The Guard's Side - The Sudden Sensation of Lips

The sensation of lips suddenly rushing forward. Sweet, with a salty tang. Lumiela's expression after having her first kiss stolen was ruined beyond all description.

"Bweh...?"

Lumiela's face was flushed crimson all the way to her ears. Her eyes had gone completely unfocused, as if her soul had fled her body, and even then her mouth instinctively chased after mine, craving more of that sensation. It was a reaction close to passing out entirely.

When Lumiela lost consciousness, the power of her Magic Eye naturally weakened along with her. Seizing that opening, I carefully lifted my face and took in the devastation I had wrought.

"Haa... haa..."

The collapsed Lumiela's face was drenched in raw pleasure.

"...Uh, um."

Honestly, I didn't expect the reaction to be this intense.

It looked like I'd gone too far. Seeing Lumiela so thoroughly broken that she couldn't regain her senses, I gently laid her on the bed.

I could have fled right then, but...

That's obviously impossible right now.

Escaping the imperial palace would require Lumiela's help, so I decided to wait until she came around.

I glanced around the room.

I couldn't see it clearly before, but... it's smaller than I expected?

For a princess's quarters it felt surprisingly modest. Naturally the palace interior overflowed with luxurious decorations, yet it seemed to hold fewer personal belongings than I'd imagined.

Maybe because servants prepare everything for her?

At her station she probably had no need to keep things herself. Just as I was about to examine the room a little more thoroughly—

"Ian?"

A chill shot down my spine. Lumiela had woken up.

I endured a full hour of scolding.

"Sigh, you really are..."

Lumiela's face was still flushed from the kiss earlier.

In truth, the reason she had felt enough pleasure to faint wasn't only her sensitive body; the overwhelming 'sense of taboo' from our relationship had played a major part.

Kissing her stepbrother. The act of defying the natural order delivered her an enormous wave of immorality.

Touching her lips, Lumiela unconsciously replayed the sensation.

It really was sweet.

Her very first kiss had carried a faint salty edge, yet its finish had been unbearably sweet.

But for the other person to be her own brother...

Complex emotions swirled inside her, until one realization struck and she nearly jumped out of her skin.

Wait—the situation earlier...

She had definitely ordered me to 'speak honestly' through her Magic Eye.

The fact that I had kissed her in that state meant...

No, it can't be! W-we're siblings.

She took a long, steadying breath and barely calmed herself.

No matter how I might feel about her, that was absolutely impossible.

Family... we absolutely cannot do that.

Yet without realizing it, the corners of her mouth had begun to curve upward.

Regardless of her expression, Lumiela spoke to me in the most solemn tone she could manage.

"Ian... what happened earlier never occurred. You must never do that again, understood?"

"Yes..."

I barely ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠got through that.

In name only I was her 'brother,' after all. Had a stranger kissed the princess, immediate execution would have been perfectly reasonable.

What remained was how to deal with me. Originally Lumiela had planned to send me outside the palace, but the risk that I might flee made her devise another solution.

A way to keep me by her side for as long as possible.

"Ian, you definitely said you came from a servant background, correct?"

"......?"

Watching me nod, the corners of Lumiela's mouth drew a graceful arc.

The next day.

After lightly enjoying breakfast, Lumiela walked toward the Moon Palace.

A single figure trailed right behind her, sticking close at her heels.

"How is it? The place that will be your home from now on?"

"......"

The figure shook its head at Lumiela's words.

"How dare a guard talk back to a princess...?"

"......?"

"It was a joke. Hehe."

Fuck.

The guard—no, I—let out a quiet sigh inside.

The 'guard' position I had obtained yesterday through what was essentially Lumiela's thinly veiled threat.

I wasn't familiar with the imperial administrative system, so I hadn't expected it to go through so easily, yet...

"Noona, you believe me, right?"

After that single sentence, Lumiela really did turn me into her personal guard in just one day.

The overwhelming authority and status of the First Princess. Thanks especially to her Magic Eye, nearly everyone in the palace except for a handful of key figures now believed I had always been her guard.

How the hell did it come to this...

Naturally I wasn't in my original form. With Lumiela's support and the use of disguise magic tools, my appearance had changed dramatically.

"Mm, you're still cute."

Lumiela stroked my hair without a care for the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stares around us.

My current look was rather unique: deep brown hair paired with a strange half-mask and outfit. At first we'd altered my face with a magic tool, but Lumiela kept rejecting it, so we eventually compromised on the mask.

Naturally, I looked less like a princess's personal guard and more like a bizarre performer from some avant-garde theater troupe. Still, this was the result of my hard-fought negotiations.

Recalling yesterday's events, goosebumps rose across my skin.

At first she told me to become a maid.

Before the guard position, she'd suggested I try on the maid role first. With my small frame and the disguise tools, she could have turned me into an adorable girl on the spot.

A method that would keep me safe while satisfying Lumiela's own 'personal interests.'

Of course I had refused with every fiber of my being.

I'd rather bite my tongue and die.

That was the one thing I could never allow.

After several heated arguments we settled on the guard position, which I planned to resign from once Alex ascended the throne.

The problem was...

That was never going to happen.

The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠empire would fall within five years, so Alex would never take the throne.

I couldn't tell Lumiela the truth, which left me horribly frustrated.

I'll play guard for now and run when the chance appears.

My own power was far too weak to survive long in the imperial palace.

The one thing I could still believe in and rely on was...

I glanced down at my waist. A smooth scabbard rested there.

Last night. The longsword I had obtained under the pretext of becoming a guard.

Finally.

It had been so long since I'd held a real blade.

While I was quietly rejoicing, Lumiela spoke in a somewhat dissatisfied voice.

"...What are you looking at?"

"Ah, nothing."

"For the princess's guard to be this indifferent toward the person he should be protecting... I suppose punishment is in order?"

Lumiela wore a playful smile as she seized my wrist.

"Huh?"

"Come along. I have something I want to make you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠do."

...What now?

I felt uneasy, but her strength left me no choice but to be dragged along.

Just as she was pulling me off somewhere—

"First Princess...?"

A delicate voice came from behind Lumiela.

The speaker was the Fourth Princess, Evangeline.

Evangeline was in a state of rare, genuine panic. Her usual polite mask had shattered; her expression was severely distorted.

Her gaze was locked on the 'hand' clasped between Lumiela and me.

"W-what is this...!"

Evangeline flew into a rage.

The platinum-blonde beauty immediately began scolding me.

"H-how dare you lay a hand on the princess's body?"

Regardless of the circumstances, an outsider touching a member of the imperial family was an insult of the most horrific degree to her.

A grave offense for which immediate execution would be perfectly reasonable.

Evangeline truly believed that.

Her extreme fury left me feeling awkward more than anything. Rather than anger, I was simply taken aback by how childish she seemed.

She resembles Lumiela but in a younger form. This must be Evangeline...

Unlike her depiction in the novel, the current Evangeline was... distinctly emotional.

In the original story she came across as cold-blooded or outright psychopathic... Is it because this is still the past timeline?

When I offered no reaction, Evangeline stamped her feet and continued her tirade.

"I'll take this insolent wretch away and execute him at on—"

"Evangeline."

"Y-yes?"

Lumiela was rarely, but truly, angry.

"What exactly do you think you're doing?"

"Heh, is this all you can manage?"

"Ugh... s-stop..."

After training that left her nearly exhausted, Bianca collapsed on the spot.

Under Serena's so-called education, she had begun physical conditioning alongside her magic training.

"If you possess a Magic Eye as well, shouldn't your body be strong? How is it that even after 'awakening' you're still so much weaker than Olivia?"

In reality Bianca's physical abilities surpassed those of an ordinary human, yet for a Magic Eye bearer her stamina was rather lacking.

"I-I don't know... I'm good at magic, not this..."

Bianca grumbled and fainted.

Staring down at the collapsed girl with a pitying look, Serena let out a sigh.

"I wish I had a cheat-like 'ability' such as the Magic Eye... but that would be asking for too much, wouldn't it?"

Unconsciously Serena's gaze fell to her own wrist. There, a 'tattoo' visible to no one but herself was engraved.