“W-Well, I think so.”
Liuli had been wondering how to bring it up to her parents, but her mother had asked directly, rendering the mental preparation she had halfway built completely pointless.
“Oh? Who is it? Who? I heard St. Laia is full of noble young ladies. Sweetie, are you really worthy of them?”
“Mom! How can you say that about your own child?”
“The young ladies have different backgrounds and perspectives, so their worldviews are different too. I’m just worried you’ll get taken advantage of.”
‘Taken advantage of?’ Liuli glanced at Serveyia.
She had indeed been “taken advantage of” quite a bit by her, but it probably wasn’t the kind of advantage her mother was thinking of.
“No, I’m the Princess of St. Laia. I won’t get taken advantage of.”
“So, who is this person? Have we met?”
“You have. It’s the maid who was with me when you visited last time…”
“A maid, huh. That actually…”
Liuli heard her mother’s thoughtful murmur and grew even more curious.
“What do you mean by ‘that actually’?”
“Someone close to you is indeed easier to get close to. And she seems so assertive, which matches you pretty well, sweetie.”
“Don’t you have any other thoughts?”
“No. That maid is called Serveyia, right?”
“Mm!”
“Even though we only met once, your father and I had a good impression of her. The way she looks at you doesn’t lie.”
‘Doesn’t lie?’ Liuli subconsciously looked at Serveyia again. Well, except when she was teasing her, Serveyia really didn’t seem to deceive her much.
“And honestly, since it’s your choice, sweetie, I trust you.”
“Mm, thanks, Mom…”
“I’m your mother. No need for thanks. Us parents just hope you can live safely and happily. That’s our greatest wish.”
After that came some casual family chatter.
Although she was grateful for her parents’ understanding and support, Liuli couldn’t help feeling a little annoyed whenever her mother nagged.
Her responses grew perfunctory, and her mother seemed to notice, ending the conversation on some pretext.
“I didn’t expect you, Little Fox, to be like this when facing your own mother.”
“I already knew everything Mom said. It’s just the same old stuff repeated over and over: eat well, make friends, and so on. I don’t want to say I’m tired of it, but it’s always the same content. I can almost recite it by heart… Serveyia, do your parents nag you?”
“Not really. From the moment royal children come of age, strictly speaking, they’re no longer children. They’re successors, colleagues, even potential enemies—but certainly not children. However, this tends to decrease with more children. Generally, the youngest is more loved by parents and more likely to hear their nagging. Obviously, I’m not the one who gets to hear it.”
“Uh, should I say that’s tough?”
“No need. After all, I have things they can’t compare to. To many, the right of inheritance is more important than parents’ loving nagging. Just like I said before…”
“So, Serveyia, which do you think is better?”
“There’s no difference to me, and it’s not something I can choose. What surprises me is that you actually told your mother about our relationship directly, Little Fox.”
“Should I not have?”
“No, I just thought with your personality, you’d be too embarrassed to say it.”
“Since my mom asked, it would be inappropriate not to answer.”
In truth, as Serveyia said, if she had the choice, Liuli wouldn’t have wanted to tell her parents directly.
But her mother had asked outright, and it seemed she had no strong objections to her liking girls. So there was no harm in saying it.
“But, Little Fox, in the end, you didn’t choose to tell your parents about Aili?”
“Mm, I think just having a girlfriend is enough for my parents to digest for a while. Setting Aili aside for now should be fine.”
“But Little Fox, you can’t wrap fire in paper. What if your parents find out first? Would that be okay?”
“Of course it’s okay. Love is love. And honestly, it’s been so long since the confession, but Aili hasn’t done anything that even counts as a couple’s activity. At this rate, it’ll take ages before anyone finds out.”
“It seems you’re quite dissatisfied with Aili’s behavior, Little Fox.”
“If I have to say dissatisfied, yes, a little. Who wouldn’t be upset after accepting a confession but not getting even one proper date?”
“Hasn’t Aili called you?”
“She has, but Serveyia, you know as well as I do that calls don’t help at this point. Besides, I’ve noticed Aili isn’t very good at romantic talk.”
“Oh?”
“Every time she calls, she ends up talking about all sorts of weird things—student council affairs, aristocratic etiquette, diplomacy. I don’t really want to hear those topics. Is that how couples chat?”
“Maybe Aili thinks you used to be a boy, Little Fox, and might like topics like that?”
“Not all boys like that kind of stuff, right? At least I never did from the start.”
This line was important, at least in Liuli’s eyes. It proved she had never liked such serious topics, and definitely not because of feminization. Mm, definitely not.
“Then have you considered making it clear to Aili, Little Fox?”
“Aili works hard every day. At least when she talks about those topics, I can feel she’s happy. So, it’s fine as is.”
Although Liuli had been complaining to Serveyia, she actually didn’t hate talking to Aili on the phone.
What she disliked was simply the topics Aili chose.
“Maybe Aili is just too busy. With her emotional intelligence, she can’t possibly be unaware of your attitude, Little Fox. Once this busy period is over, maybe it’ll get better?”
“Even you can’t be sure, Serveyia?”
“I’m not Aili. How can I know what she’s thinking? All I can do is make reasonable guesses.”
“But when will this busy period be over?”
“I don’t know. But it shouldn’t be too long. Aili probably knows she’s been neglecting you lately, Little Fox. Maybe she’ll find a way to make it up to you.”
“I hope so…”
“So don’t be upset. And come to think of it, why am I here explaining things to Little Fox on Aili’s behalf? I should take this chance to get closer to you.”
Serveyia said this with a deliberately regretful tone. Her reaction was a bit exaggerated, making Liuli unsure if it was part of her comforting act.
“Serveyia, you don’t need to get any closer. I think our relationship is already intimate enough.”
“Do you really think so, Little Fox?”
Serveyia leaned in, so close Liuli could feel her breath.
“Don’t… don’t come so close.”
Liuli pushed Serveyia, trying to keep a proper, safe distance.
“Is Little Fox blushing?”
“No, I’m not!”
Liuli instinctively felt danger. The aggressiveness radiating from Serveyia really made her legs weak.
“If you’re not blushing, then why won’t you look at me? Or do you need to see me in a cosplay costume to be satisfied?”
Cosplay? Cosplay!
Liuli was instantly intrigued by what Serveyia said, but she felt she shouldn’t show too much anticipation in front of Serveyia, or else Serveyia might get jealous.
“It seems Little Fox is indeed very interested in this suggestion. If you have nothing else to do this morning, I’ll go change clothes.”
“No, there’s nothing I want to do…”
Actually, if it weren’t for her title as Princess of St. Laia and being a public figure, she wouldn’t go out.
Birthdays should be spent at home, enjoying oneself.
“Alright, I’ll go change now. Little Fox, are you sure you don’t want a bit of role-playing?”
“No, just be yourself, Serveyia.”
“Okay.”
Liuli’s reason for not wanting Serveyia to role-play was simple.
After all, Neng Dai was always Neng Dai.
No one could perfectly recreate her, and blindly trying to do so would only lose her own uniqueness.
Strangely, despite having looked forward to this for days, Liuli felt surprisingly calm now that Serveyia was about to put on the cosplay.
It was the calm of something already settled.
Serveyia hadn’t let her see the clothes when she brought them back.
The only information from Dora was that the outfit wasn’t too revealing.
Although Neng Dai’s costumes were generally modest, some were probably unwearable.
Maid uniform was unlikely, since Serveyia wore it every day, and Dora probably wouldn’t customize one for variety.
As for others, the hot springs version couldn’t be worn outside, so that was out.
Which one would Serveyia choose first?
“I’m changed, Little Fox.”