Today, Lacius was dressed in a white uniform with gold bands. With his looks and physique, it was easy to get distracted, but that would get me nowhere. I coughed to hide the blush creeping up my cheeks.
“The palace must be very busy preparing for the birthday banquet.”
“I suppose so. But thankfully, I’m not responsible for palace security, so it’s no concern of mine.”
“Oh, really?”
“Princess Crisiona took the initiative. Not that I mind being excluded from such things.”
Lacius stood behind me, his hands covered in oil made entirely of natural ingredients that were not harmful to pregnant women. I was sitting on the sofa with my dress top down and waiting, and as soon as he touched the back of my ear, I let out a soft sigh.
“Hmm.”
“Let me know if it hurts. I’ll be gentler.”
“It’s already gentle. I’m fine.”
While it was nice to have a professional masseuse come by at certain times to give me massages, it was also nice to have my husband do it for me. It was soothing in every way—mentally and physically. Just the fact that Lacius visited me every afternoon lifted my spirits.
In the past, when we were too busy with work, we couldn’t see each other’s faces even though we shared the same bed at night, but that’s no longer the case. Besides, I couldn’t always call a masseuse in the middle of the night if I felt a pain somewhere in my body.
Of course, I could hire a live-in masseur, but I wasn’t comfortable with that. I didn’t like the idea of having other people see me when I was at my most vulnerable or when I’m feeling unwell and moody. So I was beyond grateful for Lacius’s decision to learn massage techniques.
“It’s okay now. I’m sleepy.”
After a while.
Haah. Yawning, I rubbed my slightly teary eyes.
“Do you want to take a nap?”
“Mmm, I’d like to… but Ziontin will be here in a little while.”
“Ah, I did hear she’d requested leave for today. So you have an appointment with her?”
“Yeah, she said she’s bringing a gift. She’ll be here shortly.”
Blink, blink, blink. My eyes flutter shut, then open, then repeat again and again. Sensing my exhaustion, Lacius gently adjusted my clothes, pulling me close as he sat beside me.
“Go ahead and sleep; I’ll wake you if someone comes.”
“Aren’t you supposed to get back to work?”
“The good thing about being a knight commander is that even if you’re late, everyone still thinks you’re out dealing with something more important.”
Lacius grinned at me. Rubbing my tired eyes, I couldn’t help but playfully shoot back.
“Doesn’t that count as abuse of power?”
“If it’s for my precious wife, I’ll abuse every power I have.”
“Oh my.”
“So sleep in peace. My arms exist solely for your comfort.”
It felt just a tad cheesy, but I loved it. Lacius’ embrace was incredibly comforting, like it was perfectly tailored for me.
As I drifted off into a light nap with these thoughts, I was soon startled awake by the sound of someone announcing the arrival of Her Highness, the Princess.
* * *
“Huh, Her Royal Highness?!”
What the heck, what’s going on? Royals rarely made visits like this, especially just to celebrate someone’s pregnancy. And certainly not this unexpectedly.
“This little cutie here gave me a look, pleading with me to go with her. She must be embarrassed to go visit you alone.”
The princess said with a sly smile, patting Ziontin’s stiff shoulder. Ziontin’s expression, on the other hand, was clearly screaming, ‘I never did that!’ But both the princess and I chose to ignore it.
“Congratulations on your pregnancy”
“Honestly, I’m a bit surprised. I didn’t expect Dame Ziontin to come and visit me like this.”
You don’t usually come over to congratulate your boss’s wife when she’s pregnant, so she must have visited as a ‘friend’. Ziontin’s expression became even more stiff than usual, as if she were embarrassed, then she handed me a blue box.
“Go ahead and open it.”
The princess already seemed to know what was inside. With a mixture of anticipation and curiosity, I carefully undid the wrapping.
“Shoes?!”
“… It’s not just any shoe. These are magic shoes that are so tough that they cannot be cut with a sword and are enchanted with both defensive and escape magic.”
“… Oh, wow..”
As if her pride had been wounded when I just said ‘shoes’, Ziontin rattled off a string of explanations. But it was like watching a home shopping channel host. I was entranced without realizing it and shook my head. If she were selling these, I’d be tempted to buy them immediately.
“These shoes create a barrier as soon as they sense an attack coming to the wearer. It is a very advanced defensive spell that can block both physical and magical attacks.”
The princess added, solidifying their value even further. I ran my fingers over the soft material and tilted my head.
“And what about the escape magic?”
“It’s a pretty adorable feature, actually. After the defense spell is cast, the escape spell is cast at the same time, and then tiny little wings will sprout from the sides of these little shoes.
“Oh my. It’s already cute just imagining it… … !”
Although a situation where they will have to escape from wouldn’t be cute at all.
“Does one have to be one year old to wear shoes? Either way, these will help the baby get away safely in any situation.”
“Wow… Something like this would have been incredibly expensive.”
“There was a bit of a trade involved.”
Dioles smiled meaningfully and winked slightly at Ziontin. Whatever the arrangement was, I could tell that princess-unnie had helped pay for it.
“Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.”
The white, tiny angel-wing-like shoes were smaller than the palm of my hand. I couldn’t stop staring at them, wondering how anyone could wear something so small. It’s so fascinating that I couldn’t take my eyes off it at all.
“And this is my gift.”
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