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As the clock struck ten, Crystal couldn't help but sigh wistfully as she looked at Dixie dozing off on the sofa while the children's show continued to run on the TV.
After she finished 'cleaning' the plate, the girl had insisted on saying goodbye to Emilia before she left, and for that, she of course had to wait for her princess to come back first.
Thankfully, the girl wasn't too bothersome and demanding, and just watched cartoons while she waited… that is, until she fell asleep.
Crystal discovered very soon that Dixie had the problem of talking in her sleep, and what she talked about was of course what was on her mind most of the time.
It was one thing if she was the only one listening, but to have her mother give her the weird look when she returned from downstairs only to hear about 'how sexy are the thighs of my princess' and 'how lovely are her lips' was really too mortifying.
"S-She's having some weird dreams, and she's definitely not talking about me! We don't do strange things!"
Mrs. Miller raised her hands, giving her daughter an awkward smile. Although she was a little conservative herself, she wouldn't prohibit her daughter from trying new things. After all, her happiness mattered the most in the end.
The only thing she worried about was how Emilia, who seemed to favor her daughter so much, would react if she knew that her girl had such a relationship with someone else.
Mrs. Miller decided that it was best not to think about it too much, lest she get a headache. Her daughter will figure things out on her own, probably. "I-It's okay, I believe you. I didn't mean to snoop, anyway, I-I'll just go to bed. Un, don't sleep too late."
As she closed the door to her room, Mrs. Miller belatedly realized that there was only one other bed in her house, and Mrs. Brown's daughter didn't look like she planned to leave. Going by what her daughter had informed her earlier, and assuming that Emilia would be returning pretty soon…
"Will they all sleep in the same bed? Huh…?"
Mrs. Miller shook her head quickly. "N-No, if I keep thinking such strange things before going to sleep, I'll definitely have weird dreams!"
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Crystal glared gloomily at the still mumbling Dixie, who had since moved on from her lewd talk, and moved on to 'better' things.
"My princess is the smartest, of course I'll pet you… c'mere, fufu…"
"Oh, what I think of lemon cakes? Ah, you practiced just for me? Of course I'll take them—"
The heroine felt like tearing her hair out in frustration. 'Why did she have to blurt out the worst things right when mom walked in, and then she moves on right afterwards?! Mom definitely misunderstood!'
Unfortunately, there was no way to blame the sleeping girl. At most, she could whine about it to Emilia later. 'Hm, but that'll be like snitching on her, won't it? Will Emilia think I'm a bad girl if I did that? Ah, forget it…'
"Ah, princess, why don't you come snuggle up a little? I feel so cold…"
Crystal's lips twitched, feeling like smacking the girl awake, but seeing how Dixie seemed to be actually shivering a little, the blonde could only sigh and go to her room to fetch a spare blanket.
Unfortunately for the heroine, Emilia's sense of timing was about as impeccable as Mrs. Miller's, and she came just in time to see Crystal draping a blanket over the peacefully mumbling Dixie.
Emilia giggled as she skipped her way over to the girl who was now frozen in shock. "How cute~ I was worried that the two of you wouldn't get along so well because of me, but looks like I was worried for nothing, after all."
"D-Don't misunderstand! I just saw she was a little cold, and I—"
Emilia blinked." What would I misunderstand?"
Crystal realized just then how she was pretty much digging her own grave. Emilia wasn't there when Dixie was making those lewd remarks in her sleep, and more importantly, she would never misunderstand who the 'princess' in Dixie's mind could be.
"Well, I hope I didn't make you wait too long. Mhm, it's a little over ten already, huh. Did you have dinner yet?"
Of course, Crystal had been waiting for her just like Dixie, and neither of them had anything but snacks since lunch. "Mom had three servings set aside for us, un, hold on, I'll go heat them up—"
"No no, I can't have that! Just give me thirty minutes, alright?"
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Crystal knew how stubborn Emilia could be when it came to the strangest and most mundane things, and could only helplessly watch as the girl ran around the kitchen, chopping up ingredients and firing up the stove.
Emilia of course didn't waste time cooking up anything complex, since she didn't want Crystal to wait too long. Besides, even if she thought that she was already quite decent, complex dishes were still best saved for later when she had time to be more thorough.
She was already quite familiar with Crystal's kitchen, perhaps even more so than the girl herself, and quickly found the rigatoni pasta she was looking for. Once the main ingredient was secured, Emilia happily roasted up some red peppers while the salted water was set aside to boil.
Once it was at the right temperature, Emilia quickly poured in the pasta and rushed out of the kitchen and into the restaurant downstairs while the heroine stared blankly. Since Mrs. Brown had set the closing time to midnight, they should still have some kind of stock for her to use, right?
Cynthia couldn't help but scoff. "Are you seriously worrying so much about such a little thing? Just feed them the leftovers. As for you, humph, you don't even need to eat, do you?"
As she thanked the waitress for the bowl of chicken stock, Emilia couldn't help but blush. "I-It's the first time Dixie is going to taste my cooking, you know? I don't want her to think I suck."
"Silly."
Emilia huffed and decided to ignore her as she returned to the kitchen and started blending all her ingredients together with heavy cream. Of course, the peppers had to be drained and peeled first, and she added in some basil and seasonings as well.
As an amateur, Emilia made sure to keep a close eye on the pasta to make sure it didn't go too soft, and drained it when she felt that it was just right.
Looking at the clock, only about ten minutes had passed at this point, Emilia breathed a sigh of relief.
After pouring out the smooth mixture and bringing it to a simmer, all that was left to do was add in her pasta and some parmesan cheese and she was done after a little stir.
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When Dixie woke up from her decidedly pleasant dreams, she couldn't believe that she still wasn't dreaming, because not only was her princess the one to gently stir her awake, she was even dressed up like a proper wife, apron and all!
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~ To be continued ~
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DustyDream:
Bonus chapter should be up within, um, 30 minutes or so? I just need to edit it.
Thank you for all your support! :>