Epilogue
A few days had passed since Ruri returned, and time rolled by so peacefully that everything that transpired in the Imperial Nation seemed like it had never happened.
The first thing that Ruri decided to do was have a tea party with Lydia. Ruri had actually wanted to go into the imperial capital and buy some local sweets for them to eat together, but the trip hadn’t provided an opportunity for a casual sightseeing romp through the capital, so it ended in a bust.
It was right after the entire debacle went down, so even if she had been allowed to go out and about, she wouldn’t have been able to enjoy the experience. The war over the throne was on the cusp of breaking down the government, and it seemed a bad idea to venture out into the nation until things had calmed down. Jade probably wouldn’t have allowed her anyway, seeing as how much of a fiasco it would have been if Ruri had gotten involved in their affairs. Neither wanted any more bloodshed if they could help it.
With that in mind, Ruri figured it had been enough time, so she decided to go into the capital to buy some snacks. She tried to leave the castle, but Jade wouldn’t give her permission. She knew that the dragonkin had a habit of wanting their mates within eyeshot at all times, but she saw no harm in stepping out for a second. Jade, however, was jealous after finding out that Gibeon had tagged along on her last trip into the capital when it was supposed to be just her and Rutile. His narrow-minded reason for not letting her go was because he didn’t want Gibeon sneaking off with her again.
Ruri very well couldn’t ignore Jade’s pettiness and leave anyway, but fearing the consequences of showing up to a tea party empty-handed, she reluctantly had the castle cooks prepare a large selection of snacks, which she took with her into the pocket space.
Inside, Ruri placed the snacks on a nearby table and started preparing the tea. That was when Lydia appeared out of nowhere.
“Welcome, Ruri,” Lydia said with a cheery smile, happy that Ruri had come to hold a tea party just as she’d promised.
“Unfortunately, Seraphie-san is off with Quartz-sama in Yadacain, so it’ll just be us today,” Ruri informed her.
“I see. But a tea party for two is still plenty exciting. When is Seraphie due back?”
“Hmm, they didn’t tell me when, but I’m guessing it’ll be a while.”
“Oh, well, I can’t wait to hear how it went when she comes back.”
Lydia excitedly sat down in her chair, and Ruri placed a cup of piping hot tea in front of her.
“Heh heh, it smells great.”
“I couldn’t go out and buy any snacks in the Imperial Nation, but I did get some tea leaves in the imperial palace. It has a slightly different aroma from the tea in this nation, but it’s delicious, so I wanted you to try it.”
“Thank you.” With a sweet smile, Lydia took a sip. Her smile widened. “It is delicious.”
“I’m glad to hear that you like it,” Ruri said, taking her seat and beginning their private party.
Their conversation naturally funneled into what had happened in the Imperial Nation.
“It seems you got yourself wrapped up in another fine mess, Ruri,” Lydia pointed out.
“Well, ha ha ha...”
The sacred beast kidnapping in the Nation of the Spirit King, this murder and attempted murder in the Imperial Nation—if one looked back, they would find a litany of other issues that Ruri had been embroiled in. Ruri could only laugh about it.
“But that’s not all my fault, you know?” she said.
“Be that as it may, I can’t help but feel that you easily attract trouble.”
“Well, I can’t deny that...”
“This is a double warning, what with your penchant for trouble, but I advise you to stay away from the Imperial Nation for some time.”
“Are things that bad?” Ruri asked.
“I’m not too familiar with human matters, but the spirits outside have been talking. They say the nation is heading in a bad direction. The spirits see a lot of things, so their hunches are usually right. I would be careful.”
“Okay, I will.”
“If a Beloved like you got wrapped up in their affairs, it would make the spirits go berserk. Wind would quite literally cause a storm.”
Ruri could just picture Kotaro snapping with Rin by his side, egging him on.
“Don’t underestimate a supreme-level spirit,” Lydia warned. “One could destroy a whole kingdom in the span of three minutes if they felt so inclined.”
“Three minutes? There’s cup ramen that takes longer.” Ruri said.
She was again reminded that supreme-level spirits were indeed dangerous beings. It also made her wonder how in the world Riccia had spooked the supreme-level Spirit of Fire into submission.
“Well, I think I’ll be all right, considering I’ll be taking it easy in the castle for a while. Jade-sama won’t let me go outside, anyway,” Ruri explained.
Jade had promised to go around the city with her when he finished work, but when she peeked into his office a few seconds ago, she’d seen a mountain of paperwork on his desk that looked unlikely to decrease any time soon. Considering that Jade couldn’t go anywhere until all of his work was finished, it would likely be a while before they could go out.
“Oh yeah,” Ruri said, remembering something she had to tell Lydia. “Quartz-sama asked me to place the blood I put in here the other day and the blood from the fourth prince’s pocket space in his own space for research purposes.”
The blood of the insect researcher that Ruri had collected from the doctor in the Imperial Nation had been stored in Ruri’s space, and Quartz had requested that she collect the blood that the fourth prince had stashed away. Knowing that Ruri could step into other people’s pocket spaces, Quartz had asked her to place both vials in his own space because he wanted to use it in his tachyotoxian medicine research. Pearl was used to handling the extremely toxic blood, so no one was opposed to the idea of it being used to study a cure.
“I see. Okay, then. I just need to put it in Quartz’s space, right?” Lydia asked.
“Yep, if you could. It’d be an invasion of privacy to go into a still-living person’s room, so I probably shouldn’t go in,” Ruri stated, curious about the contents of Quartz’s pocket space but also dreading the consequences of venturing in. “Ah, but Seraphie-san can also go into Quartz-sama’s room, so we could have our three-person tea party after all.”
“Oh, that is true.”
“I’ll ask Quartz-sama if we can use his room when I get back outside.”
“Yes, good idea. The more the merrier,” Lydia said with a delighted smile.
Her plan set, Ruri decided to work on writing a letter right away.
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
After Ruri concluded her tea party with Lydia, she went to Jade’s office. Upon entering the room, she saw Jade at his desk with pen in hand, filling out the papers that buried his entire desk. He looked weary from all the work he’d been doing.
“Yikes. I’m guessing that you’re far from done?” Ruri asked.
While dragonkin had keen senses, Jade unexpectedly hadn’t noticed Ruri come into the room, so when Ruri started speaking to him, his head jerked up in surprise. He then stood up so fast that he kicked his seat away from him and pulled Ruri into a tight, tight embrace.
“Whoa! Jade-sama! Don’t squeeze so hard! I’m gonna die! I’m gonna die!” Ruri tapped on his arms to signify that he was hugging too hard.
Jade loosened his grip. As Ruri sighed in relief, Jade looked at her sternly and said, “Please, Ruri. Turn into a cat. I’m dying for my cuddle fix.”
His face was so determined that it looked like he was about to propose to her all over again, but he ended up proposing for cuddles.
Ruri sighed in disappointment. “Okay, okay. I get the picture.”
Ruri exasperatedly put her bracelet on, figuring that if she couldn’t help Jade with his work directly, she could at least help ease his mind. In the blink of an eye, she transformed into a white cat. Jade scooped her up, and his cheeks rose into a warm smile.
“Aaah, my first cuddle session in so long,” Jade mumbled as he petted Ruri’s fluffy fur, letting his fingers soak in the cuddly goodness.
“Jade-sama, you really are a handsome man with handsome shortcomings,” Ruri commented, her eyes half open as she accepted his gentle strokes. “So, tell me, Jade-sama, which do you like better? Me as a cat or me as a human?”
“What are you talking about? Of course, I like you as...” Jade started, trailing off into total silence.
“Like me as...what?”
“E-Erm, like you as... Err...” Jade stammered, his eyes drifting.
Ruri was hoping that he would quickly reply that he preferred her as his human wife, but it seemed he couldn’t tell a lie. He was cursed with honesty.
After giving Jade the stink eye, she quickly slipped from his arms.
“Ah, Ruri!”
“Jade-sama, you’re on a cuddle ban!” Ruri declared.
Jade’s mouth practically hit the floor as he reached out his hand. “No way! Please wait! Give me another chance! I swear I’ll make the right choice this time!” Jade pleaded like he was trying to reconcile from a bad breakup, though the actual matter at hand wasn’t severe. He was just that distraught over not being able to touch that sweet, sweet fur.
“If you like cats more than me, then I’ll just send the bracelet to Celestine-san. She can turn into a cat, and you can cuddle her all you want.”
“Wait, no. I only want you as a cat. If I were approached by any other cat... Well, I’d be happy, truth be told, but you, Ruri? You make me even more happy. Also, dealing with Celestine would be a pain in the neck,” Jade added, trying to dig himself out of his hole, but he only buried himself a little deeper.
“Then are you saying I’m disposable?” Ruri questioned.
“No, no, no. I’m not saying that at all. I love cats, but I wouldn’t cuddle Celestine!”
“Really, now? In that case, I’ll try it with Celestine-san. You won’t pet her even if you are starved for cuddles, right?”
“Uh... Of course not?”
“Why did you pause like that?! You don’t care so long as it’s a cat, do you?! I want a divorce! Di-vorce!”
“No, you can’t do that!”
Just then, the door swung open and Euclase entered the room. “Your Majesty! Why aren’t you working?! You still have much more to do!”
“Wait, Euclase. Now isn’t the time for that. I’m on the verge of divorce,” Jade cried.
“And the nation is on the verge of anarchy. If you’re going to divorce, then do it after you’ve finished your work!”
“Who said we were going to divorce?! I’m trying to prevent that! No way will I ever get a divorce!”
“A fine thing for a cheater to say! Jade-sama, you’re a cheating louse!” Ruri declared.
“You’re wrong, Ruri! I haven’t cheated with anyone yet!”
“‘Yet’?! Does that mean you intend on cheating later?!”
“No, it doesn’t! How did you get that idea?!” Jade was so flustered that the more he tried to explain himself, the deeper he sank into the quagmire.
Looking through the gap in the door, Rin and Kotaro both made weary expressions.
“It looks like they’re fighting, but they seem to be having fun,” Kotaro said.
“Apparently there’s a saying in Ruri’s land that not even a dog will nibble at a marital quarrel,” Rin added.
“Hm? Of course a dog wouldn’t nibble at it. There’s nothing to nibble at. What do you mean by that?” asked Kotaro.
“Don’t read too far into it. I’m just saying that the Nation of the Dragon King is a lot more peaceful than the Imperial Nation.”
The two spirits continued to watch Ruri and the others with a tepid gaze.
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