I woke up in the middle of the night because it was a bit chilly, I guess fall is coming, sleeping in underwear doesn't help, not that we're going to change that, I just used my new trick to drag the blanket up, cover up and go back to sleep. what a useful thing!
Anyway, it's early in the morning now, I put on a cute apron and start cooking while Nicole is still asleep, there's a lot, but I need more recipes, I must remember to go shopping for ingredients later.
I think I've been thinking too much lately when it comes to cooking, and yet I end up doing the first thing that comes to mind, something simple is good too, I cut a slice of bread, put some scrambled eggs on it, sprinkle it with salt and freshly ground black pepper, just a little bit, some parsley leaves on top. I put some condiments and sauces nearby, in case she prefers to use them.
We will accompany it with a coffee with milk. It's best to prepare it while it's piping hot and drink it soon after, so I'm going to wake her up.
I arrive at her room and find her just as I left her, hasn't she slept most of the day? She must have worked too hard. I want to spoil her more, but it's not a healthy habit.
"Nicole, Nicole! Wake up," I shake her shoulders for quite a while until she shows signs of waking up.
"Ugh... I'm awake, please stop shaking me"
"Well, good morning"
"Uwaaa... good morning"
"Please take a bath while I get you some clothes"
"Okay..."
At least I can help with a few steps of her morning routine to make her go downstairs faster for breakfast. I watch as she gets up, does some stretches, then... unhooks her bra and pulls down her panties.
I wasn't expecting that so suddenly, unfortunately she doesn't give me much time to enjoy the view as she leaves the room on her way to the bathroom, my gaze fixed on her seductive bare behind...
"W-Wow," huh, did I say that out loud? It slipped out, I hope she didn't hear me, at least this confirms that I definitely have certain bad habits because of her.
Anyway, I pick up the underwear she just took off to take to the laundry room, it's still warm... I know I've said before that I feel nothing but familial love for Nicole, and it's true, but she's really hot, the desire to press this against my face is no small thing... 'Was I always this pervert? I'm not usually like this, oh, could it be- eh, never mind.'
With a willpower I didn't know I had, I refrain from embarrassing behavior and quickly take her underwear to the laundry room before my fragile resistance breaks.
Back to my task, it's easy to pick out an outfit for her, most of her clothes are pretty basic, shirts and pants, the occasional dress and coat. She is very practical when it comes to clothes, but somehow manages to look great on special occasions.
Today she will wear black, I guess, now to the drawers, there is... not here, not here either, here it is, her underwear, of course she doesn't have any of the same color in sight, neither do my sisters as far as I can remember, is it just me who cares about matching? Not that anyone would notice. White bra and green panties it is. Oh... why does she have that!!? And... huh, where can I get one?
I leave Nicole's clothes in the bathroom and wait for her in the kitchen, a few minutes later she appears, uh, completely dry and dressed.
"You dried yourself with magic again, didn't you? I don't know if that's good for your hair"
"You worry too much"
Mmm, well, her hair has always been messy, so I guess it helps with her style.
"Hey, um, I found some... interesting underwear in your drawers," along with some other stuff... I think to myself.
"Interesting?"
"Y-Yeah, you know, the kind that, um, you'd only wear for a few minutes before taking them off, or that you don't have to take off"
"Oh~ hehe"
“Why do you have something like that if you have no one to show it to?”
“Ugh, you hit where it hurts since early in the morning huh? Mmm, self-esteem I guess, it's like when a man carries a condom in his wallet even though he has no one to have sex with"
"Huh..."
"I like to wear them from time to time, some are memories of my youth"
“Eh, I have a feeling I shouldn't ask what you were doing, besides, you're twenty-nine, you're still young”
"Yeah, but after a certain point, you get the feeling that time goes by really fast, you know? By the way, not that I want to pressure you or anything, but I'm hungry"
"Oh yeah, sorry"
I take off my apron, serve us both food, a cup of coffee with milk and we start to eat breakfast. Strange, I feel more relaxed today, could it be because I willingly slept with Nicole last night instead of her suddenly appearing in my room?
"So... ham~ ... are you going today?"
"Ugh, yes"
"Mm? You don't look very willing, but you agreed yesterday?"
"I will, but, um, how should I put it, yesterday sounded like a good idea, you know, to earn money, it was a tiring day, so my social engine was still warm, so to speak"
"But now that you're calmer, you're lazy?"
"It's not laziness, it just sounds like a hassle and I'll probably have to talk to a lot of strangers"
"Heh, it will do you good, besides, you can't refuse now, I've already confirmed to Ilona that you accepted"
"Fine... eh? You already confirmed, haven't you been home since yesterday morning?"
She takes a long sip of coffee instead of answering me, suspicious.
"Haah... I love coffee, hmm? oh yeah, just think of the gifts you'll buy and you'll be fine"
"Mmm, well, that was my motivation yesterday, I was also in a good mood becau- OH!"
I remembered! I haven't told Nicole the good news yet, we're having a nice chat and she looks more awake and rested than usual, eh, she looks more beautiful than usual too, I hope it's because I managed to get her to sleep well, wait, don't get distracted, now is the best time!
"What's wrong?" She asks, just the tone of her voice tells me she's worried about my sudden scream, her eyes are still a little drooping and her hands haven't stopped bringing food to her mouth.
"I have friends!"
"... From a new book you're reading?"
"No, they're flesh and blood!"
"... Are you sure?"
"Yes! Two beautiful elven sisters I helped beat up a nobleman yesterday while you were sleeping!"
"What?"
"After Ilona took them away, I helped them clean up the debris from the restaurant and we chatted for a while, oh yeah, Sarisa wants to meet you"
"Wait, slow down, you hit a noble? You remember they could execute you for that, even though you're my cousin, right?"
"Ilona said it was okay"
"Just because Ilona said- mh, you know what? Let me finish eating and you tell me everything from the beginning"
A few minutes later, Nicole is resting her head on the table as usual while I do the dishes.
"You ask them to be friends with you? Are you five years old?"
“I said it without thinking, what was I supposed to do, how do you normally make friends?”
"You meet someone, you get along and that's it"
“... That doesn't tell me anything”
"Anyway, it's getting late... I'll meet them later"
“Their cooking is really good, let's go together for a bite when you have time”
"Sure, speaking of work, just stay close to Ilona and you'll be fine, but that place is full of weirdos, so don't talk too much with- uh, right, I guess you'll be fine"
I won't even pretend to be offended, she's right, even if I were super outgoing, I don't plan to talk more than necessary to those shady guys. I don't know or care about the details, but basically the power in this kingdom is divided between the nobility and the royal family, as is typical, but the Dark Brotherhood is sort of a caretaker of both, their members are loyal to the kingdom, not to the royalty or the nobility, but to the people, so if one of them starts doing shady things, they take it upon themselves to suppress them.
With the exception of old retired kings, I'm not sure why, does it give you a pass if you manage to be king for a long time without dying, or did they manage to retire precisely because they were good kings? That would imply that they get rid of useless kings, so I won't think about that.
Anyway, they're sort of a security measure by the founding houses, so they can trust their descendants, well, I have no idea how their members are chosen.
It sounds good on paper, and apparently it has worked, but the members tend to be even more manipulative and cold-blooded than most nobles.
'Oh well, not that it has anything to do with me, if it wasn't for Nicole I wouldn't even know they existed.'
I decide to go out with Sarisa and Lenna after breakfast, but as I head for the door, Nicole stops me.
"You're going out dressed like that? Hehe, I knew you had it in you, even I wouldn't do something like that"
She lowers her head to look at me, so I do too...
"Oh"
Right, I'm still in my underwear, mmm, while I'm at it, should I make an effort to get dressed? I think so, I might make a better impression!
"Nicole!"
"Mm?"
"Please help me get dressed"
"Mm, I think I still have time, sure"
"Thanks"
The next two hours were spent going through clothes, or, rather, Nicole showing me a bunch of different combinations and making me try them on. Shirts of all kinds, long sleeves, short sleeves, sleeveless, with straps, without straps, halter tops, blouses, tops, bare midriffs, with a little cleavage, with a lot of cleavage, with too much cleavage... Okay, obviously I prefer shirts that show a lot of skin, although I usually wear something over it like a sweater or a scarf, so I didn't notice it before.
Then the part that took the longest, the lower garments, skirts, pants, jeans, shorts, loose garments that accentuate my body a little bit, accentuate my butt, accentuate my butt a lot, accentuate my butt too much... you name it.
Also other kinds of clothes like dresses, overalls, pants, those long shirts that look like dresses, I don't know what they're called... in short, we completely emptied my closet and drawers, I guess buying something cute that I saw in passing from time to time made me accumulate a little... well, a lot.
My closet is big, it completely covers one of the walls, still, how did I manage to accumulate all this? My room is crammed with clothes, and we're not even close to the end, we haven't even seen the coats, accessories, swimsuits, underwear, shoes... even though I love buying clothes, I'm already getting lazy thinking that I'll have to store all this later...
SPANK!
"AH!"
"That looks great on you! You should wear leggings more often!"
Nicole says after slapping my butt, she's having way too much fun... even though I am too.
"Y-You think? It leaves nothing to the imagination..."
I reply, looking at my butt in a full-length mirror, I agree it looks great, but the shape of my butt is completely exposed, I think it's even tighter than my underwear, whose shape is also completely visible... I guess it's because I rarely wear leggings and it's not my size anymore, but it's still very comfortable.
"That's the best part, I'll buy you a bunch when I get back from work"
"Well, uh, if you want, but I won't wear one this tight to go out, m-maybe"
"Huh? Oh, right, we were looking for something for you to meet your new friends, I forgot"
"..."
"You don't have to make that face, I already found something nice for you, look"
I turn to look at her and she holds up a nice short green dress, when did I get that...? As Nicole puts it on my bed, I remember, mom gave it to me a while ago, I really didn't think about it and just threw it away, uh... sorry mom.
"Go on, go on, try it on"
She doesn't let me answer when she starts undressing me again. Oh well, it looks nice. Simple enough to look casual, but still with embellishments and a design that shows how well made it is.
As I put it on, I notice more details... it's mostly cotton, with some light cotton voile details, and, oh? If I look closely, the yarn patterns are nice and different in various places, did Mom make it by hand? Now I feel bad for leaving the dress in my closet for so long...
I'm finally dressed, I won't even consider other options, this is so good! comfortable too! And it's getting late for Nicole. I twirl a few times in front of the mirror, oh, the dress is tighter around the waist, just below the bust, so if I twirl fast enough, it lifts up and shows my underwear, I guess the wind will do the same thing, great- ahem, s-something to watch out for, yeah.
My mom is pretty easy-going and open-minded, but at heart she's also a bit... let's say traditional, at least as far as what she thinks a woman should know how to do, which is generally housewife stuff. She never imposed anything on me or my sisters, but she managed to teach us how to cook, clean every corner of the house, garden, sew, knit, wash...
I remember my sister Eruca complaining about it, saying she didn't want to be a housewife, and while I understood what she meant, I also thought it was partly rebellion on her part, because it is useful to learn those things even if you plan to dedicate yourself to something else. Although I guess my opinion is not biased because I think I like the idea of being a good housewife one day, taking care of my wife's needs, cooking for her, comforting her, basically taking care of her and loving her... building a warm home.
The point is, Mom doesn't object to the way I dress, but for her to make me a dress that shows off my legs, collarbone and a little cleavage makes me realize that maybe I'm more open with my desires than I'd like to admit. Or maybe she reads me well. Even if we're not as close as I'd like, she's still my mother... probably both.
"You look good! Take this too!"
Nicole shows me a pair of brown, wide-strapped sandals, okay, even though I've forgotten a lot of what we're finding here, I'm sure those aren't mine.
"I don't remember having any sandals." I tell her.
"They're mine, you don't have to be so strict about sandal sizes, you can adjust these"
"Mmm... yeah, I think they'll look good, but aren't the sandals too casual?"
"No? They'll contrast nicely with the dress, you don't want to look too dressed up either, do you?"
"Yeah, I guess, let me see"
I put them on and adjust them to my bare feet.
"Eh... they're more comfortable than I remember"
"Oh. Is that why you were reluctant to wear them? I guess you've only ever worn leather sandals like my grandfather wore?"
"Yes! I remember they were comfortable for a while until the leather made your feet sweat and they became very uncomfortable"
"I am not sure what the young you expected, I only remember my grandfather and other old men wearing them"
"Don't say that, there must be a style where they look perfect"
"What is it?"
"... Anyway, I'll borrow them"
"Sure, but we're not done yet, you need different underwear", she says pointing to my chest where my bra is sticking out through the dress.
"Uh, right, not that I'm going to let that happen, but, um, just potentially, of course, the air could lift my skirt, so someone could accidentally see my underwear, so what do you suggest I wear?"
"T-string"
"... Did you hear what I just said?"
"Of course"
"Then why are you suggesting that I wear something so revealing?"
I've noticed that even though her expression is usually in lazy mode, her eyes are somehow very expressive, like now, she manages to look at me amused and teasing.
"Hehe, do you really want me to answer that?"
"B-better not, it doesn't matter, huh, although I don't know if I have any of those"
"Oh? I thought you liked collecting lingerie?"
"Yeah, but I don't really like them, look, just talking about the erotic side of it, imagine there are two extremes, which are normal underwear and no underwear, I feel like the T-strings couldn't decide which end to go, so they ended up doing it all wrong"
"I don't get your point"
"Uh... imagine it like this, being naked makes you rely completely on your natural charm, there are endless ways to do that and use it to your advantage, on the other hand wearing good panties can accentuate, hide, balance your body, basically it works in conjunction with what's underneath, you know?"
"No- I mean, yes, I think I understand"
"T-strings on the other hand, they don't allow you to show off the natural allure of being naked, nor do they act as underwear at all, it's just a boring string that's there to get in the way. Speaking of the back, of course"
"Okay, okay, calm down a bit, I get it, you don't like them"
"W-well, I guess they can be refreshing too, with a nice body, plus a nice butt can look good on anything, and you could potentially show off your body without losing your modesty since you're technically clothed..."
"So do you like them or not?"
"I-I haven't had the pleasure of exploring them thoroughly, so I don't think so, for now"
"Haa..." Oh, she's starting to look a little exasperated again, better drop the subject, even though it was her fault for suggesting them.
"Well then..." She begins. "I'm sure I can make you like them. I'll look for something good while I buy your leggings. For now, I'm going to check your underwear, and you'll wear whatever I pick out, is that okay?”
"I-I don't trust myself, I bought a lot of underwear"
"I didn't ask you~"
"Yes, yes you did"
"Just do me a favor and prepare some takeout for me, please, leave it to me!"
"Fine..."
A little worried, I leave her alone in my room, I like to vary a lot when it comes to my underwear, so I have a lot that I bought even though I knew I would never be brave enough to wear it, but it still looked and felt great.
Oh well, if she chooses something weird, I'll just have to try harder not to let the wind lift my dress and that's it, why do I worry so much about such stupid things? Maybe I would have more peace of mind if all that effort was put into my life choices or something, whatever.
Let's change the subject... time to cook! something better this time!