The Iudex's day off

Chapter 86 - It's a matter of clothes

 I turned around and as soon as we locked eyes, she tossed a familiar little box at me.

 Oh god!

 I almost left the ring behind!

 "Thank you!"

 I quickly checked if I was leaving anything else behind before rushing back to Neuvillette's office.

 I do hope I didn't keep him waiting for too long.

 The door opened before I had the chance to knock.

 "Please come in, Wrio. I'll be just a moment." His voice sounded.

 I went inside and-

 Oh, good god...

 That...

 I was definitely not prepared to see...

 "Is it too much? It is, isn't it?" He asked fiddling with his clothes.

 Too much...

 That is a severe understatement!

 Woah!

 He...

 "You look absolutely stunning." I mumbled.

 Clearly, he had heard me as a blush quickly ran up his neck.

 His clothes were not all too different from usual it was just that...

 Instead of the usual dark blue, his coat was white and where the blue on his clothes usually turned lighter, his current clothes were graced with an incredibly light shade of blue. The golden accents were still the same but-

 Oh, my god!

 Waaah!

 His hair was braided and I could swear that that thin line of blue around his eyes was drawn slightly differently today.

 Wriothesley wasn't the only one completely enamored. Neuvillette certainly wasn't any better off.

 He was simply better at hiding it.

 He was panicking all the same.

 Oh, dear Teyvat!

 He-

 He-

 He said stunning just now, didn't he?

 That means he likes it, right?

 And...

 His clothes too...

 They suit him perfectly.

 "Thank you. You're quite handsome yourself, Wrio." I managed to say in a somewhat normal tone.

 The word handsome doesn't justify this!

 His clothes were much like his usual but at the same time so different.

 I couldn't quite put my finger on the discrepancy but it certainly made quite a bit of a difference.

 He turned away as he started blushing.

 "Tha-Thank you. These... These are for you."

 I was presented with a beautiful bouquet of blue roses and suddenly I figured out why his reaction back then had been so weird.

 How do I react to this?!

 Aah!

 This is-

 This is just-

 Oh, dear Teyvat!

 Luckily, I did not have to come up with a reaction.

 "That- I don't want to ruin your hair, but... Could I- Could I put a flower in your hair?" He asked.

 "Huh- Oh, yes. Yes, of course. Anything." I stuttered.

 You can do anything you want.

 Right now I probably couldn't react even if you tried to punch me.

 Amidst Neuvillette's inner crisis, Wriothesley walked up behind him, drawing a rose out of the bouquet.

 He broke off most of the stem and placed it in Neuvillette's braid.

 Then he frowned.

 This...

 Something isn't right still.

 I reached for another rose without much thinking.

 One became two, two became three and by the time I realized what I was doing, there were six roses within Neuvillette's hair.

 Now that's perfect.

 I smiled full of satisfaction for a moment before realizing what I had done.

 Archons!

 I said one.

 "Neuv... I-"

 "I noticed. I'm alright with it as long as you're happy." He smiled.

 God!

 That smile!

 That smile is totally unfair!

 That's a low blow!

 It can't even be blocked!

 "We-We should go."

 Right.

 The date.

 The proposal.

 I can't forget about that!

 "Let me just put these in a vase."

 Neuvillette walked to a shelf and pulled out an empty vase, conjuring some water and placing the flowers inside it.

 This allowed me to get a good look at him from the back as well.

 He's gorgeous from every angle!

 How can I survive the day?!

 He turned around with a smile, offering me his hand.

 "I heard it is customary to hold hands during a date."

 "R-Right..."

 But I never thought you would let me hold your hand outside!

 This is completely outside of my calculations!

 I reached to hold his hand, hoping that my hand would stop shaking by the time I did that.

 S-So...

 What was the plan again?

 I definitely had a plan for today.

 I can't even think like this!

 This is a mess!

 I'm a mess!

 And Neuvillette is absolutely enchanting!