Although they kept searching while I waited for my turn to come up, they really couldn’t find anything else in my size for me to wear. Palace attendants’ uniforms were also made to measurements, and the only things made to basic sizes were the lower ranking servant uniforms. When I asked him to allow me to wear the uniform I was used to, His Highness apologized to me once again. He really didn’t need to!
“So what’s the schedule like after this? Am I gonna be able to go straight back to the Academy?”
While we waited for our turns, Eric asked the prince about what would happen next. Everyone else was curious as well, so, excluding Reynard, who was seeing the King, we all looked towards His Highness.
“Our return party will be in a week,” he replied.
“Wait, what’s Lucia gonna wear!? Are they gonna manage to make her something in time!? I’m gonna blow up if they do this to her again!” Miss Maria exclaimed.
“So will I, believe me. I’ll have the royal tailors rush to make one. They already have ones made for Maria, so all they would need to do is fit it to Lucia’s measurements.”
“I’m fine with that, since they’ve got a lot made for me already. But would they be able to make them fit her?”
She sounded worried as she spoke with the prince, looking between herself and me. There was no way that any dress made for her slim frame could ever be made to fit me. Without taking out a few bones, that is.
“Those gowns were prepared to suit the Sacred Maiden, so I believe Lucia’s gown should be made to suit her,” Sir Agliardi said. “Lucia, do you have any colors or designs you like? Since the royal tailor has been called for, you should speak to them about styles and fittings after you see His Majesty.”
Hearing the Commander’s idea, His Highness had his own, “Fernando is right. Ah, I’ll have your wedding dress made as well. Wait, Celestino, you still haven’t given her a proper bracelet, have you?”
“N-N-N-No! You couldn’t! A wedding dress...!” I nearly shouted, shaking my head fervently.
“Why? They’ll be making a gown for you anyway.”
“That’s right, do you have a problem with that?”
Miss Maria and the prince both looked confused. They’re really synchronized...
“I’m not going home until after your wedding, you know. So get them to make you a super cute wedding dress!” she said, buckling down on her decision.
“Um, Miss Maria?”
“She’s right. Get them to make one you like. I’ll take care of the payment. Consider it a wedding gift.”
“Please excuse me, Your Highness, but I’ll buy her wedding dress...” Sir Celes cut in.
“Celestino, you focus on getting her a proper bracelet. Let me have my fun.”
“Your Highness, you’re letting your true self out,” Sir Agliardi added with a sigh.
Sir Gaius heckled, “The commander’s acting like the prince’s mom! You’ve got it rough!”
“And the bear doesn’t have it rough enough,” Eric grumbled, giving Sir Gaius a cold look.
Seeing everyone having fun together, despite their differences in rank, made me happy. It was silly of me to separate things into “ordinary” and “extraordinary.” We’re all humans, and companions, and I believe in that. Even if I was a bit selfish, I knew everyone here would just laugh it off. I was glad to have so many friends I could be open with.
I lost both my Soap and Shiro at the end of our journey. But I still had them. Even if we may never be able to see each other again after everything goes back to normal, I’d still remember how it felt. As I watched my friends laugh, I appreciated the happiness I had.
“Lucia.”
“Hm?”
While I basked in the happiness of seeing my friends, Sir Celes, with a very serious expression on his face, said, “After your audience with the King, let’s go look at bracelets. Like I told you before, I’m not going to have much additional time off anytime soon, so I want to check things out today.”
“The city’ll be in chaos if you go bracelet shopping with a woman.”
“That’s right!” urged Sir Gaius. “You really don’t get it, do you, Captain!”
“Then let’s call for a craftsman. Fernando.”
“As you wish.”
Everyone popped in with their opinions. But the fact remained that there would be chaos if I went anywhere with Sir Celes... While they argued for a bit, in the end, we agreed to let the prince call us a craftsman to get things in order while Sir Celes was free.