The Tale Continues (Saiunkoku Monogatari Fanfiction: Ryuuki x Shuurei lemon)

Chapter 23: First Real Kiss

''Shuurei,'' Ryuuki yelled from the bathroom. She neglected him. ''Shuurei. . . Shuurei.''

''Shut up. Don't be such a kid.''

''My clothes. Or would you like me to come out of the bath naked?''

Shuurei narrowed her eyes and glared at the bathroom. She had washed his soaked clothes and dried it outside. It would be lone before it totally dried since the emperor's clothes he always wear are made of special fabric. ''Stay there you pervert. Wait a minute. I'll get some of Seiran's clothes. She headed to Seiran's room and to pick some clothes that she thinks fits Ryuuki. Then she remembered that Seiran is no longer living with them. He is now living in his own mansion in the palace ever since it was revealed to her that he is Prince Seien.

Seiran's real identity was kept hidden though since that was his choice. Only a few knew of the truth. He is now a General and he is very famous in the army. He is a personal guard of the Emperor since ensuring Ryuuki's safety is his priority now.

Ryuuki gave him a mansion in the palace as if a gift to a loyal follower. Though in truth, he did it so Seiran would be closer. Shouka is rarely home too since he is busy in a lot of things and with Seiran ensuring the safety of the palace together with Shuuei, it is better for Seiran to stay inside the palace itself.

She asked one of the servants instead to bring clothes for guests. Knowing who Ryuuki is, the servant brought the highest quality. It really looked expensive that Shuurei almost thought it would be a waste not to sell it instead. She went then to the bath. ''I'll leave it outside the door,'' she said and quickly left to boil some tea.

She loved how the kitchen looked. Her eyes are going from direction to direction mentally calculating how much the things she spots would cost. She gave up when everything looked expensive. She have servants now but told them to let her do it since missed doing so.

Their house is now called the Kou residence ever since Shouka became the Kou clan head. They have a lot of guards and servants now too. And the whole mansion is almost shining. It looked like a newly built building. The Kou Clan would not allow their head to live in a shabby house with no guards and no servants. They sent almost everything and took care of making the mansion look grand.

Shouka decided to remain in this mansion and not go to the previous Kou house where Reishin lived before when he was the head, since this place is filled with memories of their family. Even Seiran was glad at Shouka's decision. Shuurei also prefers to stay here where she grew up in. Though she would miss Seiran not being with them now. She knew thought that Seiran will come here today. They must have already heard that she had arrived.

''That smells good,'' Ryuuki commented as Shuurei served him tea.

''It will help to warm you up so you would not catch a cold. Hmm, those clothes fit you. But even so, be sure to return those later.'' She noticed that he still looked good in normal clothes. It annoyed her. 'Hmp. I thought he would look a little more like an average guy when he is in normal clothes. Why does he look more handsome in normal clothes?' She noticed that he had become even more handsome than how he was four years ago. He looked more masculine and mature too. But when she remembered how he acted a while ago, she thought he just looked more mature but did not mature at all.

''You arrived early,'' Ryuuki said.

''I thought you'd never notice,'' Shuurei said coldly. ''You did not even look like you are not expecting me this early.''