Page 34

Me, Mio, Ciel, and Sia had dinner in my room. The dishes we ate were fried meat and some vegetables that were enough to fill the energy that was wasted after going through a hard day.

Ciel and Sia enjoyed the fried meat dish that Mio cooked. This was the first time I enjoyed dinner in my room with someone other than Mio.

My dinner was usually accompanied by Mio and on certain days I had to attend a family dinner led by my father.

Ah! I mean Marquess Rommel.

"Ugh... M-Mio.." right in front of me, the dinner was served on the floor with a portion that was large enough to make my stomach scream.

"I think I can’t eat it anymore," Hearing my words, Mio who was sitting beside me immediately took my cutlery and put it on a trolley located not far from the exit of my room.

"Here, Lily-sama.." after finishing her little task. Mio sat back beside me while carrying a glass of fresh drink.

"Ah! Lily-sama... There is a small stain on your lips. Can I clean it?" Mio said.

"Ung~" I didn’t answer Mio’s question and gave my lips completely to be cleaned.

A soft sensation touched my lips. I could see Mio’s lips touching mine. After Mio cleaned the remaining stain on my lips, my eyes accidentally glanced at Ciel and Sia who were busy observing us.

"Umm... Nee-sama. Can I ask you about one thing that I’m curious about? Umm--"

"Um... Two things if I may?" Ciel asked.

"Ung?" I answered Ciel’s question by looking at her face.

Ciel’s dinner was finished and it seemed that Ciel didn’t plan on adding to her portion of food.

"Umm... Nee-sama... Anoo.." Ciel’s words were slightly cut off and her face blushed slightly.

I don’t know what Ciel was thinking, but...

Nee-sama?

Why did Ciel call me Nee-sama?

Shouldn’t I be the one calling her Nee-sama?

"Umm... Just say it.." I replied.

"Nee-sama.. Are Nee-sama and Mio-sama related by blood bonding marriage?" Ciel asked.

"Puuufuuu!! Uhuuuk!!" Ciel’s question made Mio choke because she was enjoying a cup of warm tea beside me.

"Eng? We’re not married" I replied to answer Ciel’s question.

"Eh?? But why-"

Before Ciel continued her words, I interrupted her with a statement that came from my heart.

"We’re not married but our relationship is more than that," I said to complete the previous answer.

"Puuuuffff!!" this time, Sia was the one who choked after hearing my answer.

"Kuuuuuu~" Mio who heard my answer could only remain silent and cover her face with both hands. I could see Mio’s red ears and a small smile from behind the two hands that covered her face.

"Ah! I see. So, this Nee-sama is the head of the family?" Ciel continued her question.

Um, does our relationship make Ciel curious?

Ciel’s change in behavior and her little question made me realize that something was happening to Ciel.

"You could say that true," I answered to close Ciel’s question.

"Nee-sama! Please accept me as part of your family!" Ciel suddenly asked.

"Puuufuuuu!!" Sia choked again after hearing Ciel’s question.

"C-Ciel.. What did you just say?" Sia said while holding Ciel’s body.

"Becoming part of Lily-chan’s family is not an easy matter! Especially with the troublesome human nobility!" Sia continued.

"Eh? Why do I have to deal with human nobility?" Ciel replied.

"Eh? W- What family do you mean?" Sia asked.

"Of course Nee-sama’s family! Nee-sama will be the head of the family who leads the fox colony!"

"F-Fox Colony? O-Oh... That’s what it means.." Sia seemed to understand the meaning of Ciel’s words.

"Umm.. can you explain?" I asked.

I didn’t understand Ciel’s words at all.

Head of the family?

Fox Colony leader?

What did that mean?

"Ehehe.. Nee-sama! Please bite my tail!" Ciel asked.

"E-Eh?" hearing Ciel’s request made me wonder about the meaning of her behavior.

Beside Ciel, Sia’s facial expression looked surprised and her body was shaking violently.

"C-Ciel?" Sia said while holding back her increasingly obvious shaking.

"W-What did you just say!" Sia snapped.

"Hnng?" seeing Sia’s changed behavior, Mio moved closer to me and whispered something.

"Lily-sama, I’ve heard about this before. In a place inhabited by a certain race, tail biting is a symbol of engagement and to move on to marriage, both partners must bite the other’s tail. I guess, that kind of tradition also applies to their race," Mio whispered.

Hearing Mio’s small whisper, I immediately realized Ciel’s main goal.

Using tradition to forge a bond is a pretty good idea.

But, can that tradition be done between girls?

Moreover.. doesn’t the Saintess have a rule like not being allowed to marry?

...

...

Eh? Wait a minute!

Why didn’t I think of this before?!

"Mio, can I ask you something that just crossed my mind?" I asked.

"Eng? What is it, Lily-sama?"

"If I’m not mistaken, a Saintess has a rule like not being allowed to marry while actively being a Saintess, right?"

"That’s true," Mio replied.

"If you follow the rules in the Kingdom, marriage is carried out by a couple of lovers of the opposite gender, right? Then... Aren’t all marriages like that?" I said like a curious child.

"Let’s just say we’re using rules outside of the Kingdom’s law, then..." I stopped my words and looked into Mio’s eyes.

"When I grow up, will Mio be willing to be my marriage partner? The Saintess rule that no marriage is allowed only applies to the opposite sex, but no rule prohibits to the same sex, right?"

For some reason, I could hear the cold air blowing past me and the silence that engulfed my room.

Mio was silent in front of me.

"Mio?" I could see Mio’s body frozen after hearing my words.

Um, did I say something wrong?

Peeeeesssss~

"Mio?"

Mio’s facial expression slowly turned red and small steam came out of her head.

"Mio, are you sick? Your face is red-"

"Lily-sama!! Moooo! What did Lily-sama just say! Mooo!! Moooooo!!"

I wanted to measure Mio’s body temperature with my forehead, but Mio pushed my body to sleep on the floor.

"P-Please don’t give me a high fantasy. I-I am just a Maid who cannot possibly be Lily-samp’s marriage partner-"

"I-I am just-"

Behind Mio’s red face, a great worry was reflected in it like two desires that were controlling each other.

Seeing Mio in this condition made my chest hurt.

What is this feeling?

"Mioo.."

"..."

"Nee.. Miioo.."

"..."

Sometimes Mio can be stubborn and ignore my calls.

In a situation like this, no one would blame me for calming her down, right?

"Miiiooo.." I called Mio’s name while hugging her face into my embrace.

"Fufu~ Did Mio forget? I already have you completely. So, it’s not an impossible wish to come true" I whispered softly in Mio’s ear.

"A-Aaaah!" hearing the whisper from my words. Mio’s face was now slowly filled with a sweet smile.

"That’s right! W-Why would I forget something as important as that?" Mio was now a little more cheerful than before.

"B-But.. what about Lily-sama’s engagement plan that has been arranged by the kingdom?" Mio asked.

"Huuuh?!"

"Heeeh?!"

"Lily-chan is getting engaged?!"

"Nee-sama is getting engaged?!"

Sia and Ciel seemed to have heard our little conversation.

"Lily-chan! Is that true?!"

"Nee-sama! Is that true?!"

Emm.. how should I answer their questions? Somehow, their ways to say looks like Alyssa and Alice.

I let go of Mio’s face hug and returned to a sitting position.

"Oh, that? I think it will be fine as long as the Queen of this Kingdom doesn’t force Father-- Ah! I mean Marquess Rommel to become that trash’s fiancé," I almost said the forbidden sentence.

"Are they the people we met earlier?" Ciel asked.

"Um!" I nodded to answer Ciel’s question.

"You mean, the mother of the sickly little girl?" Sia asked.

"Eh? A sickly little girl? What does that mean?" Hearing Sia’s words about the sickly little girl made me interested in it.

"Lily-chan, don’t you know about this? The first princess of your kingdom has an incurable disease. According to rumors, all the fake Saintesses owned by humanity are unable to cure her disease," Sia said.

"Even though they are fake Saintesses, they still maintain their pride by not asking us as real Saintess for help. Even though we have an Elixir that can cure her disease," Ciel said.

"Eng? There is an Elixir like that?" I asked Ciel.

"Yep, an Elixir like this Nee-sama!" From behind Ciel’s palm, there was a glass bottle with a sparkling gold-colored liquid.

A small idea came into my head.

"Can I buy that Elixir?" I asked.

"Sure, can I get paid by Nee-sama biting my fox tail and I am bitting Nee-sama fox tail too? I know Nee-sama have an item to be Fox race," Ciel replied.

"E-Eeeh?" I watched Ciel’s facial expression as she waited for my answer.

Her sweet smile was charming but..

Somehow, handing over my fox tail to be bitten felt like an embarrassing act.

"Nee-sama~" Ciel waited for my answer quietly and her fox tail waved in front of me.

"T-This is a little embarrassing. But, I’ll bite your tail!!" I said loudly to suppress my embarrassment. At least, biting each other’s tails was enough to cover up my embarrassment.

"EEHH?!!"

"EEEHHH??!!"

Hearing my answer, Sia and Mio looked surprised and then screamed excitedly.