Bonus Short Stories

The Young Man’s Dissatisfaction with the Platinum-haired Maiden

Dale was feeling a bit troubled.

He had loudly proclaimed his adoration of Latina to the world without a hint of hesitation, but right now, she was in the midst of official duties as the sister of Vassilios’s king. And that may have been easy enough to say, but she had been raised in the rough part of town ever since being exiled from her home country, so it was more than a little surprising how well she took to the role of princess.

Latina was beautiful to begin with, but when lined up with her identical twin sister, they truly captured the attention of high society. Being viewed both positively by the population, and as a subject of interest by the nobility, she was quite helpful in negotiations between Laband and Vassilios.

That all was good.

Well, he did want to monopolize his adorable Latina, so he couldn’t quite say that mob getting interested in her was “good,” but there was no helping it since it was related to his work.

The beautiful outfit Latina wore had been prepared by Vassilios, and carried all the beauty of that nation’s aesthetics. And perhaps owing to sharing her country of origin, it suited Latina very well.

It was none of that, however, which was on Dale’s mind.

“...Why do almost all the prepared outfits have you matching with Chrysos?”

“Huh?”

“Is there truly a need to ask such a question at this point?”

It was no surprise that Dale’s question left the twins both looking astounded.

“It is to unveil her as my sister,” Chrysos responded, like it was only natural.

Latina, meanwhile, looked troubled.

“Dale... Do you want to match with me? But if you matched me, that would mean you’d match Chrysos too...”

“That’s not it, Latina...”

Unsurprisingly, her response had been a bit off the mark.

“Chrysos and I have lots of dresses in such pretty colors, but you mostly just wear black, Dale...”

“Flashy colors simply do not match your personality.”

Dale was fully aware of that, as well, so he was at a loss as to how to respond.

This is a digression, but during the following party at the palace, Latina wore a Labandese style dress, while Dale stood by her side wearing cuffs and a pocket handkerchief in matching colors. And when Chrysos realized that, her work face gave way to a different expression entirely.

The Platinum-haired Maiden and the Golden-eyed King Discuss the Past and Future

When Latina came to the capital city Ausblick alongside the envoys from Vassilios, she visited the second prince’s manor, which fell under the control of Gregor’s older sister Fania. The banquet the envoy group was invited to was just a small family affair, but it was held in a flower garden with beautifully blooming flowers, which made for quite a lovely sight. Of course, the “family” being invited should have been perfectly obvious. Yes, it was those related to the second prince’s faction, making this a political maneuver to win support from the neighboring country with which their nation would soon enter into friendly relations.

Putting aside the ruler of that neighboring country, Chrysos, who carried all the slyness of an entire den of foxes, Latina appeared so exhausted that you would think she had spent the whole day frolicking around with kittens. And so, even though she was one of the guests of honor, Latina decided to step away from her seat for a bit.

Well, to be more accurate, she didn’t step away from the banquet. No, she instead moved out of view of everyone else and into the shade, where she could catch her breath.

“What’s the matter, Platina?”

“Chrysos.”

It was Latina’s twin sister who was the first to notice.

Thinking inside that she was causing her sister nothing but trouble, she decided to voice a different reason.

“These flowers... I was just thinking that I recalled seeing some like them back in Vassilios,” Latina said, pointing to a pure white flower that was blooming wide in multiple layers. As she turned and looked at it, Chrysos broke out in a gentle smile.

“That may be so.”

“Hey, Chrysos... There’s the climate to consider, so I’d love to see Vassilios full of flowers, but...” Latina said, smiling as well. She couldn’t help but feel relieved that Chrysos was sharing the same memory as her. It was a truly happy memory, of when they presented their parents with pure white flowers.

“I’d like Rag and Mov to be buried together someday... And to present them with a whole lot of flowers.”

It was a shared wish of the twins to one day place their mother to rest in the place where their father was currently eternally slumbering on his own. Right now it was a barren place, but if their dream that a highway between their two nations pass alongside there were to come true, the scenery would surely change.

“What flowers did Rag and Mov like, I wonder...? Would we be able to find out by asking people who used to know them?”

It was a purely innocent question from Latina, but Chrysos’s tone shifted as she answered.

“If I one day change the nation enough to welcome you openly, Platina...” Chrysos started in a serious tone, causing Latina to tilt her head. “If that time comes, I will have to gather people who knew Rag and Mov, and give you a chance to discuss the past with them.”

Latina quickly realized that her sister said that out of consideration for the fact that she had been exiled and had grown up in a foreign nation where nobody knew their parents. And so, she answered with a smile on her face.

“Yeah. If I come back someday... I’ll definitely look forward to it.”

“Latina?” a man’s voice suddenly interrupted, shifting the mood. It was Dale, who had been watching them with a serious look on his face, but now looked taken aback.

“What are you up to over here? Playing hooky?”

“I wish you would at least call it ‘taking a rest.’”

“How truly lacking in delicacy you are.”

“You two really act in tandem at times like this...” Dale grumbled without even thinking, causing Chrysos to grin in response. That put an end to things, and the sisters turned back on their public faces.

However, they ever so briefly linked hands, as proof of the secret promise they had made.