Warning: An R-18 AU fan fiction.
Please proceed with caution.
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"You seem exhausted, Mafu,"
I broke out of the daze I was in and turned my head around to look at the raccoon who was a lot smaller than I was. He had his arms crossed over his chest and his big, round fluffy tail flapped once to show his dissatisfaction. He glanced at me lazily through his lidded, emerald eyes and sighed before he bent down to carry the crates of vegetables at my feet.
"I'll do it, Ura-san," I quickly went over to snatch the crate out of his hands. The weight of the crate made me lean backwards a little, causing a sharp pain at my waist and hips. Pain flashed on my face and disappeared as quickly as it came before anyone could notice it.
"You don't look so good," Urata-san said in a bored tone but ever since I helped run errands for him, I came to know that he actually expresses his feelings in a different way. To simply put it, he was just an awkward raccoon.
"I'm fine, Ura-san. Rather than that, are these all for today?" I dismissed his worries and changed the topic almost immediately, not wanting to worry him. I loaded the crates onto the wagon behind me, feeling relieved now that the weight was not on my hips anymore.
"Yeah, that would be all for now," he said only after he had read through his long list carefully, his eyes darted left and right as they trailed along the words. He then rolled the parchment up before sticking it into his pocket. "Once we're done loading these crates, we can move the wagon to the townsquare,"
Urata-san actually resided outside of town with his friends where they would look after the vegetation farm together. They'd usually get me to help them with harvests or even for matters like transporting their products to town, just like what we were doing right now. Though their farm was located in the outskirts, it wasn't exactly too far away from town. Pulling a wagon filled with goods would only take a couple of hours.
I huffed out my breath after all the crates were loaded in. My hips got a lot sorer than it was and I groaned quietly in pain as I gave it a little rub. I could feel Urata-san's stare on me with squinted eyes, which I then swiftly moved my hands away from my hips and walked up to the front of the wagon. Despite being a raccoon, Urata-san had pretty sharp intuition.
He didn't say anything to my strange behaviour and instead, came to the front of the wagon with me before we started pushing the handle together, moving the wagon along the path. I started coming up with small conversations with him, as I would always do, and he would nod his head to all the things that had happened to me during the time we didn't meet. Doing this allowed me to take my mind away from the pain in my back.
"Hey, Mafu," I was in the middle of telling him about Amatsuki-kun until he cut me off suddenly.
"Yeah?" I responded while looking up ahead of us, my eyes on the path.
"Did you find yourself another man last night?" he asked.
I stopped pushing the wagon when my brain tried to digest his question. He exclaimed that I shouldn't stop all of a sudden because it'd be dangerous if the wagon wasn't able to stop behind us due to the initial momentum we had. When he saw how I reacted upon hearing his question, he let out an exasperated sigh and we started pushing the wagon again.
"Was it that obvious?" I fumbled with my words.
"Well, you were always the type to look extremely tired after such night activities, and I would usually not bother asking because I knew what was going on," he answered reluctantly. "But it was never to this extent,"
"... It's not really as bad as you think it is,"
"So what happened last night?" he asked with persistence.
"This didn't happen last night, Ura-san," I sighed in defeat. I wasn't going to get away with feigning innocence in front of Urata-san, so I could only explain myself briefly to him. "Believe it or not, it has almost been a week since it happened,"
That's right. My hips and waist were still sore even after a whole week was about to pass. I could still feel the fatigue that was built up that night. It was the first time I was experiencing things like this, and I was stuck in bed for a day or two after that but I couldn't possibly sleep in for too long or people were going to wonder where I had been. I was pretty confident about my stamina too and yet this incident had made me realise that I was still far from it.
Urata-san turned his head to look at me with his emerald eyes filled with shock but then it was instantly gleaming with anger.
"Were you mistreated again?"
"No, no, Ura-san, I wasn't," I laughed wryly at him. It was funny because it was only me who tried to hurt the king but he didn't need to know this.
"That's not funny. Did he do it or did he not?" he asked with a glare on his face.
"Don't worry, he didn't," I smiled warmly at his concerns about my wellbeing. I could visibly see Urata-san's facial expression relax a little after hearing me reassure him for the second time.
After I was able to get out of bed, a black cat came to sit outside by my window with a piece of parchment in its mouth. I was immediately summoned to the Black Tower which was far away from the center of the imperial ground. The Black Tower was named so because the bricks used to build it were dark in colour, which were not commonly used by the townspeople as the town would look too gloomy and depressed. The tower was not very tall, but it was just enough for the castle to come into full view.
The black cat that led me here, treaded up the stairs after I had held the heavy wooden door opened for it. I followed quietly and eventually stopped when the black cat sat by the door of a room. It glanced at me with its golden eyes before starting to clean itself. Taking it as an indication to go in, I opened the door and stepped inside.
There were bookshelves that were as tall as the ceiling, covering all sides of the walls of the room. Books were scattered everywhere; on the table, stools and floor. Two armchairs which were made out of expensive wood, were placed in the middle of the room where the natural sunlight shone, making it the best spot for one to read at. The only thing that seemed out of place would be the small person in the armchair.
No matter how one looked at it, the armchair was clearly too large for her frame. A lock of her blond hair fell elegantly on her cheek when she looked over at me before she tucked it behind her ear again. With only a light pink gown with a thin white shawl, she was dressed rather lightly despite the cold weather. Her bright red eyes curved into the shape of a crescent moon and her cat ears perked up excitedly. A smile crept up her face, seeming as if she was delighted at my presence.
"It's your first time here, isn't it?" she crossed her legs and placed the book she had in hand down on the stool that was closest to her. Her voice was deeper than mine, but it still sounded graceful and feminine. She gestured for me to sit in the armchair across from her. "Come, sit,"
"I apologise for not greeting you soon, my Lady. My name is Mafumafu and it is a pleasure to finally meet you," I bowed with one hand over my heart, still not moving from where I was. The black cat that was outside of the room came trodding in and climbed onto the Lady's lap. It let out a soft purr when the Lady scratched the back of its ear.
"Enough with the formalities, Mafu-chan. Come and sit with me," her smile remained plastered on her face, but it could be seen to be a lot brighter. "I believe we have a lot to talk about,"
I went over to where she was as instructed, and sat down. She lowered her gaze and slowly moved it upwards, scanning my appearance thoroughly. It was an impolite thing to do, but she didn't seem to care about that.
"... My Lady, I believe I still have a lot to apologise for," I began, trying to move her attention to somewhere else as I was getting a little uncomfortable.
"Oh, is that so?" she asked while smoothening the fur of the black cat. When she hadn't said anything, I took it as a sign to continue.
"I understood that the assassination should always take place within a day's time after receiving orders. The target this time is skillful and due to the fact that I have underestimated him, I have failed to complete the task," I lowered my head in regret. "I will oblige if my Lady would want to silence me for this. However, if given more time, I will be able to give you the results that you want,"
"I had never expected you to finish him off that quickly in the first place," she laughed. Her eyes were filled with excitement the moment I brought up the king. Her long tail started swaying uncontrollably. "It's just as you said, he is a strong man and for many years, nothing could make him waverー Not the warriors who had started their training since they were children, not the merchants who attempted to make a fraudulent deal with him under the aristocrats' orders, and not even the women who were sent to his bedroom to please him,"
I blinked a couple of times in confusion. While the other two might be true, that wasn't how it seemed like to me when we were tangled together in bed that night. We both wanted each other back as we shared our body heat with each other, drowning into an endless pool of pleasure and not wanting to come back up. He was skillful and knew what he was supposed to do, so I had come to a conclusion where he would have done this a lot with other people.
"The old men in the circle are the ones who are impatient, even though I was the one who sought you out for your help this time," she readjusted herself in her seat when she had calmed down a little. She picked up her tea cup on the small round table in front of us before bringing it up to her lips. The tea looked cold, but there weren't any servants present to get a new pot of tea.
Come to think of it, other than that black cat, I didn't see anyone else in this tower.
"You can take however much time you need to subdue the king," she sighed contentedly, now that her thirst was quenched. "I will talk to those old men and they shall keep their mouths shut as they should if they were not going to do it themselves,"
My eyes widened slightly in reaction to what she said. I wasn't expecting her to have the same thoughts as I had. The Lady was certainly part of the aristocratic fraction, but it would seem that she wasn't like any of those people.
"My Lady, could I ask you a question out of curiosity?" I asked.
"Go ahead," she nodded.
"Why is it that you chose me for this task? There should be plenty others who could be more skilled than me," I said after receiving her permission. According to what I heard from the aristocrats, there were apparently other candidates that they were considering. So why me?
"It's just a gut feeling," she simply shrugged.
"But this is an important task, is it not?"
" An important task...?" The Lady looked thoughtful for a moment and then a playful grin spread across her face. "It might be it for the rest of the circle, but I'm only doing this to annoy Sorarun,"
... Annoy Sorarun?
It was strange how the Lady addressed the king by a nickname but I swallowed that question down, not daring to cross the line for asking too many questions.
"Take your time to get to know him, Mafu-chan," she grabbed the book she had left on the stool and opened it up again to the page where she had bookmarked. "There is no rush,"
"But my Ladyー"
"Please just call me '96-chan'. It's weird to have someone act so formal with me," she laughed dryly. She stretched one arm out and gestured at the room. "As you can see, this lady here doesn't have a single servant with her because it's just so uncomfortable to be treated as a noble lady,"
"... I mustn't, my Lady,"
"I had heard that you are rather stubborn with formalities so I figured you'd say that," she let out a sigh but an amused giggle followed after, even though a mere peasant had just rejected her request without second thought. "I'll look forward to the day when you will finally drop the honorifics, Mafu-chan,"
I kept quiet and decided to not give her any of my input about that. I stood up from my seat and left the room after receiving her silent dismissal.
"Ah, wait, Mafu-chan! I just remembered something!"
However, I stopped in my tracks when she suddenly raised her voice to call out to me. I turned around to look at her propping herself up a little from her armchair.
"There will soon be a banquet held at the castle to celebrate the return of the king's advisor and soldiers who were dispatched to the neighbouring kingdom for a discussion regarding their alliance. You might want to take this opportunity to get closer to him," she smiled slyly as she placed her hand on her cheek, finally looking a little more like a cat. "You can attend the banquet with me if you want,"
"With you, my Lady?" I asked in surprise.
"That's right. It won't be difficult at all for me to get you in, and if you came across Sorarun, you can use this," she fished out something from her pocket, and in her palms was a small vial that had bright purple liquid in it. Anyone would know at first glance that it was poison. "You know that he's a wolf made of iron,,"
I never fancied the idea of using poison but I kept my look of disgust in to not disrespect the lady and waited for her to continue.
"Though he drinks poison every day to create a resistance against it, with one as strong as this, it could still cause a wolf like him to be in excruciating pain," she said with a smile on her face, but her tone was dead quiet. It was almost eerie how she was able to keep up with that noble lady act while suggesting something horrifying. "He'll be vulnerable, and that's when you strike,"
"... I see," I simply said.
"I know this method is not to your liking, but one should resolve with another solution if they already know that they don't stand a chance against the other," she leaned back into her armchair. She shook the vial lightly and stared at the purple liquid sparkle under the sunlight. "Keep it with you because you will need it,"
I went back to her side and she grabbed my hand before I could even react to put the vial in my palms. She rolled my fingers up, making sure that I properly held it and gave me a reassuring pat before letting me go.
"I'll see you at the banquet,"
Now that I thought about it, I had never agreed to go to the banquet at all. There would be a lot of people gathered, and loud chattering would come along with the crowd. Not to also mention that the loud music would have driven me nuts even with the help of the bells on me.
The bells were actually infused with magic that helps get rid of the unnecessary vibration from the sounds around me. If not for the bells, I would be constantly having severe headaches and blurred vision, and these had obstructed me from doing my daily activities. I still feel the vibrations but it was the worst.
I had started taking part of assassination works because the return was fifty times better than running normal errands, and I needed that money. I would spend fortunes on consultations with doctors and specialists, any sorts of medicines that could help soothe the pain, and even to the extent of learning self-regeneration magic but nothing worked.
Though the bells had been helpful, it was also a reminder to me that my body was cursed.
"The banquet is soon," said Urata-san as the sight of the castle came into view. He stared up at it and murmured thoughtfully. "It is rumoured that his Majesty has succeeded at persuading King Arthur to open up a new trading route for people like us who live in the outskirts, and in exchange, we will supply vegetables and fruits to the southern region of their land,"
"Wasn't it the advisor who went in his Majesty's stead?" I asked, trying to not sound too keen about the subject.
"While that is true, the advisor only did as he was ordered by our king," Urata-san answered. "It was said that his Majesty had given thorough instructions and statements that could counter any negative comments from the other kingdom's fractions,"
"How did you know about this, Ura-san?"
"My younger brother was assigned to be the soldier escort of the advisor during their visit to Arterian and Yamadanuki hereー" Urata-san paused when a tiny, yellow raccoon who had a piece of leaf at the top of its head, popped out from the collar of his tunic. It squealed happily at the mention of his name and rubbed its cheek against Urata-san's. "He helped with the exchanging of letters between me and my brother,"
I hummed disinterestedly and stared up ahead as I remembered what the Lady told me.
'You might want to take this opportunity to get closer to him,'
I had always finished my tasks as soon as I could, but now that things had taken a different turn, I wasn't sure what to do anymore. Even though the Lady had given her permission to take it slow, I couldn't help but feel anxious. It had been only a week, and I didn't want to seem too persistent in his eyes.
However, leaving him alone for too long would defeat the purpose of making him like me.
"Would you be going to the banquet, Ura-san?"
"What are you talking about? Of course, I'm not," Urata-san snapped at me. "People like us are not allowed to be in there,"
"I thought you might have a chance to go in there since your brother would be attending it,"
"... You're not wrong but it's not like I particularly wanted to go though," he said.
Without looking at him, I said absently:
"Then could you ask your brother if I can join the banquet?"
-
Carriages labeled with their family emblems, indicating that they were of high status, stopped by the castle and dropped off the nobles who were attending the banquet that evening. They were all dressed in sparkly dresses and suits, accompanied by shiny necklaces or brooches. Chattering and laughter were in the air.
The atmosphere in the castle made it difficult for me to walk through the large castle gates. Though the magic on my bells were working, the sounds and vibrations were quite annoying tonight. My temples throbbed slightly in pain but it was bearable.
I fiddled with my hair and then fixed my collar, making sure that I didn't look messy. I was in a simple white suit that Urata-san lent me on the day of the banquet after his brother agreed to bring me with him. Though he was smaller than I was, the suit was just the right size, surprisingly.
He pinned these golden straps on my shoulders to make the white suit stand out even just a little, straightened the black buttoned shirt I wore underneath the white coat and gave me a gentle pat on the arms. I had told him that I didn't need to look that fancy, but he insisted that it was important because it was my first time at a royal banquet.
"You're Mafumafu-san, right?"
I turned to the raccoon who was taller than I was. The raccoon was dressed really well in his dark navy attire, with a silver-star brooch over his breast pocket and silver shoulder straps on. He had Urata-san's green eyes, but they were round and not slanted, and he had brown hair that was a shade darker than Urata-san's. I knew at one glance that he was Urata-san's younger brother.
"Yes, that's right," I nodded nervously.
"There isn't much time until his Majesty arrives at the banquet, so we better get into the ballroom, Mafumafu-san," he gave me a tiny smile before he turned towards the gates again while keeping the conversation short. "Please follow me,"
I walked into the castle grounds behind him. There were people staring at me as they whispered into each other's ears. I knew what this was about without even having to actually listen to what they said but I wasn't going to let them bother me. Urata-san did his best to dress me up for tonight.
The candles in the corridor were lit and there were a lot of nobles who took their time, walking in one direction, presumably towards the ballroom where the banquet was held. I picked up my pace when I realised that Urata-san's brother was walking a little too fast. He looked anxious at the fact that we were slightly late.
"I'm sorry that I was late," I apologised without slowing down.
"Oh, no, we're not late at all," he laughed nervously. "I just prefer taking safety measures, just in case his Majesty isn't in a good mood,"
"And why wouldn't he be?" I asked.
"His Majesty doesn't like holding banquets but it gets irritating when the aristocrats keep bugging him about it by saying how he doesn't treat his subordinates fairly," he explained. "So he's usually really annoyed on days like this,"
"But the king doesn't make an appearance at events like this, am I wrong?"
"Not necessarily. His Majesty does it only when it was for something important,"
It made sense that only the nobles knew what the king would look like then.
"Is it really alright for someone like me to attend the banquet...? I heard that the king hides his identity from the public,"
"As long as you mention that you're with me, it will be fine. And his Majesty had never tried to keep his identity a secret. It's just simply because he didn't find the need to do it,"
As we were talking, we eventually reached the other end of the corridor where the large doors were opened to a ballroom. The ceilings were high, large chandeliers hung on them. Loud, cheerful orchestra music blasted in the room. Laughing and talking, the sound of tapping when the nobles danced on the dance floor, and a lot of gossipping were going on. It was a good thing I also took some medicine in advance or the headache could get worse if I only depended on the bells.
"Mafumafu-san, remember not to talk to anyone or let them get near you. My brother told me to keep you safe or he'll cut off my weekly pumpkin supply," he grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me slightly. He looked desperate at the mention of the word 'pumpkin'. "I need to head to where the soldiers will line up at. So please do me a favour and be good,"
"Don't worry, I'll be fine," I smiled to reassure him that I won't cause trouble for him. It was unexpected of Urata-san to put in such orders for his brother.
Urata-san's younger brother kept turning to glance back at me worriedly before eventually blending in with the crowd. I stood by the walls and rejected a drink when one of the servants came to offer. I only watched quietly at how the nobles interacted. It was not long after that the room went dead silent, and the person who appeared at the top of the stairs caught my eyes.
He had a red cape over his shoulders to accompany an elegant black suit with a white shirt underneath. At the point-spread of the collar of his white shirt were carved golden buttons where the ends of a thin golden chain connected. The hem of his black coat was embroidered with golden threads and if I looked closely, the black on his coat looked like dark purple under the bright lights of the ballroom.
Purple, the colour of royalty.
I couldn't tear my eyes away from him.
His crown sat gracefully in between his large wolf ears. He had a sheathed blade strapped to his belt, and he rested his hand on its hilt. He stood tall with his head held high. A servant came over with a chalice on a tray, and the king took it before raising it up in the air.
"May the banquet begin," he simply said. Though it was quiet, his voice resonated through the entire room loud and clear.
The crowd cheered and the usual chattering immediately filled the room again. Before he climbed up the stairs where his seat was, he paused to look out at his people but I gradually realised that that wasn't it.
That was because his silver blue eyes were looking right at me.
I quickly turned away on my heels and left the ballroom. The tip of my ears burnt and the senses in my body started tingling under his gaze. Not wanting people to notice how my ears trembled, I flattened them on my head. Things were starting to get louder in the ballroom anyway, so it was a good time for me to retreat. As I headed to the exit, I passed by nobles who were whispering to each other about how handsome the king was.
"... No matter how many times I looked at him, he's just gorgeous..." said a lady in awe. "I guess people are not exaggerating when they say that His Majesty is the embodiment of a God. He's beyond perfect,"
I had tried to push down the urge to do it, but I couldn't help but roll my eyes when I heard the dramatised compliment.
"I agree... If only he was actively looking for a marriage candidate, I would have sent myself up to his doorstep," said the other.
Most of the nobles stayed in the ballroom in hopes that they would be bestowed the chance to take a proper look at the king, so there was no one at the garden when I stepped out. It was obvious that the gardener really loved his job because the garden was very well-maintained. The grass and bushes were trimmed carefully and it was planted with many types of roses, but it didn't fit the image of the king at all.
Now that I was out, my headache subsided a tiny bit and I felt much better. I let out the breath I didn't realise I was holding and continued making my way into the garden. It was cold tonight as a breeze blew lightly against my cheek, pushing my hair back. Though it might be chilly outside, it was definitely much better than the suffocating atmosphere inside.
"Your Majesty, you can't possibly stay here. The banquet requires your presence," said someone with a husky voice.
My ears perked up in response when I overheard a conversation and especially because it involved the king. Why was he out here? Shouldn't he be inside?
"I am fully aware that you dislike it when nobles wag their tails at you, but I believe this is a rare chance for you to gain favorability from them," he continued.
I lifted my head up and saw a pink haired cat talking to the king on the balcony, his back was towards me. Though it was a grim topic, the pink head didn't sound the least bit concerned about it. He then broke into a foolish grin and burst out laughing.
"Can you imagine the aristocrats coming in right now to tell you this?! I was pretty good at imitating them, right?" He had a unique, boyish laugh that was highly contagious and yet it left the king unfazed. Instead, the king only stared at him coldly. His brows were knitted together into a frown.
"Shut it, Nqrse," I heard the king say with that deep and low voice of his, but with a strict tone that was directed to a subordinate. "You're being annoying,"
"Oh, come on, Soraru-san. You should have fun on days like this. It's a banquet you held for me and the soldiers," The pink head leaned against the white railings at the edge of the balcony and hung his head back before he let out a sigh. So that was the king's advisor. He didn't seem like one judging by his behaviour so I wouldn't have known until he said it. "Come to think of it, were you looking for someone? You would usually turn and leave immediately like the crowd was a plague but you stood there for a fairly long time. It was unusual of you,"
The king looked thoughtful for a moment and looked into my direction suddenly. I stuck my back to the wall so that I was out of his sight. It was probably best that I leave the garden now, but my footsteps would most probably catch their attention really quickly.
"... No," the king said after a short pause.
"I'll summon that person for you if you want, Soraru-san. No one would turn down an audience with you," Nqrse-kun went on, dismissing the king's dishonest answer.
"I'll make sure you head out with the expedition forces to the west tomorrow morning if it means you will get out of my sight,"
"Very well, it was a good talk with your Majesty! I'll head back to the banquet and enjoy the rest of the night so that my superior doesn't give me any more unnecessary workload!" Nqrse-kun straightened his back immediately while grinning at the threat the king threw at him, saluted and left as soon as he could, leaving the king behind at the balcony.
I had never thought that someone like an advisor could talk to the king so casually like that, and it would seem that the king didn't mind either. Realising that I had stood there far too long to eavesdrop on their conversation, I tried to leave and go back to the banquet as well but it was too late.
"Mafumafu,"
I froze when he said my name. Unlike the tone he had used on Nqrse-kun, it was gentle. It reminded me of that night when he called out my name again and again as he held me.
TBC