They reached a good spot in their conversation to break, so Ruri chatted with Chelsie over tea. She asked Rutile, her bodyguard, to also join them at the table. Normally, a bodyguard should always be ready to protect the person they were assigned to, but Ruri didn’t really need a bodyguard since she was being protected by Kotaro.
Truthfully, Rutile remained by her side as a bodyguard in more of a chaperone capacity due to Jade’s overprotective nature. That was why she was usually involved when Ruri had tea time. Ruri was grateful to have her, since Rutile was an excellent conversation partner.
“Rutile-san, are you and Finn-san going to get married?” Ruri asked, remembering Rutile and Finn had been together for quite some time and finding it strange that they weren’t married yet. After all, Ruri and Jade had met later and married before them.
Rutile just smiled in response.
“Could it be that Ewan is getting in the way?” Ruri asked, thinking it possible.
Knowing the brazen brother complex extraordinaire, Ruri could easily picture him yelping like a miffed puppy to stop the wedding.
“Ewan raising a stink doesn’t mean much to me.”
“Good point,” Ruri admitted, knowing Rutile wasn’t the type to let Ewan’s antics prohibit what she did. “Then why?”
When Ruri saw them together on occasion, they looked like a perfect couple. It was odd that they weren’t married yet. Not that she was rushing for them to get married or they had to get married right away, but from what she saw of Jade, she felt that dragonkin men were eager to get married early and keep their mates to themselves. Yet those two were still just lovers. It seemed they weren’t making any progress to go further either.
“There are reasons,” Rutile said with a smile, as if saying that she wasn’t going to divulge any more than that.
“I see, then,” Ruri replied, smiling awkwardly and quickly backing off, as she wasn’t going to pry if Rutile wasn’t planning on talking. She then totally switched topics. “Chelsie-san, can I clear out the land next to your house? Just enough space to build a largish house.”
“Sure, but what are you going to do with it?” Chelsie questioned.
“I want to build a house Jade-sama and I can live in after he steps down as king in our later years,” Ruri said, giddy with joy.
In contrast, Chelsie seemed a bit displeased. “You really plan on living next door?”
“Of course! I’ll take care of you in your old age too!”
“No, you don’t have to take care of me,” she replied, annoyed.
Ruri pursed her lips. “Why not? It’s going to be tough for you if you keep living by yourself in a barren part of the forest. And I’m not sure of the exact age of dragonkin, but you must be pretty up there.”
“You are so rude. Quit treating people like they’re over the hill!” Chelsie barked back.
She looked old no matter how you looked at her. However, Ruri knew that speaking her mind would only make her angrier, so she didn’t object.
“Either way, once Jade-sama stops being king, I want to live in your forest, Chelsie-san.” Ruri had talked about this with Jade several times in the past.
“Why don’t you just stay in the castle? You’re a Beloved, so they’ll take care of you here and give you everything you could ever want, right?” asked Chelsie, looking utterly confused.
“Well, yes, that’s true...” Ruri trailed off with a wry smile as she remembered her life in the forest. As she did, a smile naturally drew across her lips. “I really miss living with you in that forest, Chelsie-san. I know that I’m being well taken care of here. The capital is fun and host to a lot of things, but the peaceful life I had with you and the spirits felt so much freer and more relaxed.”
Every day she could be Ruri, not a Beloved. The forest didn’t have all of the shops or goods the capital had, but it had certain things wholly unique to the location. Ruri longed for that life again. At night, when she was alone with Jade, she would often talk about those days. She talked about the life she’d led in the forest and what kind of experiences she’d had, among other things.
Since Jade was born and raised in the capital, he had no experience with life beyond, so he listened with great interest. When Ruri said she wanted to return to that lifestyle someday, Jade didn’t try to stop her; in fact, he actively agreed, much to her delight.
Jade had always led a busy life, so while the slow pace of forest life might feel lacking, they would cross that bridge when they came to it. He seemed to be in full agreement about building a house next to Chelsie’s and discussed what kind of house they wanted. Although she was still young and unlikely to leave the throne anytime soon, Ruri enjoyed these moments when they could talk about the future. And if possible, there would be children other than Citrine there as well—she hoped so, at least. But maybe that made her a failure as a Beloved.
“Then again, as a Beloved, shouldn’t I stay in the capital?” Ruri eyebrows sank as if she was waiting to be scolded.
Chelsie sighed and Rutile smiled gently.
“Being a Beloved doesn’t matter. What you want is all that matters, Ruri,” Chelsie insisted.
“Indeed. No one in this world would dare to object to a Beloved’s decision. If you want to live in the forest, no one will stop you, even if you wanted to do so right this instant,” Rutile added.
“I won’t do it right this instant. Jade will definitely come with me. And Euclase might get angry if I did that,” Ruri said with a chuckle.
“That’s right. Euclase doesn’t hold back—not even against you, Ruri.” Rutile smiled slightly.
Chelsie sighed in resignation. “Good grief. My hands are tied, so I’ll just have to make room next door so you can come over at any time.”