Yukari whimpers and begins acting very embarrassed and self-conscious of his body after Henryk mentions that he’s sick of hearing about Belsedori dairy, but he still tries to answer Helena’s question.
”W-what do you mean by that? Xana’s very kind to me and shows me lots of affection, and she goes to a lot of effort to coddle me. She always lets me cuddle her when I want affection, and both she and other women treat me very gently and tenderly.”
Yukari starts to get increasingly gushy and dreamy-eyed again as he begins to ramble about his relationship with Xana.
”Oooh, there’s nothing that I ever think about more than Xana and how much I love, love, looooove her! And I always try to show it by being a good, soft, cuddly little consort for her and by wearing things like my wedding choker to show everyone how totally submissive I am to her as a consort, how much I completely and totally belong to her, and how much my entire life revolves around her and our family. I think that it’s lovely that I can wear it and proudly display the fact that I’m a timid, quiet, submissive, petite little doll of a consort that gets to feel the comfort and joy of being completely domesticated and completely belonging to his wife. Wearing my wedding choker and my ribbon and veil makes me feel so pacified, and subdued, and subordinated to her, and it brings me so much joy when people see me in them and immediately know that I’m a thoroughly domesticated house-consort whose purpose in life is to lovingly serve his wife and family. Like I said earlier, I’m getting a magic bell to attach to my choker soon so that Xana can call me from anywhere in the castle to run errands for her and gushily dote on her like a good consort should; I think that I’ll look so cute in it when it jingles faintly on my neck as I walk around the castle carrying tea trays or going to my closet to get dressed up. And listening to it jingle will always ensure that I remember my proper place as a consort and that I live to serve and adore my wife and family with all of my spirit. I love my title too; it’s even lower than Xana’s title than a normal noble consort’s is relative to his wife’s, and it makes me so much more subordinate and submissive to her than I would otherwise get to be. Oh, I love everything about being Xana’s consort; I love being her kitchen-bound homemaker that dutifully cooks all of her meals for her, I love tenderly cuddling her and feeling safe inside her protective embrace around my petite, dainty body, and I love being her soft, sweet, cuddly pet that needs to be protected by her. I love gushily lavishing my boundless love and devotion onto her and always letting her know that I’m completely hers, I love being brought to parties and shown off to other women that pet my soft hair and tell me how cute I am, I love it when she gets me all dressed up in pretty, frilly outfits and makes me into her cute, beautiful dress-up doll, I even love, um, being her home’s… um… dairy producer…
High Princescina Yukari blushes furiously again as he says this, and pauses for a second before continuing just as emphatically as before.
”And my home life is soooooo lovely, too! When Xana married me, I humbly requested that she tell me to do things instead of asking; now she always orders me around, telling me to go make food for guests or go tell the servants to do something. It’s such a nice way to always be reminded that I’m a boy and a docile, obedient consort who’s naturally meant to be totally subservient to her as a woman and my wife. Xana keeps me obedient, docile, submissive, and on as tight of a leash as she can manage like she’s supposed to, but she’s so sweet to me that she still pets my hair or gives me a kiss after I finish running an errand for her. Oh, I don’t know what kind of boy wouldn’t just simply adore being his wife’s cute little pet and doll like I am; I know how much of an emotional, soft, delicate, dainty little flower I am as a boy and how much I need a strong, dedicated wife to lovingly shelter me and care for me-“
”I think that’s enough, honey; you’ve answered Queen Helena’s question more than adequately.” Xana interjects after watching King Henryk’s and Queen-Consort Helena’s faces as Yukari becomes absorbed in his monologue for a short time.
”Oh… I’m so sorry, dear; I’ll stop intruding on your conversation now.” Yukari says before sitting down onto one of the chairs behind him and looking very guilty.
”It’s fine, honey; I know how much you like to show your boundless love for me to everybody.”
Xana then turns to address her guests.
”Now, on to Belsedori women. A young Belsedori woman’s life after reaching adulthood is all about chasing boys. Belsedori sexes are weighted so that there are roughly three females for every two males, which means that competition for the right to have a boy married off to you is extremely fierce. Belsedori like to have all sorts of athletic competitions; track racing, wrestling, duels with training weapons, discus throwing, and swimming are some of the ways that a woman can try to demonstrate her value as a wife to families with sons to marry off. But valued above athletic prowess, although that remains very important as well, is skill with magic. Belsedori women, instead of learning magic used for healing and domestic chores like the males do, study all sorts of things: combat magic, magical engineering and artifice, alchemy, and other disciplines are all mostly exclusive to women and are very important to help you win a consort. Below magic and athletics is trade skills like mundane smithing and other artisanal crafts; they’re not very flashy or particularly effective, but they always help; making more money is great too. Once you get your consort and settle down, you’re supposed to start a family immediately. It’s not that hard on you because your domesticated consort stays at home and takes care of the house and children after they’re born, but you also need to lavish your new consort with lots of affection and care to keep him happy; boys are very emotional and tend towards being incredibly needy and clingy, and you should always keep yourself in your rightful superiority over him in the relationship.”
”For customs, I can tell you about a few choice ones that generally describe the rest. Boys are always below you in hierarchy, even if they’re the same listed rank as you, although you still have to treat them with adequate respect and decorum. A married woman is expected to keep her consort soft, timid, and passive, but in exchange she’s expected to defend him and his honor on his behalf. A Belsedori woman tends to get violent if you disrespect her consort, make him cry, or otherwise upset him.”
As she describes a Belsedori woman’s duty to protect her husband, Queen Xana is glaring at King Henryk and placing heavy emphasis on her words.
”Another important taboo is to avoid talking about weapons or violence in front of boys whenever possible and to generally avoid unsheathing them in a boy’s presence. They’re sensitive, hyperemotional creatures that can be easily frightened by such things. You also get a wedding ring when you get married so that you can show off your new prize to everybody. Behavior wise, women are naturally meant to be the dominant sex in most affairs. We’re raised to be strong, courageous, level-headed, tough, dominant, and extremely competitive in order to prepare us to fight for a boy to marry and so that we know how to keep him on a nice, tight leash when we get one. Belsedori women have all of the real jobs and leadership positions in Belsedori society like we should; boys like Yukari are meant to be quiet, look pretty, and stay in the kitchen and nursery. But as a wife, it’s also your sacred duty to always care for, protect, and provide for the delicate, fragile flower that you marry and to make him always feel loved and appreciated.”
”Women’s clothing has different priorities fashion-wise compared to a male Belsedori’s outfit. Rather than advertising your soft timidity and turning you into an adorable little ball of cutesy eye candy for your wife and everybody else to enjoy looking at, women’s clothing is more practical. It varies greatly by social status and profession, but a Duchess’s normal outfit is a dark-colored dress with a knee-length skirt and loose, wrist-length sleeves, pants, a cloak in a bright color complementing the dress’s and usually associated with your duchy in some way, and a relatively tall conical hat with a wide brim. A belt can also be worn to accentuate your waist or if your dress hasn’t been tailored. Women’s hair is supposed to be cut at the midpoint of the neck, and is much less complicated to style than a boy’s flower- and butterfly-filled head. Jewelry like earrings and necklaces is also present, but not universal of course.”
Xana finishes her monologue and turns to address Helena.
”That covers both sexes; is that all that you wanted to know about Belsedori society, or was there something else specific that you wanted to ask about?”