The morning sun charged into the room with high morale, and with a small jerk, Claud woke up. At the same time, the reassuring warmth in his embrace shook once, and his hands immediately moved to rub Lily's head gently.
Lily's breathing pattern, which had been somewhat disrupted by his movement, calmed down after a while. Claud found himself relaxing at the same time too — patting and playing with her hair had this calming, special charm to him.
He sat up slowly and looked around the room. His arrangements were no more special, no more thorough, so he didn't quite understand why he had slept so soundly last night. Was it Lily's influence?
Poking her cheek gently, Claud leaned back and looked up at the ceiling. For the first time for many years, he had woken up not at the crack of dawn, but in mid-morning.
"Thanks, Lily," Claud muttered, before tracing her jawbone with his finger. Getting out of the bed slowly, he covered her with the blanket, before making his way to the bathroom. It didn't take long for him to wash up, and shortly after he stepped out, Lily stirred with an adorable little yawn.
"M-m-morning." Lily covered a mouth. "Had a good rest?"
"The best I ever had so far," Claud replied. "You?"
"Having someone to hug is the best feeling ever." Lily tried to fix her hair, before deciding to wash up first instead. As the sounds of running water filled the room, Claud dismantled the many traps and security measures he'd laid around the place. Popping the last string into its rightful position, Claud tidied up the bed and headed to the window.
They had woken up a bit too late to look for any colourful mist, but watching the people of this quaint town mill around and do their own things made Claud smile. The day before could only be described as crazy and unbelievable, but no matter what happened, life still went on. People still woke up, bought groceries, chatted with other people and ate food.
Such was life.
A set of dainty hands covered his eyes as that thought flashed through his mind. At the same time, a floral scent entered his nose, and Claud smiled.
"You know, this would be more interesting if there were other people in the room," Claud commented, before prying Lily's hands away gently. He turned to look her in the eyes a moment later, and the urge to nibble something flooded his head for a moment.
Lily had completely abandoned her Dia-lookalike disguise, in favour of her own, more stunning, visage. Of course, one might argue that Claud's feelings had an inordinate influence on his judgement, but Claud also knew that he would probably not see eye to eye with anyone who suggested such a thing.
"Well, it's the act that matters," Lily replied, before hugging him. "You know, some part of me thought that the previous day was just a dream when I woke up just now. You don't know how happy I am to know that all this wasn't a dream."
Claud considered her words for a moment, and then held her close. "Yeah. This isn't a dream. We're together…and we're outside of Istrel. That's the one part I wish was a dream, though. Now that I think about it, I wouldn't have been this troubled if I remembered that particular skill."
"And I wouldn't have worked up my courage to follow you all the way," said Lily. "So I think it's fine."
"You aren't mad?" Claud asked. "I mean, I took you out of Moon Mansion, and due to my mistake, we're now in foreign territory with no way back. You should be mad, you know."
"You've said that quite a few times," Lily replied, rapping his nose gently. "And I wanted a nice honeymoon. I don't see the problem. At worst, you'll take me back home, right? If you can break the barriers back then, I don't see why you can't now."
"Good point."
"And I really want to go to the Celestia Ruins anyway." Lily beamed. "Now, you should really get over your mistake, okay? No more talking about that."
"Well, if you say so." Claud smiled, pecking her on the cheek. "Alright, let's go down for breakfast. We did buy some, after all, and wasn't there some dude we needed to meet to buy a house?"
"And an identity, yes." Lily tilted her head. "Uh, I think he's called Nicolas or something."
"Sir Nicolas, right." Claud nodded. "Should I prepare more money?"
"I think you won't need more than three thousand gold, from the state of Monsville," Lily replied. "What I'm concerned about is the identity faking thing Sir Nicolas has going on."
"That might be pricey, or that might be complimentary."
"…How free and easy."
After packing up their items, Claud and Lily went downstairs and headed to the counter.
"Claiming our breakfast," said Claud, producing his key.
The innkeeper nodded once and turned to the kitchen behind him. "Two breakfast specials!"
"On it, boss!"
"Anything else?" the innkeeper asked.
"Oh, we're looking for Sir Nicolas," Claud replied. "You said he'll be here today, right?"
"He's always here during the day. Over there, at the corner," the innkeeper replied, shifting some grey hair out of his eyes. "Hmm…he seems a bit occupied, though. Maybe someone made an appointment? Best if you ask him if he's free before sitting down."
"Got it," said Claud.
Lily took out some bronze coins and placed it on the counter. "Get him his favourite drink, please. Say it's on us."
The innkeeper eyed Lily once, an odd light in his eyes, and then smiled. "Very thoughtful of you. Your husband is very lucky!"
"He knows that very well," Lily replied with a grin, leaning on Claud lightly. "Don't you, dear?"
Claud simply grinned.
The innkeeper rolled his eyes and took out a small bottle of what looked like milk. "Youngsters. Just sit tight. I'll deliver the food to you when it's ready. In the meantime, you two should take this, talk to Sir Nicolas and ask him about a house."
"Of course." Nodding once at the innkeeper, Claud and Lily approached Sir Nicolas, who was reading a newspaper and adjusting his spectacles. The skin in the middle of his eyes crinkled up as he flipped to the next page, adding to the dour expression on his face.
Sir Nicolas looked up as Claud and Lily approached.
"For you, sir," said Claud.
The dark expression on the middle-aged man's face vanished a moment later, and Sir Nicolas smiled, a genuine smile that made Claud and Lily smile back. "Good morning. And thank you for the treat. I'm Nicolas, and you two are…?"
"I'm…" Claud paused, and decided to use his last name instead. "We're the masters of a reclusive family, the Primus family."
"Indeed." Lily raised her left hand, which was intertwined with Claud's right hand. "We're here to inquire about buying a house, as a noble that does not want to be disturbed."
The two of them had spent a minute or two going about the exact phrasing, and fortunately, Sir Nicolas took the hint immediately. "I see. Recluses. Lord Primus, Lady Primus, what type of house are you two looking for?"
"A holiday home," Claud replied. "A place that we might return to every once in a while, stay in for a year or so, and then return elsewhere. Monsville is a lovely town, a place practically made for quiet stays. I'm hoping that the house you have in mind for us is of such a quality too."
"Then I have the perfect place," said Sir Nicolas, uncorking the bottle. "When are you free for the viewing?"
"Preferably today," Lily replied. "After our breakfast, maybe?"
"Very well. In the meantime, I'll have your…means of staying hidden prepared. Lord, Lady… what ranks should the two of you be?"
"One rank below…uh, baronets, then," said Lily. "Is that possible? Honestly, if not for the fact that we nobles have many conveniences, I would choose to forgo such an identity entirely."
"Can't we just go without it? It'll be a pain otherwise." Claud played along. "I've went incognito enough times as a commoner. It should be—"
"We're living in a house here," Lily replied. "But…how about knights, then? Knights have no obligations and are non-hereditary. That should be fine."
Claud faked a look of intense contemplation for a moment, and then nodded. "We'll go with that, then. Knights. Can you manage that for us?"
"Easily done," said Sir Nicolas. "I'll have it drawn up and linked to the house as a resident, but I suggest that the actual process be delayed for a moment. It'll be better after you choose your residence, after all."
"Very well," Claud replied. "We'll trouble you to tie up those loose ends after we purchase a holiday home, then."
The two of them got up, and Claud nodded at him. "Thank you, Sir Nicolas."
"We'll have our breakfast first," Lily added. "Please, do get back to what you were doing."
Smiling at each other, Claud and Lily found a new, open table and set down together.