The Iudex's day off

Chapter 15 - Missing something

 "The girls-"

 "Are fine. They have lunch too and will be back for dinner just so you can make sure they're alright."

 He let out a breath of relief only to frown right after.

 "What do you mean you got stuck here?"

 Instead of answering, I looked down. He followed my line of sight and his eyes soon widened in complete and utter shock.

 "Oh- I- I- I apologize." He stammered out.

 His tail quickly disappeared and his horns, as Sigewinne explained to me, returned to their usual state.

 The scales stayed though.

 Would it be rude to ask?

Neuvillette's POV

 Someone, please kill me.

 So, not only did I manage to sleep in and through the girls getting ready, but I also ended up dragging Wriothesely to bed with my tail wrapped around his waist.

 If Primordial Seawater worked on me, I might have just dissolved myself right here to erase this embarrassment.

 "It's quite alright, Neuvillette."

 No, it's not!

 I hid my face in my hands, unable to look him in the eyes.

 This is why I don't like sleeping in this form!

 I have just about zero control over my tail when I'm asleep.

 "Neuvillette-"

 Growl...

 His words were interrupted by a low growl.

 I turned to look in the sound's direction to find Sigewinne looking around awkwardly.

 "I'm hungry..." She mumbled.

 And right on cue-

 Growl!

 Another, much louder sound sounded again, this time from Wriothesely.

 "Hahaha... It seems this little detail slipped my mind this morning."

 Sigh...

 While I made the three of us breakfast- No, it should be lunch at this point. They explained to me what had happened this morning.

 It was honestly impressive that he managed to get them all out of bed without waking me up, but it was also incredibly worrying.

 I didn't think I was that tired.

 Maybe being in that form after such a long time made me relax more than I should have.

 "So, is there anything about your... draconic traits I should be aware of?" Wriothesely asked suddenly.

 I could feel my face heating up at that. It was incredibly obvious why he was asking.

 "This morning's incident won't be repeating itself." 

 Most definitely not.

 "I was thinking more in the direction of things I shouldn't touch even just on accident."

 I don't think there's anything-

 Well, maybe there is one.

 "My horns."

 "Alright."

 And...

 "I would appreciate it if you tried keeping some distance from my scales and tattoos as well."

 Touching those wouldn't be too much trouble but still.

 "Sure. It's not like I'll- Wait. Tattoos? Wow! I wasn't expecting that one from you, Chief Justice." He grinned.

 I just knew he had misunderstood.

 Before I could explain, however-

 "Ouch! What the hell, Sigewinne?"

 Sigewinne kicked him under the table.

 That must have really hurt. I would know.

 "You're being incredibly rude, Your Grace."

 "Me? Rude?"

 "While Monsieur Neuvillette said tattoos, they are actually elemental markings and they are innate. Please stop thinking nonsense, Your Grace."

 While Wriothesely suffered from a detailed explanation of elemental markings and innate traits of certain species, I got back to finishing up the dishes.

 I fell quite deep in thought and their conversation soon got silenced by my own thoughts.

 That's why I nearly dropped a plate in shock when the hem of my shirt was suddenly and violently lifted.

 "How many times do I have to tell you that they're made up of elemental energy? They are all blue!" Sigewinne shouted pointing at the blue lines running along my side.

 This is a bit...

 "Sigewinne, dear."

 "Yes, Mosieur Neuvillette?"

 "I would appreciate it if you let go of my shirt."

 Only then did she seem to realize what she had done. She sheepishly let go of it and stepped away.

 Should I be glad she was tall enough to lift my shirt?

 Seeing her downcast expression, I was going to reassure her that it was okay when she suddenly started frowning.

 "Your Grace, please get your mind out of the gutter."

 Huh?

 She wore such a disgusted expression I had to look and see what on Teyvat he could be doing to make Sigewinne look at him like that.

 When I looked over, however, I found nothing amiss.

 Aside from looking a bit redder than usual, there was nothing about him that I could think of that could warrant something like Sigewinne's reaction.

 "Monsieur Neuvillette, could you wear some better-fitting shirts these days?"

 "Alright...? But could you tell me why?"

 Am I missing something?

 "A certain someone here seems to have the brain capacity of a hormonal teenager." She spat out glaring at Wriothesely.

 I took another look and still found nothing amiss.

 Just what am I missing?