While the ‘flower girls’ who had welcomed Emilia at the gate chased after their escaping ‘lucky’ companion, Emilia also noticed a bunch of boys not far away who appeared to have been abandoned by the world.
The crimson-haired girl couldn’t help but frown. “What’s wrong with them?”
Penny finally noticed that the bunch of boys who had painstakingly picked the best fireworks to ‘welcome their princess’ were glaring at the sun resentfully.
Well, she couldn’t be blamed, since the ponytailed girl could barely think about much when her princess was in such close proximity, after all.
But since she didn’t want to make the princess feel uncomfortable, Penny could only cough awkwardly while trying to ‘cover up’ for the ‘less privileged’ of their club. “W-Well, princess, as you know, the sun is the main source of the world’s energy, and boys like being strong, so…”
Crystal and Dixie turned to stare at each other, dumbfounded. There’s no way Emilia would believe that, right?
The crimson-haired girl naturally didn’t believe it, but she could pretty much guess that just like the flower girls before, they must have prepared something, but perhaps it went wrong.
But since there was nothing wrong with them, there was no need for her to dig into the cause and effect too deeply and embarrass them further.
”They sure are lively, aren’t they?”
Penny had been a little worried of her reaction, but seeing how Emilia seemed amused rather than annoyed, she couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. “Although I’m supposed to be their leader, they’re not very obedient to me. But of course, if an order comes directly from the princess…”
Emilia knew what the ponytailed girl wanted to imply, but instead of affirming or rejecting Penny’s proposal to ‘take charge’, she just smiled. “It’s natural for people with a strong personality to be a bit unruly. As long as they don’t make too much of a mess, we shouldn’t be too harsh and stiff with the rules.”
Penny nodded obediently, and if the petite blonde girl was disappointed, she didn’t show it at all.
Their conversation was interrupted as they noticed a boy rushing in their direction with a large, ornate wooden box in hand.
He came to a halt in front of Penny and handed it over while panting. “S-Sorry i-it took so long, commander.”
The sweating boy rushed back in the direction of the short red building the moment Penny waved him off. From start to finish, he didn’t dare to look in Emilia’s direction at all.
Crystal had been a little suspicious at first, she could only be speechless after using her ability. ‘What does it mean to fear polluting the air that she is breathing just because you’re sweating a little? This bunch is a lot more crazy than I first thought!’
Emilia also thought it was a little strange at first, but her attention was quickly attracted by the box in the shorter girl’s hands. Given their previous ‘preparations’, it wouldn’t be too conceited of her to think this was something meant for her, right?
Although she had been in a privileged position for a long time, Emilia hadn’t had many opportunities to receive genuine gifts, so she couldn’t help but be a little excited.
Cynthia chuckled. “Hey, don’t tell me you didn’t get gifts from people trying to please you left and right before? How can you still not be used to it?”
The crimson-haired girl grumbled in her heart. ‘How can those insincere things count? As far as I’m concerned, such bribes are more an insult than they are a show of favor.’
Cynthia couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “How sincere can mortals even be?”
She wanted to add that these ‘adorable kids’ in her partner’s eyes most definitely had the dreams of boning her every day, but considering Emilia’s lukewarm response, she could only huff and remain silent.
Anyway, the crimson-haired girl was no longer as restless as she had been before, and Cynthia knew she would just be shooting herself in the foot if mentioning these things got her interested in more ‘monkey business’.
Emilia didn’t seem to notice anything strange with her partner as she curiously watched Penny put the box on the ground and took out the alcohol wipes inside to clean her hands before opening its inner compartment.
Inside, three pairs of carefully crafted soft red velvet gloves lay side by side in sub-compartments.
Penny took one pair out before closing the box and turning to Emilia hesitantly. “Princess, c-can I put them on for you?”
Emilia just smiled and stretched out her arm, and Penny barely resisted the urge to jump her in excitement. No matter how calm things looked right now, the ponytailed girl knew that even a single misstep right now wouldn’t go unpunished.
Not to mention the observant Crystal and domineering Dixie right beside her, Penny knew very well that the rest of the royal knights were watching her like hawks.
And while Penny would gladly take a beating for Emilia’s sake, she couldn’t jeopardize her position as the ‘commander’ for short-term benefits. It was what had given her the excuse to approach the princess so frequently, after all!
Otherwise, forget about being able to directly rub her face against the soft, fragrant embrace of her princess, simply being able to gaze upon her from up close might become a pipe dream!
Just thinking about such a dreary future filled Penny with abject terror, and she didn’t dare make too many extra movements while putting the gloves on Emilia’s hands.
At least, that is what Penny thought. To everyone else, the intoxicated look that the ponytailed girl had as she took the maximum possible time to slide the gloves on Emilia’s slender fingers and palm made her thoughts more than clear.
But since Emilia didn’t seem to notice or care, Penny was able to safely escape with just a few glares that she failed to notice.
As a princess, all of her clothing in the last life had also been custom made, with each knit and stitch on the clothing she wore being made after much deliberation from top seamstresses.
Considering that velvet wasn’t even an elastic material, for it to fit her even better than stretchy gloves… whoever made these was a genius.
It was like whoever had made them had the entire structure of her hand memorized to the point where they could pinpoint the measurements to the hundredth of a millimeter.
In the end, Emilia really couldn’t contain her curiosity as she playfully poked Penny’s cheek with her gloved finger. “Did the boy from before make these?”
Penny’s delighted expression from being teased immediately turned dissatisfied as she huffed. “Huh? No way! Princess, I made these myself, you know!”
Having always considered Penny as an energetic and playful girl who was as far from someone who could knit and sew as possible, Emilia couldn’t help but blink in surprise. “You did?”
The petite blonde puffed her practically non-existent chest out with pride. “Although mom helped me with the process and I had the other girls help with the sewing so it could be prettier, everything else was done by own hands!”
Dixie knew even less about sewing gloves than a fish would about rock-climbing, so she didn’t find anything strange about Penny’s words, but Crystal couldn’t help but roll her eyes in exasperation. ‘What did you do then, cut the cloth?’
Of course, when they arrived at the door of the first building and saw the situation inside, even Crystal had to profusely thank Penny for her thoughtfulness with the gloves.
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