“Oh, Your Majesty . ”

I arrived back at the outer court late as I thought . I thought I might’ve been able to get back to the bed if I made it back before Nier woke up, but I was late . Nier sat on the sofa with her arms folded and one leg over the other . Voice void of emotion, she stated, “Your Majesty, I am certain your story last night was incredibly amazing, and I happen to have lots and lots of time to listen to your story . So, I hope that you can tell me what exactly happened to you last night . ”

Nier was absolutely serious . As a matter of fact, there was a violent aura oozing from her . She was the same as the Valkyrie Nier who wanted to kill me in the past . I knew that I’d die if I didn’t answer her properly .

Cautiously, I replied, “Erm… If I told you that I went to the inner court, would you believe me? You might not believe me, but I really did go to the inner court to see Empress Elizabeth yesterday . Mm… You know that I have no chance of coming back if I go to Mommy Elizabeth, don’t you? That’s why I slept there . ”

“Really…?”

Nier’s gaze showed her befuddlement . She believed I went to see Her Majesty, but she was wondering why . If I had business, I could see Mom the next day; there was no need to go in the middle of the night .

I took in a deep breath: “Erm… you might not believe it… because I didn’t make it up . Every word I speak is the truth . What I’m trying to say is I didn’t get serious with you last night purely because I was thinking about Her Majesty the entire time . That’s why I couldn’t get into the mood with you…”

“I see…”

Nier seemed to trust me thanks to my honesty . Or rather, she’d believe everything I say unconditionally as long as I gave her an honest reason . She hopelessly sighed: “I really don’t understand what you’re doing… Why did you suddenly go looking for Her Majesty? What exactly happened to you?”

“Well, I don’t think that ‘happened to me’ is the right description… All I can say is that I want Mom to spoil me sometimes… Does that reason work for you?”

“What in the world are you doing…?” Nier sighed . She then rubbed her head before looking at her chest: “If you want to be spoiled, I think I can help you with that… The only difference between me and Her Majesty is here, right…? Moreover… moreover… I don’t think there’s a significant difference, is there…?”

I laughed . Looking at Nier made me honestly feel guilty . After all, I essentially ignored Nier last night . Then, went off to do it with Mom . I essentially cheated – except that the person I cheated with is a little special . I walked over and gave Nier a light hug . She didn’t push me away; instead, she reciprocated the light hug . She quietly said, “Your Majesty, if you want to do that again, just tell me . I won’t stop you from seeing Her Majesty; still, it’s best if you notify me . I don’t want to wake up to find myself alone… You know… the feeling of nothing being there… I had everything I want, but woke up to find that you weren’t there . That really scared me . I was very, very scared… I was afraid of everything that’d come after . I met you, married you, had Daisy… I was afraid that it was all an illusion . I was very afraid… I’m afraid the most blissful days of my life and the things that happened were all fictional . Please… I can’t stand it…”

“Of course it wasn’t . Of course it’s not fake . None of it is . ”

I tightly hugged my wife, who was, uh, one of the women I loved . Nier clung to me . The Valkyrie who could kill anyone while looking indifferent was afraid that our story was all an illusion that she quivered . I hugged her tighter because the state that she was in made me feel even guiltier, and the feeling of cheating was emphasised . I crouched down to meet her height and gave her a light kiss on her lips . She anxiously clasped my face and pa.s.sionately kissed me back . She stroked me and kissed me with all she had in an attempt to prove that everything that happened between us actually happened, and that I was real . The truth was… I wasn’t real .

“I never thought you were that type . While you could say that Vyvyan is not your mother, Elizabeth is your biological mother, yet you won’t spare even her? I really feel sorry for Inard . How did he end up with a son, like you?” teased the woman in my head .

I was mentally prepared for it, but the fact that she spoke to me all of a sudden almost caused me to bite off Nier’s tongue due to the fright . Though she admonished me, her voice didn’t sound aggressive in the slightest . In fact, I’d say that there was a hint of glee and eagerness in her voice .

“Can I add a request? Before you speak next time, can you give me a quiet signal beforehand?”

“That would mean that I can’t talk when I feel like it, then . Don’t worry . I won’t thoughtlessly speak . I just happen to be quite happy this time . I did see a different world, after all . I’ve come to learn about humanity, about you and Elizabeth . By the way, what would happen if I told Vyvyan about you and Elizabeth?”

“Please show mercy…”

“Haha . ” She heartlessly laughed and then stopped speaking .

I was shaking, for I had no way of antic.i.p.ating what she’d do… Nier released me then touched my face . With a smile, she questioned, “Okay, Your Majesty, let’s wrap up here . I don’t plan to question you any further… Do you want to have breakfast now? I’ll go prepare it now . Do you have any plans for the day?”

“I plan to make a trip outside for a walk on the streets . ”

“Do you need me to come along? Daisy won’t be in danger during the day at the outer court . ”

“Erm… Sure, why not? But nonetheless, you best wear the guards in the North’s uniform . This time, we must hide our ident.i.ty . I don’t want to be recognised . ”

“No problem . ”