(From Blue''s Perspective)


    "Ugh...!"


    I woke up with my back and waist aching badly. Even my hands were aching. In short, my whole body was in pain.


    "You are up, Your Highness," a maid said.


    "Hmm..."


    "Your Highness woke up five minutes before the time I was going to wake you up," she said.


    "My body hurts..."


    "Ah, yes, that is supposed to happen, I think, based on how Your Highness''s body is right now," she smiled knowingly.


    "... I want to take a bath..."


    "I will prepare it right away then. Please rest until then, Your Highness," she bowed and left for the washroom.


    In the morning, this maid always woke me up. I said that there should be only one maid when I woke up because I did not like mornings and too much noise in the morning right after waking up would make me mad.


    Perhaps every single maid in the pce knew what to face in the morning if they came to the bedroom. It was not even embarrassing anymore.


    "The bath is ready, Your Highness."


    "Can you help me get up?"


    "Sure, Your Highness."


    She helped me get up and led me to the washroom. I sat down in the bathtub and rxed in the mild hot water.


    My body was covered in red marks all over. It was not unusual, but it was too much today. After I told him that he could go hard on me, he truly did. It was too much and I ended up almost losing consciousness.


    But I just wanted him to know that I was there for him no matter what. Last night scared me when I saw him in that state. It was also the first time I saw him shedding tears. It was just a few drops, but still, it made my heart clench painfully.


    I did not know if he had a dream. I woke up hearing groaning noises as if someone was in pain. And then, I saw him in that state. I did not know what to do. I just wanted to calm him down no matter what.


    All my life, I wanted someone who would be afraid of losing me. But I never thought it would be like this. It was crazy and dangerous. Last night, I felt like he would tie me to the bed and do the things his inner beast desired. Or, perhaps he would just use that scary power of his that made it impossible for a person to move their body at their will.


    What would have happened if I could not calm him down?


    "Which oil should we use today, Your Highness?" the maid asked.


    I looked sideways and found that five more maids hade to assist me with the bath. It was ridiculous. Six maids to bathe only one person? What was I? A human or an elephant? These days, I was just too tired to even go against any of these weird rules.


    Yes, I was a Queen and it was very usual here. But as a human being from the modern world, it was hard to ept.


    "Rose oil...," I replied tiredly.


    "Your Highness is always very tired in the morning. I will give you a massage."


    "I think we will hear good news very soon."


    ''Not really. We are not nning to have a kid this soon. I am gonna wait at least one more year before thinking of anything like this.''


    It was useless to correct them. There were countless rumors and spections about me and Dem. It was not possible to correct all of them. Dem always told me not to care about anything they said because, in the end, they would just be rumors and nothing more. The more I concerned myself with those things, the more stressful it would be.


    "What dress would you like to wear today, Your Highness? It is a gloomy day, so perhaps a brighter shade will look well."


    "But I feel very stuffy..."


    "It is very cold today, though," she said. "It might rain heavily today."


    "I will wear pants today," I said. "I was thinking about it for a while now. If the Queen starts wearing pants sometimes to meetings and events, it will be a trend for women to wear pants. Wearing those heavy dresses all the time feels very stuffy."


    "Pants? I see. Then, we will get that ready right away."


    I had a meeting today. It would not be a bad thing to give those people a surprise by wearing pants to a meeting. I heard that no queen of Querencia ever wore pants, or at least, they were not seen wearing pants.


    I had always thought of wearing pants to formal events someday, so I got them prepared. That was what I decided to wear to today''s meeting.


    Dem was not going to attend the meeting since he was to go out to meet the duke. They were going to discuss Athena''s adoption in detail now that she agreed among other things. Usually, I was the one to discuss things regarding Athena, but this time, Dem agreed when I requested just to see his reaction.


    "Her Highness, the Queen has arrived!"


    ''Ugh, my ear... What''s the point of announcing my arrival like this? I can just walk in. Everything is annoying me today.''


    "Her Highness... What...?"


    "... Good morning, Your Highness," the Prime Minister said.


    "Good morning," I said and took my seat. "Let''s not waste any time. Shall we start the meeting then?"


    "Yes..."


    The meeting went pretty smoothly. Though I got stared at more than normal, it was still fine as I expected it. I had my sword with me too since now I was quite good at using it.


    ''Ah, this outfit is morefortable than those dresses. I might get addicted to wearing clothes like this.''


    "Your Highness looks more beautiful like this," Perita said. She had been the one who supported my idea very enthusiastically. "That said, will you return to your office now?"


    "Yes, Reece will report to me now. I have work too. I have cookies in my office. You can eat them," I said.


    "Sure!"


    I found Sapphire on my table when I went to my office. She had been licking her paws, sitting on a pile of papers.


    "Are the papers your favorite spot to sit, Sapphire?" I asked and picked her up in my arms. "Do you know I have got you a new cor? I have it in my drawer. Let me put it on you."


    "Yeah, she hates the previous cor. Though she is cute, she is very mean," Perita said.


    "Cats are usually mean. But I guess that makes them cuter."


    "Haha, I think so," sheughed and stroked Sapphire, causing her to scratch Perita. "Looks like she still doesn''t like me."


    "That''s because you make too much noise. It''s not like I hate it. But Sapphire doesn''t like noise," I said. "Look, the cor is cute, right?"


    "Wow! That cat toy looks just like Sapphire...!" she eximed in surprise.


    "Right? That''s why I chose it," I grinned.


    I put the cor on Sapphire. She seemed to like it, at least, for now. There would probably be a time when she would get tired of it and I would need to buy another one. She was so cute that I always wanted to buy a lot of things for her. It was the same case for Athena and Ava. The children and some animals were just too cute.


    "The weather is very gloomy today," Perita said. "Your Highness should not go out today."


    "I will not. Dem has gone out. I am afraid he wille back soaked if it starts raining. He doesn''t ride carriages when I am not with him. And if I tell him to, he will say that he doesn''t get sick. Really..."


    Evelyn told me that Alphas rarely fell sick, but I still could not stop worrying about my husband. Sickness was rare for them, but not impossible. How could I not worry?


    *knock*


    "Come in."


    "Good morning, Your Highness," Reece bowed.


    "Good morning."


    "I have made the report on the Prime Minister, Your Highness."


    "Hmm, tell me in brief. I will read the report after that," I said.


    "Flint was right. The Prime Minister''s toddler is truly sick. He has a severe stomach ache, continuous diarrhea, and doesn''t sleep, only cries. The weird thing is that he hates water. More than hate, it''s like he is afraid of water. He refuses to take a bath or drink any water.


    Even the sight makes him cry in fear."


    "What? Water? He is afraid of water?" Perita asked, shocked.


    "It is so weird... Does he have any kind of traumatic experience with water that would make him behave that way?" I asked.


    "No. I also thought so. But there is nothing. It happened very suddenly I heard."