Sigrid went to bed feeling dejected. She had thought her own bed was nice, but these sheets were even smoother and softer.
'It's like lying on a cloud.'
Sigrid drifted off to sleep.
The next day, she woke up at dawn as usual for training, but surprisingly, Marie-Chez was up at the sa ti.
"Let's get ready."
Sigrid's concept of cleanliness, which consisted of just using soap, crumbled in the face of Marie-Chez's various products. Enveloped in fluffy foam and sweet fragrances, Sigrid was pleasantly scrubbed clean.
After that, maids with dark circles under their eyes brought in the dress. Sigrid's eyes widened. She could hardly believe it was the sa dress as yesterday.
"Now, exhale please."
At the maids' words as they grabbed the corset strings, Sigrid exhaled and straightened her back. The maids pulled the strings with all their might. After tightening it several tis, they quickly tied the strings and put on the skirt, then the bodice.
Sigrid panted slightly.
"Can I eat in this?"
"You only eat a little on a date."
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
Marie-Chez snapped her fingers, urging Sigrid to sit on the stool. Once Sigrid sat down, after struggling for a while to dry her hair, they began to intricately braid it up. Though all the styles the maids created looked pretty, they didn't satisfy Marie-Chez's eye, so they redid the hair several tis.
anwhile, toast lightly spread with butter and jam was brought in for breakfast, and Sigrid hurriedly ate the toast and drank her tea.
It didn't seem to digest well because of the corset. Finally, when Marie-Chez said "Good," the maids withdrew, letting out small sighs as if drained. After that, they applied makeup and accessories, and Sigrid's eyes widened as she looked in the mirror.
"Oh— looking at it like this, I seem like a beauty."
"You are beautiful, aren't you?"
Marie-Chez smiled side by side with her in the mirror, looking satisfied. Sigrid stood up and grasped Marie-Chez's hands tightly.
"Thank you!"
"It's nothing. Here, I'll lend you a fan too. Don't lose it, okay?"
"Okay."
Sigrid nervously accepted the ornate fan. Just then, a servant entered to announce that the carriage had arrived.
"Let's go."
"Okay."
Feeling her heart pounding, Sigrid followed behind Marie-Chez. It took considerable concentration just to focus on not stepping on the hem of her dress.
As she carefully stepped onto the footboard and climbed into the carriage, Marie-Chez showed her a clenched fist.
"Have fun!"
"Yes, thank you!"
"Co back in the evening to remove your makeup before you go."
"Okay."
As the servant closed the carriage door, it set off cheerfully. Sigrid was about to touch her face but stopped with an "Ah" and lowered her hand. She was wearing pure white silk gloves, and her face was made up.
Better not to touch it.
Sigrid lifted her dress. She saw the dagger secured with a belt on the outside of her thigh. It was a compromise Marie-Chez had reluctantly made when Sigrid insisted she'd feel incomplete without a weapon.
'You can't wear a sword belt with a dress. You can't!'
she had said. But being this hidden inside, it would be hard to use, Sigrid thought as she lowered her dress again.
'On a date, we talk together and eat together...?'
In the romance novels Lowengrin had shown her, they even held hands. The books always ended with a wedding.
'Marriage.'
It was a word Sigrid had never thought about before, so she quickly dismissed it. As she was wondering how far the carriage would go and opened the window, the carriage ca to a stop.
'Have we arrived?'
The carriage door opened with a clatter, and Sigrid's eyes t Beramund's. His eyes widened.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
"...Siri...?"
"Yes, hello."
Suddenly feeling awkward, Sigrid bowed slightly. Seeing this, Beramund exhaled a long breath and said:
"Ah, I thought I was going to faint. I thought a goddess had ridden in the carriage."
He lightly climbed into the carriage and closed the door. As he said this, he too was dressed differently from usual, in civilian clothes and looking quite dapper. The cane in his hand was noticeable.
"Beramund looks handso today too."
"Thank you. But not as much as Siri. Wow, you're glowing."
Glow.
Sigrid's ears perked up. I see, so Beramund really does love .
Sigrid lightly moistened her lips with her tongue and said:
"Marie-Chez helped ."
"Mm, I wondered why she told
to send the carriage to the Count's house. I'm happy."
"About what?"
"That you dressed up prettily for ."
Beramund grinned. To be honest, he had prepared himself for Sigrid to co out in her uniform — "It's formal wear for a date, right?" — or in a shirt and pants.
But seeing her dressed up like this made him feel good automatically.
'At least she's thinking about wanting to look pretty for .'
Sigrid didn't understand his words, but she didn't dislike him calling her pretty. Besides, Beramund was the only one who ever said such things to her.
It would be a lie to say there wasn't a bit of pleasure in it.
Beramund was staring at her so intently that Sigrid unconsciously looked straight into his eyes, as if in a staring contest. It was always fascinating to see his differently colored eyes.
"Unusual, isn't it?"
When Beramund asked, Sigrid went "Ah" and nodded.
"Yes, it's beautiful."
"Oh—"
Beramund's eyes widened slightly in surprise, then he smiled.
"Really? You like them?"
"Yes."
"That's nice~ There's so benefit to having different colored eyes."
Since the topic of eyes had co up, Sigrid decided to ask sothing she'd been curious about for a while.
"Beramund, about your eyes. You can see Aura, right? How does it look?"
"See it? I wouldn't say that. Usually there's no difference, but if I look closely, I can see sothing like a heat haze. But, well, it's a sensation that's hard to explain in words."
"I'm jealous!"
Sigrid sighed deeply. If she could see that, how much easier would it be to handle Aura? Beramund rested his chin on his hand and chuckled.
"You're doing well even now, aren't you?"
"Still..."
Sigrid looked at him again with envious eyes. Beramund asked:
"Aren't you going to ask where we're going?"
"Where are we going?"
"We'll go for a walk by the nearby lake, have lunch, and then go boating. How does that sound?"
"Sounds good."
Just as Sigrid was wondering if these shoes would be alright for walking, she encountered an even bigger problem. What Beramund had prepared at the park ford around the lake was horses.
"We're riding."
"Yes, don't you like horseback riding? Walking might be tiring and boring."
"That's true, but..."
Sigrid grabbed the reins with a peculiar expression. Beramund finally noticed.
"You've never ridden side-saddle before, have you?"
"No."
"You've never ridden in a dress before, have you?"
"No."
"Well, first you secure your thigh here—"
Beramund was explaining, pointing at the saddle, when he stopped. Sigrid, who had been listening attentively, turned to look at him with a puzzled face, and he said:
"No, I'm not going to spend today giving side-saddle riding lessons."
"Shall we walk then?"
"No."
Beramund gestured to the servant who had brought the horses.
"Remove all the saddles."
The servant looked puzzled but started to remove the saddles. Sigrid asked:
"What are you planning to do?"
"We'll ride together."
"Ah."
She thought that would be pitiful for the horse, but looking at Beramund's horse, Sigrid swallowed those words. It was a warhorse that could easily carry both of them. Beramund lifted Sigrid onto the horse first, then mounted himself. He asked:
"Are you okay?"
"Yes."
"I'll hold your waist."
"Okay."
Beramund carefully grasped her waist and found himself grinning without realizing it.
The riding path was well-maintained, and since no one was speeding, the ride was leisurely. Though people who had co out for walks in the warm weather could be seen occasionally, it wasn't very crowded as it was still barren with little to see. The sight of two people riding one horse might have looked like affectionate lovers to onlookers, but their conversation was anything but.
"So I'm saying I'd aim for the wrist first."
"No, since it's such a large opponent, you should target the inside for a fatal blow."
"But you'd have to get too far inside for that?"
"That's possible because I'm small."
"You're not that small."
"I'm small enough. Utulu must be at least forty centiters taller than ?"
She raised her hand high above her head to estimate. In other words, they were discussing how to — to put it mildly — defeat Utulu Mihas together.
"Anyway, you've already caught him off guard once before. It won't work a second ti."
"That's true."
"And a frontal assault isn't the only way to win. Catching them off guard, diverting their attention, disrupting their movents — that's what's important."
"Hmm— I suppose that could work."
Sigrid nodded readily. She had only been wielding a sword for about ten years, and as she continued to hone her swordsmanship, she would climb the next step, and then the next.
What she knew now wasn't everything.
Sigrid understood that well.
As they reached the lakeside, a still-cold wind blew, and Sigrid hunched her shoulders. This dress was certainly not ant for winter and wasn't warm at all.
"Yap."
From behind, Beramund embraced her along with his cloak. Surprised, Sigrid turned to look back.
"Beramund!"
"What? You're cold, aren't you? Isn't this warm?"
"But, this is—"
Her back, pressed against his chest, suddenly felt hot. Is this sexual harassnt? Should she hit him? But they're lovers, right? Beramund carefully said:
"If you don't like it, I'll just give you the cloak."
"That—"
She lifted her head, then lowered it again, looking straight ahead. She said softly:
"I don't dislike it."
The arms holding her tensed for a mont, then relaxed. Sigrid couldn't bring herself to look back again, so she just stared at the lake in front of her.
Most of the ice had lted, but there were still patches of ice here and there. In the distance was a pier, with snow-white boats lined up neatly.
Beramund wasn't looking at the lake, but at the back of Sigrid's head. Seeing her silver hair vividly reminded him of that night.
The feel of her soft hair slipping through his fingers. And a length that no one could imagine just from seeing it up. The tip of her ear peeking out from her upswept hair was tinged pink, and Beramund wanted to look at Sigrid's face right away, but he held back.
'Slowly, slowly.'
Beramund surveyed the surroundings. If people found out that he and Sigrid were close — that they were lovers — the Emperor would never draw her into his affairs. The Emperor wouldn't suspect her of being a spy either.
After all, a spy wouldn't openly date Beramund Lunatil like this.
If the Emperor kept Siri at a distance, she wouldn't have to do anything to dig for information, and there would be no dangerous situations.
After savoring Sigrid's body heat for a while, Beramund reluctantly loosened his embrace and said:
"Shall we go eat now?"
"Yes!"
Sigrid answered loudly without realizing it. Beramund asked, "Are you very hungry?" and Sigrid nodded.
"All I've had was toast for breakfast."
"Haha, then we'd better hurry."
Beramund laughed and was about to help Sigrid onto the horse when she stepped on the stirrup and mounted herself. She extended her hand, grinning.
"Shall I help you up?"
"I'll pass."
Beramund smiled and quickly mounted the horse. As the horse started to move at a faster pace than before, Sigrid felt uneasy. Without fixed stirrups, she bounced up and down a lot, and she unconsciously grabbed Beramund's arm. Of course, this made the horse speed up even more. Beramund tightened his arm around her waist and said:
"I won't let you fall."
"I know, but— Beramund!"
The horse had now started to gallop. Even Sigrid didn't want to fall off a running horse. She clung tightly to him, her eyes wide. She enjoyed horseback riding, but this? Leaving everything to soone else was completely different. Normally, she would firmly plant her feet in the stirrups, use her thigh muscles, and move smoothly.
But now she was precariously perched, and balancing was all she could do to avoid falling. The smooth dress and the smooth horse's back were all unsettling. Beramund whispered in her ear:
"Siri, just look ahead. It's okay, trust
and enjoy the thrill of riding a horse with soone else holding the reins."
Only then did Sigrid turn her head to face forward. She glanced back briefly. She shifted her center of gravity slightly, but his arm remained firm. Reassured, Sigrid finally started to look around and began to enjoy things she couldn't normally experience while riding — looking to the side and behind while seated on a galloping horse. By the ti they reached the end of the park, they had built up considerable speed. As they galloped past quickly, a man riding in the opposite direction got angry.
"You crazy fools! Ride more slowly!"
"Eek."
Beramund finally slowed the horse down. Sigrid looked up, and their eyes t. They burst out laughing. With her face flushed from the wind, Sigrid said:
"We must have looked truly insane. Galloping at full speed in the park. And with two people on an unsaddled horse!"
"Yes, that's right."
Imagining it was so funny that Beramund bit his lip trying to hold back his laughter. Sigrid burst out laughing again. As Beramund stopped the horse at the entrance and dismounted, he asked:
"Is it that funny?"
"No, it's not that—"
Her crimson eyes sparkled.
"I just realized that breaking the rules is unexpectedly enjoyable."
"Ah, well, food always tastes better when eaten in secret, and skipping class when everyone else is studying is always more fun."
Beramund said as he helped her down from the horse. Sigrid answered seriously:
"I've never done anything like that before."
"Then you've missed out on one of life's pleasures. Guilty pleasures are sweet, you know."
"Even if you know you'll regret it later?"
"It's not like we're causing trouble for others, right?"
Beramund winked as he handed the reins to the waiting servant. Sigrid thought about his words for a mont, then grinned and said:
Reviews
All reviews (0)