A Choice is Made

"Princess Diamond, can you give me your right hand?" Doctor Pledais asks as he holds out his hand. Diamond quietly nods and slips her hand into his. "Do you mind if I put this ring on your finger?" Once again, Diamond simply nods, so the doctor proceeds by placing the ring on Diamond's index finger. "Do you feel any different, Princess Diamond?"

"No... I'm okay," Diamond whispers as she gazes at the ring on her finger.

Duke Stoneborne and the doctor trade glances at each other before the doctor gives a firm nod. "It seems that the ring is absorbing Diamond's mana just like Ruby's crown. With this, she should be fine in regards to her mana control until she is able to do it herself."

"Is my sister going to be okay?" Ruby asks while sitting down next to Diamond.

"Princess Diamond should be fine, but just in case, I will do a full magic check up." Doctor Pledais kneels in front of Diamond and holds out his hand again. "Do you mind if I continue? You're going to feel something strange flow into your hand, but that's just my magic, so don't be scared."

"You can continue," Diamond answers, giving her hand to the doctor.

---

Sitting tentatively at his desk, Duke Stoneborne watches as Doctor Pledais notes down the last of his results into his notepad before finally sitting down in front of the duke.

"Princess Diamond doesn't seem to have anything wrong with her," Doctor Pledais begins. "Her mana is properly controlled and her body is responding appropriately. There's no signs of internal or external damage, and overall seems very healthy."

"That's good to hear. Seeing as her body is technically artificial, it would be strange if she did have something wrong with her from the beginning." Duke Stoneborne looks over at Diamond and Ruby and calls them over by patting his lap. Excited, the two girls' faces light up, and they eagerly rush over to their father's offered lap.

Once the girls are situated on each leg, Duke Stoneborne sets a hand on each of their heads. "I was told that when a child does a good job after getting their check up, you're supposed to praise them. Diamond, you did a good job during your check up. Ruby, you were a good older sister in taking care of your sister."

"Thank you, Father!" Ruby shouts as she hugs the duke.

"Thank you... Father," Diamond responds, quietly nuzzling into the duke's chest.

Trying not to laugh, Doctor Pledais clears his throat. "Due to her circumstance, we can safely assume that Princess Diamond is another jeweled child. According to what Princess Ruby's fairy said, Princess Diamond is the child of water so that means that she can also wield ice and certain gasses involving water under the right conditions."

"Thank you, Doctor Pledais for your help," the duke mentions. "As I said before, your room and lab will be finished in a week's time, so please do move in once it's finished. I got a feeling that I'm going to have to bother you a lot more than before."

"It is an honor to know that the great Duke of Stoneborne needs such a humble doctor's assistance. Now, if you will excuse me." The doctor bows once he makes it to the door before turning to leave the room.

Sitting in silence, the duke stares down at the two girls on his lap. "You must be tired, Diamond, from everything that happened this morning."

"N-no, Father, I'm okay," Diamond quickly but quietly responds. "I'm not tired."

"Well, I would rather not put too much on your plate so soon, so I will give you the rest of the day to do whatever you want. Ruby, that goes for you as well. Since you helped me with getting your sister's measurements and tailoring done, you can play with your sister the rest of the day."

"Thank you, Father!" Ruby shouts as she gives her father a big hug.

Noticing this, Diamond immediately copies Ruby. "Th-thank you, Father!"

Raymond starts to notice that Duke Stoneborne is reaching his limits of physical contact, so he calls out to the girls. "Lady Ruby, Lady Diamond, how about you two go over to the knights' training hall and have them play with you? Raja, Norman, do you mind?"

"No, Sir!" the two knights answer before walking over to the girls. With the outstretched hands, the knights gather their princesses and take them out of the office.

Once the four of them are far enough from the office, Raymond turns to the duke. "Your Grace, you did well, but are you okay?"

Grabbing his handkerchief out of his chest pocket, Duke Stoneborne wipes the sweat from his face then gazes at his hands. "I'm fine. I mentally prepared myself while Diamond was getting checked on so that I could hold out for a long time, but it appears that I still have trouble with physical contact."

"Do you think that what Diamond said about your heart is true? That there is a small part of you that wants to break free from this fear?" Raymond asks as he walks over to the duke's desk.

Duke Stoneborne leans over his desk and covers his mouth with his hand. "I don't think I have ever had the thought of wanting to be touched or touching others; however, there are those who say that even we don't know our deepest wishes. There may be a part of me that wants to break free, but I didn't know about it until now. And maybe it's time for me to get rid of this fear of mine."

"You are a strong person to decide on such a hard choice, Your Grace. Maybe with the help of the girls, little by little, you might be able to touch others naturally like you used to when you were younger."

With a smirk on his face, the duke leans back on his chair. "I would never wish to go back to how I was when I was younger, but being able to touch others without worrying about the consequences would lift some weight off of my shoulders."