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Chapter IV

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After their little talk in the room, Takumi and Akira went back to the meeting room where everyone was still waiting.

Akira was slightly embarrassed by outburst earlier but Takumi held her hand and gave her an encouraging squeeze. She gave him a little smile and motioned the guards to open the door. As the door was being opened, they could hear loud chattering from the people inside but went completely silent when they saw who was at the door.

She could feel the silent gazes directed to her. Takumi patted her hand slightly and asked her to push him into the room. She obliged and pushed him in, ignoring the stares from the others.

When Akira had positioned Takumi's chair to the front of the meeting table, she stood still behind him. She was feeling uncomfortable with all the looks she was getting. She had considered leaving Takumi alone to talk with them but she figured that she must at least be with him for this.

After a moment of silence, Takumi looked around to see that Akira was standing there frigidly. He ordered one of the servants to get a chair beside him and asked Akira to sit down beside him. Akira was hesitating but she saw her brother nodding to her so she sat down.

"Well, since everyone is present now, I would like to announce something." said Takumi, looking at everyone.

"Lady Akira Okuzaki has accepted my proposal of marriage and so I believe a wedding is in order."

Everyone stood up and bowed. "Congratulations, Your Majesty and Lady Okuzaki."

Akira nodded shyly and Takumi thanked them.

"Well then," said Ronde. "That will solve the problem of getting an heir."

Silence.

"Oh, Ronde. You're such a damper!" said Nicolette. "Don't talk about such thing at a time like this. What is most important now is the wedding!"

Ronde pinked slightly. "Sorry."

Affare coughed. "When would Your Majesty like the wedding to be held?"

"I am not sure. When is a good day, Affare?"

"May I suggest next month from now? It is considered one of the most auspicious days for this year."

"Next month?" Takumi pondered. He turned to look at Akira for any reaction but there was none so he figured that there was no objection from her. "Okay then, next month it is. Please help me prepare for the wedding then, Affare."

"Yes, Your Majesty. Please excuse me." He stood up and exited the room.

"I will discuss the allocation of budgets for the wedding with Affare," said Nicolette as she stood up. "Oh, and don't worry Lady Okuzaki! I will help you find a tailor to design the perfect wedding gown for you. You will look great!" she added before exiting the room.

Akira blushed.

There were only five people left in the room. Ronde figured that there was nothing else to discuss so he excused himself and went out.

"Aki, is our wedding fine with you? I know we are kind of rushing it but I really want to marry your sister." said Takumi with a slight nervous tone.

Aki glanced over to his sister, who was looking at him nervously too. He smiled to them. "I am really fine with it. As long as my sister is happy, I am fine with anything."

"Thank you, Aki." Takumi thanked him with a sigh of relief.

"But," Aki added. He walked over to Akira and placed his hands on her shoulders. Takumi looked at him worryingly. "If I found out that you have been treating my sister badly, I will personally execute you even if you are my king." He finished calmly and gave a little grin.

"Brother…" Akira was touched by her brother's words. "Thank you." She stood up to give his a hug.

Takumi had to smile at the heart-warming scene in front of him. "Don't worry, Aki. If I ever betray her, I will kill myself before handing myself to you," he promised.

The green-haired advisor seemed satisfied with his answer and let go of Akira. He placed Akira's hand on Takumi's hand. "Alright then. I'll leave my sister to you. I am going to go inform my parents about the wedding. Excuse me." He walked out of the room.

Nao, who was silent the whole time, gave a smile and bowed before following after her master.

Akira stared after their retreating backs. She couldn't believe how easily people accepted their marriage.

"Akira-kun."

She turned around. "Yes, Your Majesty?" Did he just called me 'Akira-kun'?

He covered her hand with his.

"W-wha?" She was surprised by the sudden action.

"Didn't I tell you? Call me by my name." he reminded her.

She blushed. "S-s-sorry, Ta-Takumi…" She stuttered a little. It had been a long time since she called him by his given name without honorifics.

"That's more like it, Akira-kun." Takumi grinned and planted a kiss on the back of her hand. She blushed.

"Don't call me that, Ta-takumi.. It is inappropriate for a king to be calling her Otome that."

Takumi frowned. "Why not? Besides, you will be my Queen soon. There is nothing wrong with my calling you that. It's like a pet name." He grinned a little.

"But still…" said Akira exasperatedly.

"Well, if you don't like that, I could try calling other pet names. How does 'Honey' or 'Dear' sounds? Or how about 'My Beloved'?" he smirked at her.

Akira stared at him shockingly. Was he serious? She wondered since when did Takumi became so mischievous.

"Well?" He was waiting for her answer. He was drawing spirals on her palm with his fingers. "Which one sounds better? Personally I prefer 'My Beloved'."

She sighed in defeat. "I'll rather take the 'kun' then."

"Excellent choice, my dear Akira-kun." He said happily, giving her another kiss on the hand. "Now then, can you take me to my study room? I want to finish the documents early so that we will have time to ourselves later on."

The Otome nodded and took him to his study room, wondering what did he meant by having time to themselves. They were already with each other almost the whole time.

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A week had passed. Everyone at the castle noticed that their king was in a very good mood. Well, it's not like anyone's complaining. If their king is happy, so are they. Their life will be easier too.

Even the advisors noticed his happy mood. Nicolette was the first one to comment on it when she was having a discussion with Takumi's about the country's finances.

"Your Majesty, you are in an awfully good mood this few days." Nicolette commented.

"Is it? Well, I guess I am." He smiled at her.

"My guess will be because of the wedding?"

"Haha, of course!" exclaimed Takumi. "What else? I will be marrying my childhood love in 3 weeks time!" He said that happily that somehow one could see that the pen he was writing with was springing happily.

Beside him, Akira turned bright red. Takumi had just declared that he love Akira since he was kid to someone else. It was a bit embarrassing but in a way, it was very nice to know that he really cares about her.

Nicolette couldn't help but laughed together with him. "A childhood love, you say? Well, I suppose it is the same with you, Lady Okuzaki. Oh maybe I should start calling you "Your Highness?"

The red-face Otome blushed even harder.

"Oh, okay. Enough teasing." Said the black-haired advisor. "But really, everyone is relieved to see you in a good mood. They thought you will never smile so happily ever again after the war."

Takumi gave a gentle smile. "Thank you but I am alright now." He held on to Akira's hand, squeezing it lightly. Akira squeezed back in assurance.

Nicolette gave both of them a smile.

"Glad to know that. Anyway, we should get back to our discussion."

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After the discussion, Nicolette was gathering her things and preparing to leave the room when Takumi stopped her.

"Nicolette, can you please inform to Ronde and the others that I won't be free tomorrow? So if there is anything they need to discuss me, ask them to bring it to me the next day."

Akira was surprised. He's busy? I never heard of any plans for tomorrow…

Nicolette was also surprised. Takumi motioned for her to come closer and whispered something into her ears. She chuckled softly and nodded. "Okay then, Your Majesty. I'll inform the others for you. Have fun!" She waved and went out of the room.

Akira showed a bewildered expression. Eh? What's going on?

"Takumi, do you have plans tomorrow?" asked Akira.

"Well," said the king, leaning back against his chair. "I planned to go out of the castle tomorrow."

"Eh? For what?"

"Akira-kun, I know the wedding has been a little too abrupt so I planned to fill the gap in between."

"I don't understand?" said the confused girl.

"We shall begin the stage of courtship tomorrow." The king grinned widely. "We are going on a date."

"Eh??"

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The next day…

Akira was still stunned by Takumi's sudden declaration of a date. Takumi had ordered the maids to get an outfit for her to wear on the date.

"Lady Okuzaki, you must take off your tight suit." said one of the maids, pointing at her black tight suit.

"What?" exclaimed the said girl, her hands crossed around her as though to protect her suit from being taken. "I am not taking it off! I feel naked without it!" She had been wearing the suit since she started training as a ninja before joining the Garderobe Academy.

"But My Lady, it will not go well with the outfit that was planned for you earlier."

"I don't care! I want my suit on!" said Akira stubbornly.

"But you wouldn't want to disappoint His Majesty right? The outfit was chosen by the king himself." said another maid.

"Eh? B-but…" Akira's voice was faltering. She really didn't want to disappoint Takumi. "Couldn't I wear it with the outfit?"

"Like I said, my Lady. You can't wear both the suit and the outfit at once."

"B-but…" She sighed. "Fine. Do whatever you want." said Akira, finally giving up.

"Thank you, Lady Okuzaki! We promise to make you look so beautiful that His Majesty won't be able to take his eyes off you!"

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Takumi was waiting patiently in his room for Akira to get ready. He himself was wearing a simple white button shirt and black pants.

He was a little nervous about today's date. Even if he is a king, he was still only human. It was natural to be nervous on first dates. He had planned out everything for today and he just hoped Akira will be happy with it.

The door clicked open. Takumi moved his chair around so fast that it almost toppled over. Akira was standing at the door, wearing a white long-sleeved blouse with a green ribbon tying over her collar in a bow and a black skirt that up to her knees. The maids even took an extra step to help her to groom her hair. They had untied her ponytail and added a cute green bow barrette hair clip to her hair.

Beautiful! Thought Takumi, his breath was swept away by the image of Akira in a proper lady's outfit, totally different from the Meister outfit that she wears everyday.

Akira, however, was very uncomfortable in her clothes. She felt very empty without her tight suit or her Meister outfit. It made her felt defenseless, no means of protecting her body at all. She was fidgeting here and there. Sensing her soon-to-be-spouse staring at her, she fidgeted even more.

"As I thought, I should go and change back!" said Akira. She was about to turn back and run back to her room but Takumi stopped her.

"Akira-kun!"

Akira stopped in her tracks and looked back. "What is it?"

"I think you look really great. There is no need to change." Takumi complimented with a smile.

Akira blushed. "Eh. Oh – um – Thank you… I guess…" she replied. "Anyway, that's not the problem! What if there was an attempted assassination? I won't be able to fight while wearing this!"

The king frowned. "Akira-kun. Today you are going on a date with me as my future Queen, not my Otome. You don't have to fight. Just leave it to the soldiers or do you not trust your brother's capabilities in choosing good soldiers?"

"Huh? Of course I do!" exclaimed Akira.

"Then, there is nothing to worry about. Just relax and enjoy our date."

She sighed. "I can never win against you…"

"Well, I am the king. I am trained to be good at winning arguments." He grinned and winked. "Now, shall we go then?"

"Okay…."

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"Where are we going?" asked Akira while they were on a carriage. Four guards were riding beside the carriage as a form of protection. The advisors wouldn't let them go without guards to protect them.

"To city."

"For what reason?"

"Our date." Takumi beamed at him.

Akira blushed. Somehow the word 'date' was still making her embarrassed.

"Ah, we are here. Let's walk from here, shall we?" said Takumi, looking out of the window.

She nodded.

The carriage stopped and one of the soldiers opened the door for them. As they stepped out, some of the noticed them and started to gather around them.

"Your Majesty!"

"Lady Okuzaki!"

"Congratulations on your wedding!"

"I am very happy for you two!"

Takumi and Akira were swarmed by words of the citizens. Luckily for them, the guards were there to create a barrier or they could have been squished by the citizens even if they meant well.

"Even though we are not allowed to celebrate your grand wedding with you, we will be having our own party here. We will even put up the fireworks! Be sure to watch!"

Takumi and Akira thanked them and the people began to disperse after a while.

Both of them sighed in relief.

"Well then," Takumi said. "We have to do a little shopping first before doing anything else."

"Shopping?" Akira was bewildered. What would a king want to shop for? He could have just order and have it delivered it to the castle.

"Yes. Let's go then." He said, asking Akira to push him.

She nodded and they went around the city. There seemed to be a lot of shops now compared to a few years before. Many people were more assured about safety when the war had ceased.

"Akira, stop." Takumi stopped her. "This shop." He pointed to the stop on his right.

She turned her head to see a jewelry shop. "A jewelry shop?"

"Haha, yes. We are going to collect our wedding rings."

"Eh?" Akira pinked slightly. She didnt know that Takumi had already chosen their wedding rings. "Okay…"

They went into the shop. Everywhere was full of shining jewelries that it somehow made the whole shop looked brighter.

"Ah, Your Majesty. Lady Okuzaki. Welcome!" The owner greeted. "I have your rings and tiara ready. Please wait a moment." He went into his working room.

"My tiara?" asked the confused girl. She was expecting the rings only but tiara?

"Ah well, it was the advisors' idea." Said the slightly embarrassed king. "They said that the Queen should at least have a tiara for formal occasions. I mean, I have a crown so you should get a tiara."

"Oh." She didn't know what to say.

The owner came out carrying a black box and a small blue box and put it on the table. "Please check if it is alright with Your Majesty and Lady Okuzaki."

He opened them to reveal a beautiful tiara with green stones embedded on it and also a pair of silver rings with the same gems.

Akira was stunned by the beautiful design of the tiara and the rings. "Isn't.. Isn't this peridot gems?" She noticed the gems that looked similar to her earring.

"Ah, yes. I figured that the peridot gems are more suitable for you as you are the 'Mysterious Peridot'." Takumi said that with a smile.

The Otome was touched by his feelings for her. She reached out to give him an embrace. "Thank you, Takumi-sama."

Takumi, who was a bit stunned by her action, just sat there and not moving.

After that, Akira examined the tiara. "It's well-made. "It is really very beautiful." She said softly, her lips curved up slightly.

"I'm glad you like it." He lightly patted on her hands.

"Well, I am glad that both of you like it." The owner spoke up. "It is an honor for me to be doing it for Your Majesty's wedding."

"Ah, thank you. We should get going then," said Takumi. "Before the day is over."

The dazed girl nodded. "Thank you, mister."

"Thank you for your business." Said the owner and they went out of the shop.

"So, where's next?" asked Akira.

"Let's just take a walk around here. It's been a long time since I visited these places." answered Takumi.

"Alright. Let's take a tour around then."

With that, both of them continued their outing with four guards following closely behind them.

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The date ended with a picnic. Takumi had personally asked the maids to prepare a picnic basket with Akira's favourite foods for today.

Takumi and Akira were sitting under a tree where else the guards were sitting somewhere further to give them privacy.

"Akira, thank you for coming with me on a date today." Said Takumi, eating one of the egg sandwiches that the maids prepared.

Akira took a bite from her blueberry muffin and said, "No, Takumi. Thank you for giving me a great time today. I really had fun."

"I am glad. Isn't it fun when you don't have to be cautious everytime?"

"Eh?"

"Do you know that when we used to go out, you will be looking left and right as though you expect villains to be coming out to kill us?"

"I do?"

"Yes. That was stressful, wasn't it? Today, you looked really relax. It's different when you are going out to protect someone and when you are just going for a walk, isn't it?"

Akira frowned. "You're right. I didn't notice that I had let my guard down. I am so sorry. I was putting your life at stake." She bowed her head.

Takumi frowned too. "No, you didn't. Like I said, today you are supposed to be going out with me as my date, not my bodyguard. That duty is given to those guys over there." He said that and pointed towards the area where the guards were.

Akira didn't say anything but kept her head down.

Takumi sighed and moved himself closer to her. It was a bit hard with his hands only but he managed to move till his shoulder touched hers.

He put his hand around her shoulders.

"Takumi?" She didn't notice that he was right beside her.

"Do you regret agreeing to my proposal?" Takumi asked suddenly.

"What?" Akira was shocked by his out-of-nowhere question. "Why do you ask that?"

"Because you seem to like being Otome a lot. Am I taking away your happiness?"

Akira was flabbergasted by his answer. "No, Takumi! Of course not!"

"Then why do you keep thinking that you have to protect me? Am I too weak?" he said sadly. "Because I can't walk?"

"No, that's not it!"

"Then tell me why…"

Akira became silent. "It's just a habit… I was trained to be like that in the academy…"

"Well, you don't have to do that anymore. Just be yourself."

"I can't, Takumi. For so many years, I have these Otome powers and had been protecting you. It's just that, I can't forget them easily. Especially the powers, they are like a part of me."

Her partner sighed and pulled her closer to him. "You don't have to risk your life for me anymore because you are really important to me. And you don't have to worry. I won't do anything until you agree to it."

"Thank you, Takumi." She laid her head on his shoulders, enjoying the warmth of his body.

Both of them were silent after that to enjoy the quiet and breezy atmosphere. They stayed until the sunset and made their way home, hands holding on to each other the whole trip home.

TBC

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Finally, I finished chapter four! Thousand apologies for the late update! I tried to make it up by doing a long chapter but it looks like I failed… I think my English became worse…

Anyway, there will be repetition of some stuff here because there are some things I need to emphasize. By they ay, i am not sure how outsiders address Akira. So i assume they call her Lady Okuzaki or Okuzaki-sama? Or Meister Akira?

Once again, sorry for my somehow failed chapter… But please do read and review for me! Tell me what to improve on! I will try my best!

- Saffyopal -