"Mother-in-law… Well done falling asleep…"

Told such an unexpected story by Mother-in-law my sleepiness has been all blown away.

But, on the contrary to such me, Mother-in-law is deeply asleep, perhaps relieved to have talked to somebody.

I took a glimpse at the clock.

The time can still be called around midnight.

I was quietly lying in bed to avoid waking up Mother-in-law, but before long I raised my body, unable to bear it.

"Nnn, I can't sleep"

Thinking about it normally, I should be able to sleep.

My present situation is that I and Freed embrace each other until morning day by day. No matter how long I sleep in the morning, I can't say I get enough sleep time. It's a rare opportunity to rest my body and soundly sleep without any worries.

However.

"Kh… I can't sleep without Freed…"

I feel lonely.

He isn't lying next to me. I didn't expect I would be unable to sleep just because he isn't here to ask me "What's the matter" and embrace me when I wake up.

I could only sigh as I realized both my body and heart have become completely accustomed to sleeping after being loved by him.

"… Jeez… Just how much do I love Freed…"

I hung my head, crestfallen. Of course I can't refuse his requests. I don't even want to refuse them in the first place.

I'm very happy to be loved by my beloved.

The number of s.e.xy times is too high? His love too heavy?

So what. Heavy is fine. I'm ready.

I didn't accept Freed with half-hearted feelings either. Rather, if he wasn't like that, I'd be troubled… Because he's my partner for lifetime.

Of course I'm also a human, so there are times where I want to be excused a little.

It depends on my physical conditions. But fundamentally, I want to meet his demands.

I looked at the ring on the fourth finger of my left hand.

The ring Freed bought during our date. I was happy when I received it, but I can look at it with an even happier feeling now.

The color of Freed's eyes and hair. The sparkling diamonds surrounding it.

Some people may frown that it's a blatant restraint. Even so, I am happy.

No matter how many times I look at it, I can only see it as an engagement ring.

The symbol of his promise. Of course there's the King's Flower, but aside from that I'm happy about something visible like the ring.

I don't mind being caught by Freed. Rather, I want to become his captive myself.

I don't want to leave his arms.

Once I realized my feelings, they grow endlessly having lost their shackles.

I'm so tremendously in love with Freed that I wonder how I didn't notice until then. I can't help but love everything about him.

"Freed…"

The sigh I leaked was so filled with pa.s.sion even I could tell.

Usually, now would be the time I'm loved by him.

I'll meet Freed when morning comes. I'll be fine if I'm just hugged with all his strength then. Telling that to myself, I was about to crawl into the bed once again, when――――.

Clunk, I heard some sounds. They're clearly artificial sounds. To me they sounded like footsteps.

"W, who?"

Thinking it would be bad if something happened, I covered Mother-in-law with my body at once. Mother-in-law is soundly sleeping. When push comes to shove I'll wake her up, but I won't let her go.

I can't let harm befall the Queen.

Time continued silently as I waited for the opponent to approach.

Unpleasant sweat flowed. I couldn't hear any sound after the initial occurrence.

Just how much time pa.s.sed.

Then I heard Mother-in-law's carefree voice from below.

"… Lidi? What happened?"

I hurriedly raised my body from on top of Mother-in-law.

"N, no. I heard sounds… But it seems to be nothing… For now, we should call a soldier…"

"Aah…"

Listening to my words Mother-in-law at first had a suspicious face, but before long she nodded understandingly.

She slowly raised her body. Lights were turned on in the room.

I understood Mother-in-law used magic. It's extremely relieving to just have lights on.

While I was looking around cautiously, Mother-in-law said in a calming voice.

"You need not worry. This is a nightly occurrence since I moved into this room. In the beginning I thought it to be a suspicious person, but even though I had a search conducted, it resulted in nothing… Because it continued even when I tried changing the room, I gave up. I began treating it as an usual occurrence, but it must have frightened you, Lidi. The history of this castle spans for hundreds of years. One mysterious phenomenon is not surprising"

"M, mysterious phenomenon, huh…"

"Yeah"

Mysterious phenomenon. To clear it up in one phrase, Mother-in-law is too strong.

On the contrary, upon hearing it's a mysterious phenomenon, I fearfully examined the surroundings again and again.

Seeing me do this, Mother-in-law laughed.

"There is nothing. I had a considerably thorough investigation conducted. Several sounds can be heard around midnight. That's all. In the first place, there should be no unauthorized person who could intrude into the royalty quarter. The security here is unusual"

"C, certainly"

But in that case, I still hate it, because I did experience the mysterious phenomenon.

I hate both suspicious people and ghosts.

While I was making a shameful face, Mother-in-law gently hugged me.

With all my strength I breathed in her gentle, pleasant scent. Healed by the soft feeling of her chest, my body spontaneously lost strength.

Mother-in-law said in a gentle voice.

"You were trying to protect me, right. Thank you. But, there is no need. Lidi, rather than me, your body is more important. Make me your s.h.i.+eld at the critical moment. I have already fulfilled my duty, however yours is still ahead of you"

"Mother-in-law…"

"You would hate if that child took a concubine, right? That is all the more reason to not let anything happen to you. Protect yourself"

Mother-in-law lightly patted my back.

It might be just like that, however if anything happened to Mother-in-law, the King would grieve.

And if anything happened to me, Freed would fly into rage. I understand I'm loved that much.

In other words, if anything happens, we have no choice but to do our best to both survive.

"It is no good if only one of us survives. I will do my best to save both of us"

When I announced my determination, Mother-in-law's amber eyes turned round.

Then she beautifully smiled.

"You are right. Surely that is the best option. I am depending on you, Lidi"

"Yes!"

Although I said that, in the end the sounds scared me so much I couldn't sleep, so I unseemly pa.s.sed the night in Mother-in-law's embrace.

Hugging the s.h.i.+vering me, for some reason Mother-in-law kept patting my head while going, Cute cute.

It's a secret from Mother-in-law, but it strangely reminded me of Freed, and for yet another time I got the impression that they're indeed a parent and child.