Chapter 484: Shouldn’t Play Favourites
After a long an arduous search through his wardrobe, an exhaustive selection process, and more than a little bit of creative loosening of belts, buttons, and straps, Lucas eventually managed to cobble together an outfit that didn’t make him look completely ridiculous.
It still made him look ridiculous, mind you, just not completely ridiculous.
The young boy was just thankful he had long ago insisted the maids not help him with getting dressed, as the longer he could avoid being seen in such gaudy clothes, the better it was for his mental health.
Speaking of mental health, however, Lucas was deeply saddened and disturbed by just how adept he had become at putting on what passed for formalwear in the Rockwell Kingdom.
"I guess this is the best I can do for now," Lucas grumbled audibly before smacking his cheeks and pulling himself together, "It’s just for today, and with any luck, nobody will be paying any attention to me."
The boy wasn’t just trying to comfort himself by saying this; if everything went according to plan, all eyes would be fixed on Christina, Eris, and Celestina, sparing Lucas from the embarrassment of having others come up and compliment him on how cute or handsome he was in his outfit.
That said, Lucas swore that the first thing he did tomorrow after waking up was visit the tailor shop and hand over designs for a proper suit to Isaac and Felicity, ensuring he never had to endure this torment again!
Psyching himself up as best he could, Lucas left his room and made his way down the hall to where his partner for the evening was supposed to be waiting, pulling at the uncomfortable collars strangling his neck the whole way there.
As for why Lucas was going to meet with Christina right now, apparently, it was traditional for a girl of high noble standing to be escorted to her 16th birthday party by a male member of her family, a respected elder, or a senior of some kind.
There were plenty of people who fit that description in Misty City, but Christina had insisted that Lucas do her the honours today.
Not wanting to disappoint his Junior Sister, Lucas had agreed and began a crash course in the etiquette he was supposed to follow.
Fortunately, his duties tonight were mostly just bringing Christina to the party site, introducing her to the crowd, then falling back and allowing her to take centre stage.
There was also something in this tradition about Lucas being the guardian of Christina’s honour and reputation for the day, whatever that meant.
Lucas didn’t quite understand what this implied, and his Master had also told him not to worry about it as, in her words, "There’s no way anyone will try to make a trouble for Tina tonight."
Thinking Celestina was right in this regard, Lucas decided to file the whole ’protecting her honour’ bit away as unimportant.
Adjusting one of the belts his pants, because Heavens forbid a pair of pants only have 1 belt on it, Lucas let out one last sigh before reaching up and knocking on Tina’s door.
"Who is it?" A familiar voice called out from inside.
"It’s m..."
Before Lucas could get another word out, the doors were flung open aggressively and two hands shot out, each one grabbing one of his arms before yanking him inside.
The door slammed shut with a bang as Lucas was pushed up against a nearby wall, the whole sequences of events happening so quickly that the boy didn’t even have time to blink.
Looking up to see just who his abductors were, Lucas was met with two pairs of eyes that were practically burning holes into him, leaning in so close and staring so hard they nearly caused the boy to squeal in fright.
Feeling the intense pressure coming from these two women, and hearing their somewhat hurried breathing, Lucas shivered slightly before gulping hard and offering the politest greeting he could, "G-Greetings, Your Majesties."
"No no no, I told you before, Lucas, call me Aunty Cynthia," the Third Queen, Christina’s biological mother pressed in even harder, her smile growing wider by the second.
"En, that’s right, there’s no need to be so distant, Lucas. Just think of us as family," First Queen Marianne followed up, tightening her grip on the boy’s shoulder to the point that her fingers were beginning to dig into skin.
"Uh... I don’t think that’s appropr..."
""Hmm?""
Feeling the pressure on him double in an instant, Lucas choked down his objections and nodded; after all, discretion was the better part of valour...
"Ahem, what can I do for you, Aunt Cynthia, Aunt Marianne," Lucas had an inkling of what these two powerful women wanted from him, but he decided to ask anyways.
Sure enough, Cynthia and Marianne exchanged a knowing glance before the former said sweetly, "Since we’re family, surely you won’t treat your aunts unfairly yes?"
"You shouldn’t play favourites among family, Lucas, that only leads to trouble," Marianne emphasized.
So it really is about that, Lucas thought to himself.
His Master had warned him this would happen, but at the time, Lucas had just laughed her concerns off, thinking she was just being hyperbolic; now, he was regretting not taking Celestina more seriously.
Still, it wasn’t like it was that big a deal as he had been planning on gifting a few samples of his newest creations to both of his Junior Sisters’ family members anyways.
Thinking as such, the boy gave a faint nod, and that was all it took to bring smiles of pure delight to the two queens.
"10 sets of underwear and 2 dresses, one of each style," Cynthia declared.
"For each of us! And don’t forget Tasha’s share too," Marianne reminded, just to make sure Lucas understood.
Hearing the numbers these women wanted, Lucas’ face twitched unconsciously, So much for sending just ’a few’ samples.
"Haaa... aren’t you two acting a bit immature, pressuring my precious Disciple like this despite claiming to be his family elders?" Celestina sighed as she opened the door and strolled in.
Normally, Celestina’s arrival would have immediately prompted Cynthia and Marianne to offer some polite greetings, but this time, all the two queens could do was stare in shock, their jaws dropping as their eyes drank in the familiar, yet completely different sight before them.