
"…"
So, you mistook me for a pervert that created you with such an extremely young appearance, forcing you to wear nothing but stockings... Julia didn’t know whether to lament or just straight-up cry. Just what had she done to deserve such a terrible comparison?
Without a word, Julia stood up and walked towards the closet, picking up a black dress and a pink one. Besides these two dresses, there were not many clothes to choose from. But all things considered, all of the clothes in the closet were previously worn by Julia after coming to the palace.
Her favorite dress was the black one because its simple design made it easier to wear and because it wasn't as flashy. But she had no clue where the pink one came from. She had never worn a pink dress before, as far as she could remember.
"Put these on."
Regardless of where this dress came from, Kana would finally be able to wear something. As far as Julia was concerned, that was the only thing that mattered now.
Placing the pink dress in front of Kana Julia, she changed from her nightgown into the black dress. Once she was done, she turned around to see Kana sitting on the bed, fully dressed.
"Wow, it really suits you. You look really cute."
Julia took a moment to admire Kana’s appearance. Her black hair and dark skin tone formed an adequate contrast with the light pink color of the dress. The dress itself seemed to be specifically tailored for her as it enhanced her figure. Is she a sword or a doll? Julia wondered
"Master’s are bigger."
While Julia was busy admiring the piece of art Kana turned out to be, Lily voiced out her comment while her eyes were fixed on Kana’s chest.
"Lily! don’t talk like that."
"But it is true."
Lily pouted. Julia scolded Lily, while Lily herself had no clue what she said wrong. Though Kana didn’t seem to be bothered by Lily’s comment so it was good perhaps?
But it really looks like mine are bigger than hers. Julia subconsciously touched her chest. She definitely had slightly more on her than Kana, however, it was an insignificant difference. Did she even have to point that out?
"I am glad that master still finds me cute."
As if she didn’t register the exchange between the two, Kana replied with a hint of a smile on her face. Kana lowered her head slightly as if to hide that she was embarrassed. which makes Julia wonder if Kana even knows the concept.
"Why didn’t you have anything other than the stockings anyway?"
Kana did say that her creator was choosing her clothes for her, but still, what was the point of it? Why would anyone try to dress up a sword spirit?
"… Master said she likes prettying me up. So, she will dress me up daily."
Hearing what Kana said, Julia began wondering about the priorities of Kana’s creator. Seriously, did she create you to be a weapon or a doll? Julia was glad to hear that Kana wasn’t treated as a mere weapon but still her creator had strange priorities.
"Well, I would prefer if you from now on change clothes on your own."
"As you wish master."
…
"Miss Amir, don’t you think you are too close to my fiancé?"
"Oh, what might you mean? I am merely near my friend."
Nemi and Olia wore fake smiles as they glared at each other, with a resigned Julia sandwiched between them.
Even the fact that they were seated at the dining table in front of the queen didn't stop their open rivalry. It was only now that Julia understood that the two girls she cared about declared war on each other yesterday. Now she could only hope that no one would die.
"I see, so this is what she was like."
Loriam nodded as she wrote something in her diary. completely ignoring what was going on on the other side of the table.
"Yes, she always came to me crying. Of course, I gave her bullies a lection."
Ele cracked her knuckles for emphasis, earning a grin from Loriam.
"Ha ha ha, seems like she was in good hands. But if it were up to me, those boys would be dead."
"Your Majesty, you're not being serious, are you?"
As Ele and Loriam grinned during their conversation that they paid more attention to, than to the food in front of them or the events unfolding on the opposite side of the table. Nemi strangely stopped bickering with Olia and turned to face Loriam.
"For someone who dares to bully Julia… wouldn’t you say a death is too kind?"
At this moment, everyone was looking at Nemi. Julia was only shocked that she dared to talk with Loriam in such a tone.
"Should they be left with such a kind punishment? Should they not suffer for their sin?"
A glint of bloodlust flashed in Nemi’s eyes as her mouth twisted into a sinister grin.
"My, never would I have thought to agree with you."
The rest of the table expressed their agreement with Nemi. And just for this brief moment, Nemi and Olia were in harmony, born of mutual understanding. How wonderful peace is. Julia thought. And this period of peace lasted for the rest of the breakfast time.
"Please excuse me, Your Majesty."
Julia's modest wish, however, did not appear to be granted. With clear annoyance, Julia gazed at the intruder of her brief peace. Paying no mind to the annoyed princess, a woman in black with a mask covering her face approached Loriam and whispered something to her. Though Julia could not hear what the woman said, Loriam's sour expression made it clear it was something bad.
"Sorry, but something urgent came up. I will have to go."
With a sigh, Loriam wiped her lips with a napkin and, with a forced smile, excused herself. She was only stopped briefly by Julia to give her a kiss on the forehead. What is going on? Julia wondered as she watched her mother's back disappear behind the door.
