Thankfully, however, there were so fortunate individuals who were only after the playsets and had left the plushie market alone. While that didn’t guarantee success for everyone else, with scarcity looming so visibly, every available piece mattered. Especially when there were people in the competition who were capable of earning golden tickets daily.
Like one Imperial Crown Prince.
The sa Crown Prince who happened to be the eternally lucky recipient of his wife’s prototype plushie.
Yes. A prototype.
One that had been made by Luca’s own hands, to the shock of everyone who learned about it.
Xavier could still rember the way his little wife spoke about sewing, almost casually. Luca had said it was sothing he was passable at. Necessary, even.
Growing up without much ant that clothes had to last. Buttons had to be reattached. Seams had to be nded. Torn pockets repaired.
There was no throwing things away simply because they were damaged because even in the worst-case scenario they could still be used as rags for his cabin.
Luca had once said that there ca a point when he stopped needing clothes altogether, but until then, he had learned how to make things last.
"They didn’t look pretty but at least there weren’t any holes!" The little chipmunk said it with a grin that nearly had Xavier spiraling.
Luca didn’t seem all that bothered by it. But the angry husband was really just a tap away from wanting to exercise Imperial authority over a planet they hadn’t even found yet.
However, his anger lted because he didn’t expect to see proof of his wife’s ability placed gently into his hands.
The very first plushie Luca had ever worked on was unmistakably handmade. The proportions were a little off, with a head slightly too large for its body. Instead of embroidered eyes, two buttons had been sewn on. They weren’t even the sa shade, but they were securely fastened, stitched with care. The stitches were visible if one looked closely, neat but clearly done by hand.
The clothes were simple. A plain top. Basic trousers. No layered fabrics. No fine trim. Nothing ornate. Just enough to be clothing.
And yet.
It was still undeniably Luca.
The stunned Crown Prince stared at the small version of his wife, his mind struggling to catch up. The way the hair had been shaped. The tiny mouth stitched into a familiar expression. The overall earnestness of it all.
It was deeply embarrassing. A man who faced battlefields without flinching and had been raised to command authority should not have trembling hands, yet they shook when Xavier first held the prototype.
He cleared his throat, then looked up at Luca.
"Do you have any use for this?" he asked carefully.
Luca blinked, then tilted his head. He considered the question with genuine thought before answering honestly. "Not really. I made it so D-64 and Aunt Cece would have a prototype to work from."
The answer was innocent. Matter of fact.
Which was why Luca was completely unprepared for Xavier’s next words.
"Then," Xavier said slowly, still holding the plushie, "if it is alright with you, may I have this?"
"Huh? What?!" Luca froze. His face flushed instantly. "This one? Wait, if you are keeping it, wouldn’t the finished version be better?"
Xavier shook his head.
"To , this is already finished," he said quietly.
He reached out and gently took Luca’s fingers. The sa fingers that had stitched the seams, sewed on the buttons and shaped the small body with care and ti.
"This is sothing you worked on. Sothing you made with your own hands."
Luca’s face turned bright red.
"O-okay!" he blurted out. "Y-you can have it!"
Xavier smiled.
What he did not expect was what ca next.
Only a few days later, Luca ca barreling toward him, visibly flustered and moving far too fast. Xavier caught him by the shoulders imdiately.
"Are you feeling unwell?" Xavier asked, pressing a hand to Luca’s forehead.
"I-I’m fine!" Luca insisted far too quickly.
Xavier raised an eyebrow. The denial only made him more suspicious.
But Luca really was fine.
If anything, he looked that way because he was excited.
Xavier understood imdiately why Luca had looked like he was about to bounce straight through the ceiling.
It was the box.
The small, carefully wrapped box that Luca pressed into his hands with both palms, eyes bright, ears practically twitching with barely contained excitent.
"For you," Luca said, far too quickly.
Xavier tilted his head in confusion but hurriedly accepted it. After all, he was one who would accept anything his wife would give him. He opened the lid with asured care.
Then he froze.
Inside were two plushies.
Not one.
Two.
Nestled side by side, cushioned carefully as if set down with reverence, were a refined Luca plushie and an equally refined Xavier plushie. They were softer than the prototype, their proportions left intentionally the sa—a choice he had long realized added to their charm. The improvents were clear in the details: smoother stitching and properly colored eyes that gave them a gentler, more finished look.
More importantly, they were wearing pajamas.
Simple ones. Soft fabric. Dark colors. Nothing formal. Nothing intimidating.
And they looked like they were holding hands.
Xavier stared.
The two tiny plushies sat next to each other in matching clothing and it felt extrely intimate.
And he liked that very much.
For a long mont, the Imperial Crown Prince was just left stunned.
Luca leaned forward, unable to contain himself any longer. "Getting the tiny details was really difficult," he said quickly, scratching his cheek with one finger. "So I decided to use pajamas instead. And I asked D-64 to show how it does the eyes so they would look more like the others."
He smiled, flustered but proud. "They’re closer to the final ones now."
Xavier blinked.
"...The others?" he echoed slowly.
Luca nodded, cheeks flushing pink. "Auntie Cece said that if you ever brought yours out and it looked too different, people might ask why. And that could put you in a difficult position."
He hesitated, then added earnestly, "I didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable."
The silence that followed was heavy.
Then Xavier chuckled.
Softly at first. Then a little more as he reached into the box and lifted the plushies with reverent care. "She’s right," he said, amused. "That’s a very good reason. But not because I’m going to feel uncomfortable. Even if it looked especially unfamiliar, I won’t end up uncomfortable."
Luca blinked.
"Huh?"
The answer ca days later. For the fortunate husband fully intended to express his appreciation for his wife’s thoughtfulness.
When the hidden prince appeared at the Activity Center for his scheduled shift assisting with live lessons, the reaction was imdiate and catastrophic.
Gasps.
Frozen stares.
At least three people stumbled backward. And a few orcs ended up colliding with each other while one Duke missed a falling stick in his absolute shock.
One could have thought everyone had discovered his identity from simply walking in, but apparently it wasn’t even that.
He hadn’t ant to make a scene. The problem was simply that a long-held dream had finally beco possible, so how could he simply sit on a miraculous opportunity?
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