Chapter 3
I left the royal garden, hammer in hand. My work is done. Someone will come and clean up the mess later.
Just as I entered the hallway, Tristina quietly came over and asked, “How did it go?”
I smiled and gave her an “OK” sign.
“Fei’er, I love you! I just knew there’d be no problem if I left it to you!” She gave me a big hug.
It’s probably because I showed her my strength back when I used to run away from home with her that she entrusted this job to me, right?
“You’re my best friend. If anyone wants to marry you, they have to get through me first, right?” I said with a laugh.
“I’ll be counting on you next time, too!” “…Ah? Next time?”
“Why don’t you stay tonight? I want to reward you properly.”
The Queen’s hospitality is really hard to refuse. I gave a helpless laugh. “How about another day? I have to get back to the Magic Academy now.”
As for her saying I value a “crush” over a friend,1 I pretended not to hear.
This isn’t a “valuing a crush” problem at all, okay? Tristina has no idea how shameful kneeling on a washboard is…
I changed back into my student uniform and hurried back to the Magic Academy. Lian Qi was already standing at the school’s main gate, waiting for me.
“You’re too slow! The graduation ceremony is already over,” Lian Qi said, huffing, one hand on her hip.
What’s worth noting is that Lian Qi was wearing girl’s clothes! It was the Magic Academy uniform, identical to mine, paired with black socks that didn’t reach her knees. I think she looks much better in a skirt than in pants.
“Sorry, I got held up helping the Queen with something.”
“I feel like I’m hearing you apologize every time.”
“More importantly, did anyone recognize you in the girl’s uniform?”
Lian Qi glanced at me. “Nope. In girl’s clothes, I’m just a background character with no presence. Were you expecting me to make big news or something?”
“Eh? Really?” I glanced at Lian Qi. Don’t you think a girl with short hair is pretty special? But Lian Qi’s expression seemed to say, “What’s there to look at?”
“You didn’t really think the whole school would be in an uproar, saying, ‘He’s actually a girl!?’ did you?”
“…Wouldn’t people connect the ‘you’ in girl’s clothes with the ‘Lian Qi’ who ranked first in the tournament?”
“You seem to be really looking forward to that kind of development.”
“N-No, not at all,” I said quickly. Actually, I’m just really curious how everyone would react if a familiar figure suddenly changed their gender one day.
“Let me help you with your luggage.” I reached for it, but Lian Qi didn’t hand the suitcase to me.
“I can get it. By the way, this thing is packed with something we didn’t have when we arrived.”
“Eh? Is it the medal for first place in the tournament?”
Lian Qi gave a faint, smug smile. “Nope. It’s the washboard.”
…Don’t mention that shameful thing.
“Where are we going now?”
“Let’s go to my place in the capital for now.”
“Your home!?” Lian Qi looked very surprised. “Are your parents there?”
Why does she seem so nervous? I laughed. “I live alone.”
“…I thought I was going to meet your parents.”
“Nope.” Actually, my parents are the Holy Light. The nun who raised me passed away a few years ago. After that, the Archbishop arranged for me to live alone.
Speaking of which, ever since the Queen tasked me with dressing as a maid to accompany Lian Qi, I haven’t been home in a long time.
Lian Qi and I chatted and laughed all the way home. When I opened the door, I felt a sense of nostalgia. Everything was unchanged, just as it was the morning I left.
“Wait, let me get you some slippers.” I took off my shoes and handed her a pair of pink, fluffy slippers.
“You really have a girly heart.”
“Not really.”
Lian Qi looked around with curiosity the moment she entered. It’s a good thing I usually keep my place tidy, otherwise it would be really awkward right now if it were a mess.
“Whoa, your place is pretty big. It’s a duplex.”
“There are two bedrooms. You can sleep in the one downstairs.”
Lian Qi started up the spiral staircase. “Upstairs is?”
“That’s my bedroom.” I followed behind her. It’s pretty embarrassing to have her see my private room.
It’s not really all “princess style” or “girly heart” or anything! It’s just that the bed and wardrobe are white, and the decor leans toward a pastoral style, that’s all.
“The bed’s pretty big.”
“That’s because I like to roll around on a big bed.”
“When Qifeng came to visit, did she sleep in this bed with you?”
“Th… Qifeng and I haven’t slept together in many years.” I’m wondering if Lian Qi is misunderstanding something…
Lian Qi closed the distance between us by a step. “Wh-What’s wrong?” I asked weakly.
She grabbed my wrist, forced me back to the edge of the bed, and in one smooth motion, pressed me down underneath her. Eh, eh, eh?
“Lian Qi, no, you can’t!” My heart was pounding. How could she push me down right after coming to my house? Could it be that she wants to punish me again because I was late today?
This felt different from the other times she’s pinned me. Today, Lian Qi is wearing girl’s clothes. Being pushed down by a girl who is 100% girl, inside and out, makes me, a boy, feel even more shameful.
Her skirt rubbed against my skirt. Her left leg was wedged between my two legs, making it impossible for me to close them.
“How does it feel? Being pushed down by me in your own familiar bedroom?”
“Wh-What?” I became incoherent.
She lowered her head, her lips approaching my neck. …So itchy! Through my squinting eyes, I saw the ceiling I see every morning when I wake up. This is my home! I’m actually in my own familiar environment, on my own familiar bed, having… lewd things done to me by Lian Qi?
No… this feeling is too shameful!
Just thinking about it made my body react as if stimulated, starting to get inexplicably hot. Maybe… maybe it would be better if I closed my eyes? Fantasize that I’m lying on the bed or sofa in the school dorm, not in my own private bedroom…
“Are you really not going to open your eyes and look? This is your home, you know.”
“…No!”
“You’re being pinned on your own bed right now. The dolls on your headboard are all watching you.”
“Don’t say those things!”
Lian Qi kept teasing me with her words. I felt so shameful (羞耻 - xiūchǐ), so shameful. fix Aren’t girls supposed to be the ones who are sensitive to sounds? Why am I reacting just from hearing these words? Is this… the effect of “humiliation play”?
This afternoon, I defeated four people in one go! But right now, I’m under Lian Qi’s body, with no intention of struggling at all. Even I feel the contrast is a bit huge.
But I’m not getting into my maid role and not daring to resist my “Master” or anything. This is probably just… the real me. Although my mouth says it’s shameful (羞耻 - xiūchǐ), my body is being far too honest…
fix shameful might be used one to many times here?
Footnotes
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重色轻友 (zhòng sè qīng yǒu) - A Chinese idiom that literally means “to value sex/looks over friendship.” It’s often used jokingly when a friend prioritizes a new romantic interest. ↩