As Yuki remained motionless in the corner of her secret room, she heard the door being unlocked. If she moved right now, she could leave the secret room, move the bookshelf back, and get to the door before it even began to open. But she did not feel like doing that since she already knew based on walking speed and emitted body warmth that it was Yamato. And even though he had never seen this before, she was curious to see how he would react. Oddly, she did not fear being rejected, but rather was unsure of how this situation would turn out.
As the door opened, Yamato stepped in and looked around, actually never having entered this room before despite having a key to it, thanks to the universal one Yuki gave him after the construction of the Cube.
"Yuki, are you there?"
"I'm in here…"
Yamato followed the voice through the darkness, into the dimly lit room, looking at Yuki sitting on the ground, then at the walls and ceiling, and then back at Yuki.
"What is all this?"
"I dunno… Something I like…"
"And why are you sitting on the ground? Y'know rooms like these usually have a chair in them for comfort."
"…Sometimes I wonder… If you'd like me better if I were a cute, innocent, gentle and kind girl… Would you?"
Yamato sat down in front of her and cupped her face, forcing eye contact.
"Haven't I already told you many times how perfect you are? I am happy to tell you many more times. Every day, if you want."
"I don't get that…"
"I think you do, boo. Didn't you make me fall in love with that kind of you? What good would it do to force change now, hm? It's just us, after all… So if we started disliking things about each other already, how are we supposed to stay together forever?"
"Forever ever…? As in eternity?"
"As in. Everlasting and absolute."
Yuki took her blanket off and crawled toward him, pushing him over onto his back with a deep kiss. The door, which Yamato had left open, closing and locking on its own.
A couple of hours later, Yuki found Pheobe play in a hallway with Petrisha next to her. Since she was in a good mood at that moment, she chose to engage in what she otherwise thought to be senseless behavior. Though she found herself spending a lot of free time with Pheobe in the last couple of days.
"Hey, Pheobe, what are we doing~? Trishy, you can go. Clean something or whatever."
"Yes, Mistress…"
"Pheobe's recreating a train road, like Yamato described to her!"
"You mean train tracks? That sounds fun. I see you already have a train to go on the tracks with."
"Mhm! It's the fastest train in the whole world! It goes whoosh, and then only smoke is left behind"
"That does sound pretty fast. But y'know who's even faster?"
"No one's faster than Pheobe's train!"
"Actually, I am faster than any train!"
"Nuh uh!"
"Yuh huh!"
"Pheobe's train can move anywhere in less than… Faster than anyone!"
"What if I don't believe you~?"
"Then Pheobe will show you!"
Pheobe stood up and began running outside, but stopped as usual after a few meters. Sitting back down, turning around, and raising her arms to be lifted up.
After Yuki picked her up, she pointed in the direction she wanted to go, which was outside.
"Alright then, but you better back up your claim after teasing it up so much now… And we gotta hurry since it's already pretty late. It's been a long day after all…"
"Pheobe's train will leave you in awe!"
"Mhm, well we shall see~"
After leaving the Absolute Citadel, Pheobe pointed up into the sky.
"Pheobe has to fly up!"
"Did you just eant to fly again~?"
"Nuh uh! It's important for Pheobe's presentation! But she likes being in the sky…"
"Well then, hold on tight."
With a single flap of her wings, they reached height above the clouds, while the sun was about to set.
"Okay, we don't have much time before your bedtime."
"Okay, Pheobe's ready! You have to fly over there!"
"Okay then."
As Yuki flew over to where Pheobe pointed, Pheobe held the train in front of Yuki right before they arrived, resulting in it technically arriving before Yuki.
"Did you see!? Pheobe's train was super fast!"
"Ah, damn it, you got me this time! As reward I will tell you a secret about Yamato."
"Really!? What's the secret!? Pheobe wants to know!"
"It's that he really likes flying too. One of our best romantic moments was similar to now, where we hovered above the clouds, just like we are now."
"Ooh, Pheobe likes that story!"
"Yeah, I do too. Now, let's get back inside."
"Okay. Whoosh…"
As they flew down, Pheobe played with her train a bit more, pretending it flew through the air on its own. As they got back inside the Absolute Citadel, Pheobe was send off to sleep by Yuki before she herself went to collect Yamato, who was up past his bed time as well it seemed. After collecting him and cuddling up to him, Yuki felt that this day had not been so bad after all.
Days, weeks, and months passed by with the Absolute Empire securing its new territory, spreading ideology and religion as soon as the local churches were taken over by underlings of Carina. Carina's faith had grown so strong, that her influence reached into every part of the town. And that without Yuki's constant surveillance, though she would drop by every now and then for reports. Not that Yuki was going out of her way in doing so, since Carina lived in the Cube and was basically right below her most of the time. Using the strong grip they held on Grym'valen, Yuki was able to successfully rename it into something more fitting of the capital of the Absolute Empire. That, in true narcissistic fashion, being the name "Yukimato", which of course was just Yuki and Yamato combined. Yuki had always disliked how the town had been called, and of course no name could make her happier than this one. Yamato was rather neutral about this, but was happy Yuki was happy. Thanks to the Naru Empire retreating completely after their devastating loss in Vancia, Yukimoto was able to prosper under Yuki's constant construction projects, though the days of working herself had passed and she now only planned out how it was supposed to look, having others do the work. This resulted in the town almost tripling in size, with the citizen count going up from 20.000 to 75.000, which was still far too little for Yuki's taste. But since only a couple of months had passed, she chose to temporarily be satisfied with this extreme achievement. However, the political situation between the Naru and Absolute Empire remained tense, which is why it came as a surprise when an invitation to a peaceful gathering arrived. Supposed to be held on neutral ground, the well known city Lunis, both Yamato and Yuki were invited alongside other important political leaders of the continent. Based on the description, it would be somewhat like a party, though solely for political purposes of course. So naturally, the sudden nature of the offer led to a discussion in Yamato's office.
"Boo, I really wanna go to that party~…?"
"It's just a bit sketchy… We could just as well send Amael, Marneras, or even Natsumi as representatives."
"But why should they get all the fun!? I wanna go! With you!"
"Y'know there's probably not gonna be a lot of dancing like our last event, right?"
"I don't care! I wanna dress up in a gorgeous dress and hold a glass of champagne and feel like an empress~!"
"I do want to see that too…"
"See!? I mean… Not that I wouldn't dress up for you right now too… I will wear anything! Or nothing! But it's not the same as being at a party… So pretty please~?"
"…Fine. It's probably better to go personally anyway… Wouldn't want to offend anyone by being careless."
"That's what I'm saying!"
"Pheobe wants to go too!"
Pheobe said excitedly as she burst in through the door, having been listening from outside the door by opening the usually soundproof door just a tiny bit, and pressing herself against it.
"Pheobe! This was an adult conversation!"
"But Pheobe wants to go to the party too…?"
"No way! Children can't be at these kinds of gatherings. They are adults only, like trhis conversation had been!"
"Actually, many people bring their children along for events like this. So they make friends, impress others, and various other reasons. It'd be surprised if they would be prohibited from entering."
"Boo, it was supposed to be a romantic thing!"
"It can still be, but it's main purpose was always political anyway… And she might even make friends. Since she's homeschooled, she doesn't get to meet many children her age."
"That's… True, I suppose… But you said yourself it seems suspicious!"
"I'm sure you will protect both of us, won't you, boo? Sorry, but you're not turning this one in a date. Even if she does stay here."
"…Fine! Guess Trishy can come along to babysit…"
"Pheobe was carefully listening and didn't understand a thing! But she thinks daddy won, and mommy is okay with her going to the party, so she's going to tell miss maid that she needs a super fancy party dress now!"
Yuki sighed, her main problem being that with Pheobe present, killing everyone in case of an emergency would be a no go. But Yamato was right. If Pheobe made friends, that would be nice.
"Yes, Pheobe, you will come with us to the party… But you have to behave! And there will be no fooling around, since it's an adult event. I hope you know what you got yourself into."
"Pheobe is always super serious, she can handle talking about boring stuff for even 10 minutes!"
She proudly declared as she ran off. As usual, not getting very far before yelling for Petrisha, who was already looking for her anyway. Closing the door behind her, and this time locking it, Yuki turned back to Yamato.
"Are you sure about this? You do realize that bringing her raises questions about us too? And the last time I wanted to make that public, you cold heartedly denied me!"
"I remember that exchange a bit differently though…"
"Even so, it is a problem, is it not?"
"Well, I think it will not actually hinder us anymore actually…"
"Mhm~? Is that so~?"
"I would have waited maybe a bit longer, but it's not much of a difference really. And my previous points as to why Pheobe should come along still stand."
"I do like the sound of that~! Now I really can't wait to go to that party… And who knows, maybe something interesting will happen too!"