“I’m deeply grateful that you’re here, Lord Sol. That said, are you sure you don’t want to rest in your quarters tonight?”
When Sol emerged from the teleportation circle set up in front of Frederica’s door, he found her standing in wait for him as usual. He was here to spend the night with her in accordance with the provisional arrangement that his harem had agreed on back when he first moved into the Great Bath Palace. Last night had been Reen’s turn, thereby leading to the teasing from Julia in the dungeon. Frederica had noticed the “last night was great” vibe between Sol and Reen in the morning.
“I figured I shouldn’t make exceptions for this kind of thing unless absolutely necessary.”
“I agree, but...”
Sol sounded casual, but Frederica couldn’t help looking concerned. After all, any normal person would consider what had happened in Abyss today more than enough cause for an exception. When it occurred to Frederica that Sol did not consider those events beyond the scope of the ordinary, she was both surprised at his backbone and deeply mortified that she had presumed to have understood his nature. She kept her expression straight, but there was nothing she could do about her ears and neck turning red. She prayed that Sol wouldn’t notice.
Unfortunately, she had gone with a bold choice and was wearing a simple black bustier dress with a very low neckline and had her hair done up in a ponytail, so there was no hiding anything. She had wanted to stun him right out of the gate with the look if he really was coming tonight, and it had backfired. Thankfully, the way he was struggling to make eye contact gave her reassurance that he indeed had not noticed.
Their party had had no trouble returning from the enigmatic space connected to the deepest point of Abyss. From the looks of things, their reward for getting that far was the right to visit that space at will. Needless to say, they had left the fake moon there untouched. It was not yet time to take that risk.
“How are you, though, Frederica?”
The shock of discovering another world and the paradoxical trap that lay in wait there was still raw. The group’s experience with freeing Gio Nest, exposing the Old Rulers’ deceit, and seeing through the restoration of the Floating Continent helped them understand just how tall this latest hurdle was. Resolving it was going to take a lot of effort.
That was precisely why Sol was carrying on like normal. He was putting on a front, as he knew how easy it was for a party to fall apart in a perilous situation when its commander lost his cool. That was not to say that this was a crisis in his eyes or that he was feeling anxious—he was actually excited, as he had a hunch that things were going to take a huge leap forward. Still, he didn’t expect all his companions to feel the same way, and he had clocked Frederica’s trepidation. And as it just so happened, he was scheduled to visit her tonight, so here he was.
Touched by Sol’s regard, Frederica gave him her best smile. “I am getting sleep every night and have healing magic whenever I need it, so I am in good shape. I would be delighted should you choose to spend the night in my company.”
That breathtakingly beautiful smile that brought to mind a blooming flower fully explained why many called her Lilium di Regnum. If Sol hadn’t been used to seeing it, he would have been convinced that his worry was unfounded. After all the time he had spent seeing her perfect mannerisms, however, he could tell something was indeed off.
“You’ll be stuck with me for tonight, then. I know we have that Libertadores meeting early tomorrow morning, but we really don’t need materials for it, all right?”
Coming here was the right choice, thought Sol. He figured that, with how much Frederica loved theorizing, he would be able to get her mind off things by spending the night with her discussing the unknown entity bound with Luna’s wings.
Since the provisional rule of the rear palace had come into effect, Sol had been spending his nights with Reen, Frederica, and Eliza in turn. Aside from the weekends, he was basically not allowed to sleep by himself.
Contrary to expectations, however, his nights with Frederica were mostly spent chatting late into the night over tea about anything and everything, ranging from the current state of the Panhuman League to the progress of Reconquista Oeste to impressions regarding some book from Biblioteca they were picking up. Sometimes, he would also get lessons from her on royal etiquette, including ballroom dancing. In the end, they usually ended up in bed, talking until they fell asleep.
Every time, Frederica went with rather bold choices for her attire, but they seemed to be affecting Sol less and less. Despite all the times they crawled into bed together, nothing sexual ever happened. Even so, Frederica appeared to be enjoying herself and seemed appreciative that Sol was adhering to the rear palace’s rule. The fact that she never made any aggressive advances helped Sol to relax and let down his guard, and he eventually came to simply enjoy these private moments with a real-life princess.
“Of course, my lord.” Frederica nodded deferentially.
Sol laughed and shot her a doubting glance. “So you say, but knowing you, you’ll get something ready anyway.”
It wasn’t just once or twice that, after he had fallen asleep, she had spent the rest of the night compiling some report that she deemed necessary. If she was thinking of getting a head start analyzing today’s events and writing up those findings, however, Sol was fully ready to stay up with her. Like her, he had been enjoying a rather healthy sleeping schedule lately thanks to their regular hours in Abyss. With Julia on hand to provide healing magic in the morning, one or two all-nighters were nothing.