"Yes. Do you have any special plans for wednesday?"
Shade asked. Looking up, he saw Little Mia sprawled over the back of the sofa, watching them. Only then did Shade remember that Princess Leisha had "coerced" him to come before the fireplace last night, into the warm, gentle glow of the flames, so he had not had time to shut Mia in a room.
"Was she in the living room all night?"
Yes.
"Mm."
Although Mia was only a cat, Shade still felt an inexplicable sense of shame.
"Leisha doesn't have any special arrangements. She said she'll decide when the time comes. If nothing else comes up, she can spend the whole day at Saint Derain Square for our three-person date."
At the mention of that topic, Dorothy blushed slightly, though she was also looking forward to the day the three of them would meet:
"It'll be deep winter by then. The weather will be so cold that there won't be anywhere else to go."
"Yes. Then I'll clear wednesday afternoon and thursday."
Shade nodded. The young lady's smooth legs were exposed beneath the quilt before the fireplace. Seeing Shade's gaze, the blonde young lady gave him a somewhat reproachful shove, then carefully tucked her legs back under the blanket:
"How did Leisha even think of making a bed in front of the fireplace? I'll make you breakfast before I leave. Though the landlady surely has the apartment cleaned on schedule, I still need to meet with Kasonlik Merchant House Publishing today to discuss the royalties for the second Southern Kingdom edition of the Detective Hamilton Story Collection."
She lightly kissed Shade on the cheek.
"See you on wednesday."
Dorothy indeed left after breakfast, but she only took her books, notebooks, and some of her clothes. A small portion of