Chapter 5: Riccia and Heat
The news that Beryl had left with Chi and Andal soon spread throughout the castle. Oddly enough, the dragonkin soldiers who sparred with Beryl were the most disappointed by his departure.
In contrast, when the news reached Riccia, his daughter, she simply said, “Oh dear.” She seemed neither distraught nor sad about the turn of events. Perhaps she’d already had a hunch that this would happen, knowing that Beryl would never stay quietly in one place for very long.
Kotaro and the other spirits didn’t seem to feel any particular way about Chi leaving either. The fact that so many supreme-level spirits were gathered in one place was a rarity in itself. Aside from Chi, who represented earth, the castle was home to the Spirits of Wind, Water, Fire, and Light. If you added Lydia to that mix, then that would make six spirits—half of the twelve supreme-level spirits.
Ruri could somewhat understand why the nobles of the Imperial Nation would say that the power balance between the four nations was in jeopardy. This many supreme-level spirits assembled here made the kingdom much more powerful, not to mention the Beloveds the nation housed. Then again, aside from Kotaro and Rin, the two spirits under Ruri’s subjugation, the others stayed of their own free will. But their presence alone was probably enough to instill fear.
Meanwhile, the supreme-level spirits, who would sometimes go decades or even centuries without seeing one another, seemed to be nonplussed. They had already moved on to a different topic. Ruri felt everyone around her was being way too cut-and-dried about this. Granted, Beryl was no better, leaving only a single letter in way of explanation.
However, Beryl’s departure seemed to spark a change in Riccia as she also suddenly declared that she would be leaving the castle. This surprised Ruri greatly. Beryl had barely been gone a few days.
“Why? Where are you going? Are you planning to go on a journey like grandpa?”
Riccia remained nonchalant, despite Ruri’s rapid-fire questions. “Oh, heavens no. You’ve got it wrong. I was thinking of moving into the house in the capital that you set up before.”
Ruri was relieved to hear that her mother wasn’t planning on going too far away, but she continued her questioning. “But why? Do you not like living in the castle?” She had prepared that house for Riccia and the rest of her family, so she’d expected that they would one day move there, but she was still curious.
“No, that isn’t it. We’ve been treated very well here. Truly, it feels almost too good for us. But, you see, I’ve found my calling!”
“Calling?” Ruri had no idea what her mother was talking about, but she continued to listen.
“That’s right. See, I looked into the clothing and apparel industry in this world, but everything is so stale! As a professional model, I can’t let this pass! Women wearing dresses, men wearing pants—everyone’s stuck in the Stone Age! I’m going to lead a design revolution in this world!”
Riccia had stated this so assertively that Ruri was taken aback. Still, it made sense given her mother’s background. She was very particular about clothes. So particular, in fact, that Riccia had been busy trying to start up her own clothing line around the time Ruri was summoned to this world.
The Nation of the Dragon King was home to many different races, so their selection of clothing designs trumped other nations, but it was apparently still too conservative for Riccia’s tastes. She wanted to introduce new designs into the world, not just safe ones that everyone would like. She couldn’t implement that while living in the castle, though. She said that she wanted to live in the house Ruri had prepared and open up her own clothing store in the town.
Ruri sighed and said, “Yeah, well, I won’t stop you if that’s what you want to do, but I think it’s going to be tough to integrate a new piece of culture into society like that.”
“That’s where my power as a Beloved comes in. It’s a better time than ever to utilize the Beloved brand. So don’t worry, and leave it to me!” Riccia said, patting her chest in confidence.
Ruri decided to give up. She knew her mother wouldn’t listen to anything she said. But at that moment, another problem came to mind.
“What about dad?” Ruri asked.
“He said he would come with me if I left the castle. He was offered a job to work here, so I suppose he’ll be commuting.”
“Well, I guess it’s fine if dad is all right with it. Then that just leaves...” Ruri paused. Riccia was a Beloved, and you couldn’t just compliantly let one out into the wild. “I’ll talk it over with Jade-sama, so just hold on until then. Don’t go off on your own like grandpa, okay?”
“Yes, I understand. I still have things I need to do here, after— Ah, Heat-chan!” Riccia called, waving her hand.
Ruri turned to see Heat walking with a woman on each arm. When he saw Riccia, however, he abandoned the women—most likely castle maids—did an about-face, and tried to run away. But Riccia quickly captured him. She wasn’t going to let Heat slip away.
“Jeez, Heat-chan, I called your name,” Riccia scolded, gripping his arm tightly.
Heat’s mouth was twitching. He was normally so arrogant, and this rare reaction from him made Ruri acutely aware of how mighty her mother’s influence was.
“U-Unhand me...” Heat stammered.
“But you always run away whenever you see me, Heat-chan,” Riccia protested.
“Yes, because I don’t want to be with you.”
“Ooh? Mind repeating that?” Riccia trilled, approaching him with a sweet smile and a pensive glare.
“Eep!” Heat squeaked in terror. Yes, the same Heat who was always so pompous around Ruri was quaking in his boots.
“P-Please let me go...” Heat pleaded, his voice faint.
It was truly a sight to behold. Heat looked so pitiful with all the color drained from his face that even Ruri was feeling sorry for him.
“Mom, don’t you have things to do? I’m going to go talk to Jade-sama, so why don’t you get your business squared away?”
“Oh dear, you’re right. I need to prepare so I can leave as soon as possible,” Riccia replied, turning to Heat and planting a kiss on his cheek. “Toodles, Heat-chan.”
Ruri watched in astonishment as her typhoon-of-a-mother walked away. Heat stood quivering in fear.
In Ruri’s home country, a kiss on the cheek was a sign of great affection. Ruri was used to it since Riccia would kiss her like that almost every day, but Heat looked like he’d gotten hit with a missile.
“Heat-sama, are you okay?” Ruri asked.
“G-Good job, brat. I must commend you for getting rid of that woman.”
“Uh, I mean, I didn’t really do anything special...”
Ruri had no clue why Heat disliked Riccia so much, but there had been some sort of drunken spat between them during her wedding. She couldn’t get any information out of him as to why they fought, but she heard through the grapevine that it was about women.
Why a womanizer like Heat would get into a fight with a beautiful woman such as Riccia, Ruri had no idea. Heat’s attitude toward her was abysmal, so perhaps he didn’t treat all women with care just because they were women.
Ruri also heard that after he upset Riccia, she’d dragged him off somewhere outside of the party grounds, which was where it had all gone downhill. Ever since then, Heat—the same spirit who acted arrogant even with the ruler of a nation like Jade—would start shivering whenever he saw Riccia.
When Ruri asked Riccia what in the world happened to him, Riccia had smiled sweetly and said, “Just a little discipline~!”
Not a single soul was brave enough to ask exactly what kind of discipline she’d administered outside of the public eye.
“Mom says she’s going to leave the castle,” Ruri told Heat.
“She’s what?!” Heat exclaimed, his sallow face brightening up instantly. He let out a hearty laugh. “I see! I see! She’s finally on her way out, is she?! Wa ha ha ha!”
As Riccia’s daughter, Ruri felt conflicted about Heat’s reaction. Was it really that much of a cause for celebration?
“Still, I need to talk to Jade-sama about it first.”
“Then hurry on off to him, girl. And kick her out as soon as possible!”
“I would appreciate it if you didn’t tell me to kick my own mother out...” Ruri retorted.
“Whatever you want. So long as I can be free from her vile clutches.”
Ruri wanted to ask what had happened between them, but she was sure Heat would never talk.
Looking as if he was going to dance for joy at any moment, Heat had pushed Ruri on the back toward Jade’s office. Once there, she knocked on the door and entered the room.
“Jade-sama, do you have a moment?” Ruri asked Jade, who was sitting with papers in hand like usual. Claus was by his side, helping with work, and Finn was standing near the door.
Jade’s face went sugary sweet as soon as he saw her. “What’s the matter, Ruri?”
“Well, you see... This time, my mom is saying that she’s leaving the castle as well...”
“What?! Now it’s Lady Riccia?!” Jade exclaimed.
Everyone in the room—Jade, Claus, and Finn—dropped their jaws in shock. That was understandable considering her grandfather had skipped town just a few days ago. It was hard for them to keep their calm when they heard that even Ruri’s Beloved mother was also leaving.
“Oh, I said ‘leaving,’ but she’s just moving to the house I had readied in the capital.”
That house was close to Claus’s residence, and many dragonkin inhabited that area, so it was the safest place aside from the castle.
Relief washed over Jade’s, Claus’s, and Finn’s faces as they heard that added bit of news.
“I see. That mitigates the issue slightly, then,” Jade said, sighing.
“I’m sorry. First my grandpa, then my mom.”
“No, it’s fine. It’s fine as long as she’s choosing to stay here in the capital. But why all of a sudden? Were they unhappy with life in the castle?”
“No, nothing like that,” Ruri replied. “She said that she found her calling.”
“Calling?” Jade repeated, question marks popping up in his head.
“She wants to open a business in the capital.”
“Hmm, I see. That certainly would be hard to do in the castle,” Jade said, tapping his finger on the desk. He pondered for a moment, then said, “Okay, then. Finn?”
“Sire!”
“I want you to permanently station several soldiers there as Lady Riccia’s bodyguards. I’ll leave the selection of the soldiers to you.”
“As you wish, sire,” Finn replied, bowing his head to his king’s order.
“Claus, pick someone out to wait on her.”
“Very well,” Claus said, bowing his head as Finn did.
“If she wants to own a business in the capital, perhaps I should make preparations for that too...” Jade speculated.
“Oh, no! I couldn’t let you do that much, so I’ll handle it on my—” Ruri started, about to turn down Jade’s offer, but Jade raised his hand and stopped her.
“No, Lady Riccia is a Beloved. I’d also like to prepare a place for her that’s easy to protect from a security standpoint. And, of course, I’ll take Lady Riccia’s wishes into consideration.”
Jade had spelled it out to her so plainly that Ruri felt she couldn’t refuse without causing issues. So long as Riccia was a Beloved, she needed security detail. Even if Kotaro protected her like he did Ruri, she would still need security around her.
“She said that she’ll leave once she’s ready, so please let me know when things are ready on your end, Jade-sama.”
“Very well. I’ll get things ready at once. But what about Lord Kohaku?”
“She said dad is going to work at the castle and commute from the house.”
“In that case, I will have a dragonkin escort him to and fro.”
“That would be great!” Ruri exclaimed.
Ruri’s father, Kohaku, would be working in the upper sectors of the castle. Also, considering that he was the spouse of a Beloved, he was allowed in the safe sectors—Sectors One through Five. It would be difficult for a human to traverse the upper sectors of the castle down to the town and then to their house on a daily basis. Those in the upper sectors usually had strong mana. They could commute with magic or fly, if they had wings like dragonkin. But for a human with no mana such as Kohaku, things were more difficult.
Ruri had been thinking of consulting Jade about this exact situation, so she was grateful that Jade himself had offered a solution. Otherwise, Kohaku would have to mountain climb to work. If he worked in Sector One, he would be above the clouds. He’d probably make it there by the time his shift ended.
“I think that my dad will be able to work with peace of mind,” Ruri said.
Things wrapped up without a hitch thanks to Claus and Finn’s quick work assigning the security guards and servants. Preparations were made in the blink of an eye, and Riccia left the castle in high spirits with Kohaku. However, for some strange reason, Riccia was dragging Heat away with her. Heat desperately pleaded for someone to save him, but Ruri and the others pretended not to see him.
Ruri clasped her hands together in prayer for Heat. She was certain that a daily routine of being pushed around by her mother was awaiting him. It was her hope that he would get a glimpse of how others felt being pushed around since he was always the one doing the pushing.
“Ruri, aren’t you going to miss them?” asked Jade, his arm around her shoulder.
Ruri snuggled closer to him and replied, “Yes, a little. But...I can always go and visit them since they’ll be in the capital, and dad will be coming to the castle every day.”
“True. But whenever you go to see them, I’ll be coming along with you,” Jade said, showing his possessiveness even now of all times.
Ruri snickered. “Okay, let’s go visit them together, Jade-sama.”
The two of them smiled at each other. Jade slowly moved his face closer, and just when their lips were about to meet, Ruri quickly put her hand between their mouths.
“The tuning is not over yet,” she stated.
“But the mood is just right for a kiss, isn’t it?!” Jade protested.
“I don’t think so. You will be keeping your promise,” Ruri hurled at him, coldly and bluntly.
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