"Your Highness, you don't need to worry about her. It would be too late for you to go to Ling Yue now, anyway. If neither of them wants to give in and they end up fighting, you will probably see one of their corpses."
Lucia gently patted Nona to get her to sleep. Nona snored gently in Lucia's arms. I stood next to Lucia feeling uneasy. Lucia turned her head around and chuckled in a soft voice. She explained, "Nier won't actually harm her, because she wouldn't do something that would make you sad. Ling Yue isn't that dense, either; hence, she wouldn't hurt Nier. The two of them are probably talking."
"Lucia, you seem as though you know Nier very well."
"Though I am very reluctant to admit it, having been with Nier for so long, I guess you could say I have come to understand her. Nier is akin to a white sheet of paper. She is very easy to understand, as you are her life and now her child is also her life. My prince, you should try and get Nier to find her own life. Without you, Nier would be very lost. She would have no idea what to do."
I hugged Lucia from behind. She giggled then kissed the side of my face. With a smile, she asked, "There's no need to worry, Your Highness. She will be back. As for Ling Yue, when do you want to go and see her?"
"I don't need to go and see her for the meantime. I just need to stay by your side and my girls' sides. Is Nona asleep?"
"Mm, she's asleep," answered Lucia. She handed Nona to me and laughed: "Hold her. Nona is a bit naughtier than Vera. However, she fights off her sleepiness to wait for you to come over before sleeping. It appears that she really likes you."
"How about Vera?"
"Vera? She's probably just a bit shy." Lucia giggled again: "I sometimes catch her anxiously looking over in your direction when you're holding Nona. It seems she gets jealous. These two girls are truly so cute. They must be very close sisters when they grow up. Your Highness, I am a little envious of them, since I am an only child. I did not have siblings."
"Haha. I truly hope their relationship is as good as yours and Nier's."
Lucia sulked, "Your Highness, you do not happen to think that we have a good relationship, do you? I need to correct you on that. My Prince, my relationship with that woman is not good at all. She is but a thieving cat. I will not be friendly with her. Never! I consider her the stain in our beautiful love. You have belonged to me all day for the last two days, since she left. This is so nice."
"Yes, yes, yes." I scrubbed Lucia's head with a smile, and then gave her a kiss on her lips. I kept my smile as I said, "I need to go and take a look at Daisy now. Goodnight, Lucia."
Lucia grabbed my hand with a hint of disappointment: "Your Highness, do you not plan to stay here for the night? I thought that you came to me to spend the night with me. Nona and Vera definitely thought you would, as well. Your Highness, Nier is not here tonight. There is no point in you going back, so why not stay with me?"
"Because I actually still have work to attend to tonight."
"Ugh… Okay then."
Lucia never probed into what business I dealt with. She'd just lower her head feeling disappointed. I smiled then kissed her lips. She kissed me back nervously as though she was worried we'd wake up Vera and Nona. It was fine, though, for the two girls were already deep asleep.
"Sorry."
After we kissed, I stroked Lucia's face, and then kissed the girls' foreheads before turning to leave the room.
The corridor was very quiet. I didn't allow guards on patrol to wear armour at night, because I wanted to avoid disturbing Nona and Vera's sleep. As such, there was only the occasional sound of a team of armoured patrol guards that passed by. I didn't want my children to be woken by the sound of metal rattling all night. Plus, I thought it was safe in the palace. If that wasn't enough, Vyvyan resided on the same floor, I felt reassured with regards to safety on the floor… In saying that, I wasn't not safe on the floor…
My so-called business I had to attend to tonight was visiting Vyvyan in her room… Lucia gave Nona and Vera their fills for today, so they didn't need Vyvyan. As a result, Vyvyan needed me… I was very reluctant to fulfil the duty, for the reason that there was no chance of me leaving once I was done. Well, neither of us left…
Somebody grabbed my arm from my side and pulled me into a small room. Next, I was slammed up against the wall.
"Come, Son. We should start now. Mm… You're a little late today, Son. Mommy is in a lot of pain. After all, Mm, there's so much swelling… Let's start…"
I felt a warm breath on my face and my lips were sealed before I could utter a word. Between my legs was one of her legs. That was a standard Vyvyan manoeuvre. She used it, because I had no way of escaping the position.
I desperately struggled against her: "Mom… Mom… This is the toilets… It's not…"
"It's okay. It's okay. Isn't the toilets better? It's all the same no matter where we do it, anyway. Come on, Son. Nobody will disturb us here, other than maybe Lucia, who might wake up. But we just need to set up a boundary inside. With a boundary erected, not even Lucia will see us. Okay, that's enough now… Son, start… Nier isn't here now, so your night time belongs to me now."
Current time at Ling Yue's estate…
"Oooohh!! You're Nier without a doubt! That body… Wow… There's no fat. You've even got muscles!! This body… This body is seriously so nice…"
"Your body hasn't changed even after giving birth. That's great. Nier, what did you grow up eating? Do you have any secrets for maintaining your body?"
"No."
"What exercise do you usually do?"
"Fencing."
"Besides that?"
"Troy."
"… Okay, I understand with that much information… But your skin is different to ours. It feels as though you humans have very little hair; it's smoother to the touch. Don't you think your skin is too smooth for a warrior?"
"Don't touch me."
"Why can't I? You've got such a nice body, so why can't I touch it? Aren't you a little too mean…? Fine, fine, fine. Let's swap. I'll let you touch my tail, and I'll feel your body. We good?"
"My word… We're both women. Don't you think you're crossing the line touching me all over this way? But… your tail does feel quite nice… Uhm…"
"Mm, mm… Right…? Mm… Right? Your body isn't bad, either… Serious… Yeah, it is very nice…"
"Hey! Hey! Hey!! What are you doing?! What are you doing?! We're both women! What are trying to do?! Keep this up, and I will hurt you! I'm warning you!! I'm going to hurt you! If you dare to touch me, I'll hit you!!"
"Come on, it doesn't matter. We're both women… Come on. Come on…"
"What are you trying to do?! Has living with Evelyn and Leah for so long changed you?! Get your hands off me!!"
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