Chapter 56 #055 The Thoroughly Furious Princess
With the greetings concluded, we followed the countess to the dining hall.
The two women walked ahead of us. Perhaps because they were both married, the sway of their hips was downright mesmerizing. Roana Florian especially. Linnell was no slouch when it came to being tempting, but this woman’s wide hips and plump rear made even her look ordinary by comparison.
“Whoa… Fuck. I seriously want to just run up and shove my cock in right now.”
—Me too, me too. Should we just drag that bitch somewhere shady and fuck her first?
“…You think we should?”
The urge was overwhelming. If I could just slide between those cheeks and pound away… I felt like I’d cum from the thought alone. Still, I shook my head hard and forced the desire down. The woman walking in front of me was both the lady of Florian and the mistress of this massive estate. If I were alone it might be different, but I had company right now.
Even so, I couldn’t stop my cock from stiffening.
How could I? Those lush hips were practically begging to be fucked right in front of my eyes.
“Kael?”
“Kael, are you feeling unwell?”
Shit. My awkward gait from the sudden erection had given me away. I laughed and called on Beres. She quickly shrank the size with her usual quick wit.
“Ah, no. It’s just… I’m not used to dressing up like this. It feels a bit uncomfortable.”
“Hmm~ Same here.”
Bella nodded in agreement. Even though the dress was light and suited for the southern climate, she claimed pants were far more comfortable. Most female knights disliked dresses anyway, so her complaint made sense.
Still, despite being a knight, Bella’s slim figure actually made the dress look quite good on her.
“Now that I think about it, the dress you wore when we left the capital suited you really well.”
“Really?”
Her eyes sparkled. She gave me a look that said she wanted to repay the compliment somehow, then stepped closer. When I turned to see what she was doing, she tugged her neckline down and flashed her breasts at me.
I nearly choked. This girl really had no shame, even outdoors.
“How is it? Did you like it?”
Like it? I thought back to the blue ribbon, the white fabric beneath it, and the beautiful snowy peaks hidden inside.
“…Yeah.”
The answer was obvious.
“If you want to see them again, just say so. I’ll show you anytime♥”
“R-Right…”
She really was impossible to handle.
“Please, have a seat.”
We sat down as dish after dish was brought out. The meal proceeded normally. Roana’s rear was incredibly tempting, but everything else about her was ordinary. Because of that, my eyes kept drifting toward the princess, the young noblewoman, and Linnell instead.
Honestly, I would’ve preferred to stare only at Linnell, whose chest was half-exposed, but the princess and Bella were too intimidating. Getting caught would mean serious trouble.
Still, why was I the only man here?
“I’m truly sorry we couldn’t invite you sooner, Princess Reina. As you know, His Highness the Second Prince is quite sensitive about these matters… Even though our family is large, we couldn’t risk offending him.”
“I understand. Thank you for inviting me now. Where is the count?”
“Ah, he’s…”
The countess looked troubled. The lord of Florian hadn’t attended this meal. That was why I was the only man present. She explained that her husband was too busy with work to join us.
But to me, it seemed like a rather clever move. The emperor had taken sudden interest in the Third Princess because of the academy incident, and her value had been reevaluated enough to receive a new villa. If they hadn’t invited her at all, it would be seen as ignoring the emperor. So they invited her, but had the countess host instead of the count himself.
‘Though in a way, it’s also an open slight.’
The princess seemed slightly displeased that the count hadn’t shown up, but she either didn’t notice the finer details or simply didn’t care to think that deeply. Still, she was my woman. Being treated like this pissed me off.
Bella seemed equally annoyed. She openly mocked the fact that someone from a lower-ranking family in the same faction hadn’t even shown their face.
Wait. Maybe she was just bored.
“When we get back, I’m definitely telling Grandfather. Florian has completely lost their minds~”
“P-Please allow me to apologize in his stead, my lady…!”
“Sure. Apologize. But not to me—to Grandfather~”
Thanks to her, a small smile finally appeared on the princess’s face. Bella’s bluntness sometimes cut straight through problems.
Since none of us three particularly liked this place, we decided to return to our lodgings as soon as the meal ended. But… what was this? They were trying to keep us here no matter what?
“Your Highness, please allow me to prepare some tea as a token of apology!”
“There’s something I must tell you…”
“Y-Your Highness?”
The princess seemed to think it was just excessive politeness, but something felt off to me. It was as if they didn’t want us to leave.
—I smell something interesting!
‘Oh?’
Then we were definitely leaving. If Beres found something interesting, it usually meant an opportunity for me. When the countess kept insisting, I spoke up to the princess, whose resolve was starting to waver.
“Your Highness, your promise with the young lady takes priority.”
“Ah… I’m sorry, Countess Florian. I already have plans with the young lady.”
That “plan” was the promise I’d made earlier outside the estate when Bella had whined that we’d eat and leave right away. Before the countess could stop us, Bella and I pushed open the doors and stepped outside.
And there, waiting for us, were people we never expected to see.
We had run straight into the First Prince’s faction. Even the Count of Florian was there, bowing to them.
The princess’s face, which had just emerged from the building, went rigid like stone.
—Aslan. What’s going on right now?
‘Hmm… It’s simple. Two banquets happened at the same time in different places. Our side was hosted by the countess, while the First Prince’s side was hosted by the count himself.’
—Didn’t he say he was busy earlier?
‘Exactly.’
I glanced at the count and countess. Both of them looked completely blindsided. Apparently, neither our group nor the First Prince’s faction had expected the other to finish eating so quickly and come outside.
—Our milk cow looks pretty pissed.
‘She has every right to be.’
I scanned the First Prince’s group. The prince himself wasn’t there. In other words, they had treated a bunch of mere nobles as more important than the princess. Reina bit her lip hard, her fists clenched tight.
Then a familiar face approached and bowed to us on behalf of the group. It was Leisha Bisain, the academy’s potion professor, with her short dark-blue hair and ever-present smile.
“It’s been a while, Your Highness. Have you had dinner yet?”
She didn’t answer. How could she? She had just been openly humiliated in front of the First Prince’s faction and all the Florian household servants.
Leisha smirked at the trembling princess, then turned to Bella instead. If she thought she could provoke her the same way, she was sorely mistaken.
“Hello, my lady.”
“……”
Is that dog barking…?
Bella dug at her ear with a finger, then blew on it.
“Kyaa! W-What are you doing?!”
“…?”
She didn’t even spare her a second glance. It was so very like her. Leisha looked dumbfounded before approaching me instead. She probably couldn’t bring herself to argue with someone of higher status than herself.
The woman looked down at me with an arrogant expression. But the only word that came out of her mouth was—
“Aagh!”
“What the hell are you still doing here?”
Bella’s kick sent her sprawling. Leisha stared up in disbelief, but Bella just went back to picking at her ear.
“W-Well then, we’ll be on our way. Thank you for the meal, Count Florian. I’ll be sure to mention this to His Highness the Prince.”
“Ahem. Y-Yes, of course.”
With that, Leisha and the nine members of the First Prince’s faction left the estate.
The real problem was what remained. A heavy silence and cold tension filled the garden. The count and countess looked visibly nervous. After all, by proper etiquette, the count should have hosted the princess himself. Instead, he had used work as an excuse to entertain lower-ranking nobles.
“It seems you thought I was easy to slight.”
“Your Highness, that’s not— I thought His Highness the First Prince would be coming as well…”
“Watch your tongue!!! Everyone in the empire knows that my eldest brother went on vacation to the west with Father!”
The Count of Florian bowed deeply. His wife and all the servants lowered their heads as well. But I could see the discontent on their faces even as they bowed.
“W-We’re sorry…!”
“Please forgive us, Your Highness!”
Their words were apologetic, but none of them actually looked sorry. It was as if they were thinking, “What can she even do about it?”
It was a clear reminder of where Princess Reina currently stood.
‘She still has a long way to go.’
That said, seeing this made me want to cause some trouble…
—Ooh. Feels like something fun is about to happen!
I thought it over for a moment, then stepped in front of the princess with the calmest smile I could manage.
“Let’s head back, Your Highness.”
“Kael, move! This is an insult to the imperial family!”
“That’s right, that’s right. Insulting royalty is a serious crime! If we were still in the capital, we could’ve executed them on the spot~”
Great. Instead of helping, she was just making things worse. When I looked at Bella, she stuck out her tongue and winked at me. Still, she wasn’t completely useless. Her blunt remark about it being a capital offense and warranting immediate execution had made the bowed heads go stiff with fear.
I glanced at Linnell. I suddenly wondered what she was doing. She was standing off to the side, covering her mouth as she laughed. She seemed to be enjoying the situation immensely. When our eyes met, she gestured for me to come over.
When I approached—
“You’re coming tonight, right?”
“Huh?”
What was this all of a sudden?
“If we do it tonight, it’s a hundred percent guaranteed pregnancy♥”
…I really had nothing to say to that. I memorized the location of her room, told her I understood, then returned to the princess. I coaxed her into leaving and talking about it tomorrow.
“Your Highness, you trust me, right? Let’s just go back for now.”
“…Very well. I’m tired anyway. Let’s return.”
Sighs of relief came from all around. Bella’s comment about insulting royalty must have scared them more than I thought. Even though they knew they’d done wrong, they still came out to see us off to the carriage. The princess didn’t acknowledge any of their greetings and climbed straight inside. Bella did the same.
Since my rank was lower, I accepted the farewells.
“We’ll be taking our leave now.”
“…Yes. Safe travels.”
The carriage door closed. Once we were some distance away, Bella suddenly burst into loud laughter.
“Kya! That was hilarious! Did you see their faces, Kael? They looked like they were about to die! Hehe.”
“…They did.”
They really hadn’t known what to do with themselves. It had been an amusing sight, but I couldn’t bring myself to laugh along with Bella. The princess’s expression was still dark.
But Bella, who could be just as oblivious as Reina at times, asked with a grin, “Did you not find it funny, Princess Reina?”
“I… don’t know.”
“Hmm~ I guess I was too soft. I should’ve made an example out of one of them and cut off their head!”
Only then did the princess’s face soften a little. She seemed slightly comforted by the fact that Bella had spoken up for her.
“Thank you, Bella.”
“By the way, why did you suggest we just leave, Kael?”
Bella looked at me with sparkling eyes. She clearly sensed I had some interesting plan in mind.
“Come on, tell us already. What’s the plan?”
Even the princess leaned in curiously, just like Bella. Ah… I couldn’t exactly say I was planning to go back and fuck them all into submission. Still, I asked anyway, even though I knew the answer.
“Can’t I just slip away for a bit by myself?”
“No, you can’t.”
“Don’t even think about leaving this carriage until you explain yourself.”
Then I had no choice. I’d have to thoroughly put them in their place first to reestablish the hierarchy, then head out on the expedition afterward.
Should I go wild for once?
—Ooooh! Let’s go, let’s go!