(Maia's Pov)
"Are you sure that's a good idea? Mio."
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"Attending the banquet in a few days as yourself, and not Luna."
"My, my, is that your way of telling me you prefer Luna, and want me gone from it?"
I sighed, putting down my cup of tea on my desk. We were in my office, since I had to do some paperwork. Mio didn't have anything to do at the moment so she just tagged along though, and was currently sitting on a chair that she made right in front of me, at my desk.
We even had to clear out the middle of it just to have enough space for both of our cups, for the record. But thankfully enough, she did decide to also help me ever so slightly, and was reading through the papers and handing me those of most importance first.
"You know that's not the case. Seriously though, are you sure?"
She handed me a paper, I grabbed my pen and began getting to it while waiting. She began searching through the pile on her right and my left, while replying.
"Even if I wanted to come as Luna, just as I told Cael this morning, she genuinely just can't do that."
"The thing about needing people to stay back was a half baked lie though?"
As soon as I finished this paper and placed it on my right, another one was being handed. At the very least, this quiet and productive work pace was definitely efficient.
"You know that's not the issue. I can't skip the banquet as Mio."
"That would've been an easy issue to solve if you just used clone magic on yourself."
"I won't. I'll never clone myself."
"Even though you could make perfect clones, that would be just as strong and smart as you?"
"I don't need them. One Mio is plenty, and too much in some cases even."
"What about this case then?"
Holding a sheet with 1 hand and taking a sip out of her cup with the other, she withheld her reply until I was handed yet another paper.
"I get why you're worried, but it can't be helped. To begin with, we all knew it would be impossible for me and him to avoid each other."
"Even then though, it's only been what? A week since the trial? Isn't that just too early?"
"I'm not denying that possibility."
"Of course you're not, you can't. You saw it this morning too, didn't you? When you mentioned yourself, he was clearly feeling unwell."
"It can't be helped, can it? I'm sure his past reincarnations are doing their best to avoid having him overwhelmed by all of their emotions as well, but it's not that easy."
"That's exactly why I'm worried to begin with. You know that."
"I do."
Another sheet.
"But I don't think I need to tell you this, do I? Besides being his lover and all that, I'm also the Commander. I need to abide by my duties."
"You could easily take yourself out of it though. We're going to let the media in too anyway, no?"
"The media will only be allowed for a short and specific amount of time. They're just there to take pictures of the Ashford family with Cifer in it, and publicize his entry in the family. Putting aside the fact that I have no issues dodging a few cameras either way."
"Don't come after us when your face gets leaked then."
"I guess you're lucky then, since it won't happen. My face won't be made public until I'm 15."
Another sheet. However, this time it was accompanied by silence, if not for both of us taking a sip from our cups simultaneously. The lack of words was… loud. But for a good reason.
So she really has no intention of meeting them again, huh?
It was around 10 seconds or so. But I decided to then break the ice, as another sheet was handed over.
"Say, Mio."
"What is it?"
"Do you not miss them?"
"Would I be avoiding them so hard if I did?"
"You would."
"Just what kind of cruel monster do you think I am?"
"The type of cruel monster that would deprive herself from her own family, to protect them."
Silence fell over us once again. Another sheet. Another 5 seconds passed by unspoken.
"My family is the Ashfords."
"But we aren't the ones that gave birth to you, unlike them."
"So what? Are you trying to say I don't belong in your family or something?"
"I'd rather burn myself to a crisp before I'd say something like that, even as a joke."
"Though I was the one joking this time…"
Another sheet.
"Alright then, let's go your way. But do you really plan on living this entire life without telling them?"
"It's not really something I have planned. Granted, if for some reason I'll ever need to get in contact with them and tell them "I'm actually still alive, haha. I'm on a mission that I spent billions of lifetimes preparing for, and this is our last life before it starts." Or something like that."
"It does seem unreasonable when you put it like that."
"Right?"
Another one.
"But when you briefly told me about them before, you said they're good people, no? Do you really not miss them?"
"I do sometimes watch over them from afar. Plus, you know I have a recruit unit watching over them 24/7. It's exactly because they're good, completely average and normal people, that I don't want them involved. "Their daughter" Mio, passed away at the age of 10 in an accident."
"I haven't dug into it since it's not my business, but wouldn't they still be a little suspicious? Granted, that's also part of why you're hiding your face."
"I mean, who wouldn't be? If your kid died the same year someone of the same age and with the same name rose to power, you'd be suspicious too. Even more if said new commander hides her face. Granted, that's not the only, nor main reason I hide it, as you know."
"Must be nice still having your privacy, huh? Unfortunately, people recognize me pretty much anywhere."
Another sheet.
"Unfortunately, huh? Seems like our Lieutenant doesn't really care about her fans."
"If only that was the issue… albeit regaining our noble status and clearing our name did help with our image, a lot of people are still scared around me. Trying to buy strawberries from a farmer that's unsure whether I'm going to burn his stall down or not if I dislike them isn't really fun, you know?"
"I mean, I don't really think it'll last much longer, honestly. You act like a fairly normal person in public, so soon enough people should stop caring too much. Did you have any interest in nobles or the sentinels before becoming one?"
"I guess you're right. Not that I wasn't expecting that to be the case, but still, it is a slight inconvenience for now."
"Then I'm lucky to not go through it for another 4 years."
"Privacy and hiding from your family, huh? You almost had a normal reason to keep your face private until adulthood at 15."
"I know, right? That's just my luck it seems."
Though she didn't make any particular facial expression, instead of handing me the paper she'd been reading for a few seconds, she actually just ripped it in pieces.
"What was that one?"
"The geezer proposing a tax increase on produce."
"I see…"
Thankfully enough, since as the commander's lieutenant my authority is equal if not slightly above the king's, he can't actually do most things on his own without my consent. Of course, if it comes to small things like a few insignificant laws, or anything else that won't generally affect the entire kingdom then we won't bother with it though.
But when it comes to things like taxes and so on, he is required to send in a written form, either to me or Mio. Well, granted, he's well aware Mio will never accept any, so they always end up on my hands just in case. I'm not exactly sure what makes him think that I may have any change of heart, but hey, let an old man dream, right?
"Why on produce though?"
"It said that since spring is almost here, we should increase the taxes due to abundance, or something like that."
"Even though winter isn't even an issue for big farms, and the produce market only drops by 15-20% at most at peak winter times?"
"Maybe he needs some pocket money or something. But either way, I'll just rip any other papers from him."
"Gotcha."
She handed me another one. Coincidentally, I just so happened to also run out of tea though, taking my very last sip. But I couldn't even get to ask for more, since she had already noticed and refilled it as soon as it was back on the desk.
"Say, do you already know what you'll wear on your date with him in a few days?"
"I haven't particularly thought that far into it yet, no. Why do you suddenly care though?"
"Am I not allowed to ask what my best friend will wear on a date with my little brother?"
"Do you think I'll wear something indecent or what? I'm still only 11 years old physically, so you don't have to worry about that."
"Even if that was an issue, I'd have no way of stopping you…I'm just curious. He does like dresses quite a lot after all."
Another sheet.
"I guess? But I really haven't thought about what I'll wear."
"Hmm. So you just promised you'll wear a dress for him without even knowing what to wear?"
"I didn't know you were the date dress authorities."
"Wonder if we could make that a thing."
"Well, it's not like we couldn't… but I'd rather not."
"I see. Yeah, I feel the same on a second thought."
"But if you care so much about what dress I'll wear, we can go buy one together. Though I'll be there as Luna, of course."
I was shocked to hear that. My pen that was just about to finish another sign had stopped, and I looked up at her.
"Wait, really? I thought you'd just make your own dress as usual."
"Do I look like a designer to you? Of course I also buy clothes. Always making them is a pain… plus, it gets surprisingly hard to come up with diversity."
"Then sure, let's go together. It's been a hot minute since the last time we went out together, hasn't it?"
"We've been pretty busy after all. It's just around lunchtime now as well, so we can go after we take care of a few more papers here. There's also a spot I want to try out, since I heard they make great spicy sandwiches."
"What kind of sandwiches?"
"That, I don't know. But isn't that part of the thrill? We find out if it's shitty or not and whether we like that kind of sandwich or not to begin with, all at the same time."
"Is that not a form of gambling at this point?"
"Aren't all food spots you try for the first time a form of gambling?"
"Good point."