Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Chapter 24 - Peliaru #2
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About 15 minutes later.
Luther, sitting upright in the chair, spoke with eyes full of disbelief.
“Aru, is this really the best option?”
“Of course it is, the best by far.”
[Master, stop fidgeting. We're in the middle of makeupㅋㅋ.]
That was right.
Luther was currently getting makeup done.
And not just any makeup, but makeup for cross-dressing as a woman!
“To hide a grain of sand, hide it on the beach, right?”
[Hiding a tree in the forest, something like that. Cultural difference, I suppose.]
The Plum Blossom Palace, Peliaru Princess's residence, was essentially filled only with women.
So, disguise as a woman and go out.
It sounded reasonable at first glance.
A man appearing in a place full of only women would stand out like crazy, but if just a woman passed by, they'd think, 'A woman, huh. As expected, lots of women in the Plum Blossom Palace,' and let it slide.
'But that means actually making me cross-dress?'
He had sat down swept up in the momentum, and yes, he was getting makeup done, but was this really the right choice?
“Wow, look at those long lashes. Luther, you know your eyelashes are super long?”
[Peliaru Princess, for Master's lips, wouldn't this color be better than that one?]
“Oh, perfect. You've got taste?”
[I do a bit.]
And so, Aru and Integra—who had been at odds (well, really just Integra unilaterally disliking her)—were now laughing together, ha ha ho ho.
They just clicked, huh?
[Let's try this one too.]
“Pfft, good idea. I've never used this one before, but we'll use it here.”
Aru said that with an extremely excited face as she picked up some mysterious makeup product, and Integra burst out laughing openly as always.
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
What the hell are they trying to put on my face?
No, beyond that, are they seriously doing this?
This isn't just messing around, is it?
As Luther's disbelief deepened, Aru Princess pulled out a wig this time.
“Now, shall we finish up?”
Her smiling face was so lovable, but Luther involuntarily swallowed hard.
And then another three minutes or so.
After putting on the wig and fine-tuning it, Aru and Integra clapped and cheered.
“Wow, it's really perfect. Quick, look in the mirror. Hurry.”
[Master, it suits youㅋㅋㅋ so wellㅋ.]
[Look in the mirror quick!]
Their excited laughter made him deeply uneasy, but Luther turned to the mirror with a bit of expectation.
And he unwittingly said,
“This is…… me?”
It wasn't bad.
No, it was actually pretty good.
Luther Lightseeker was handsome either way.
Moreover, Luther's face wasn't so much ruggedly handsome as it had an androgynous charm, so the cross-dressing suited him surprisingly well.
A cool beauty with androgynous vibes.
A cold city woman.
“Phew, we showed some real skill here.”
[It's because Master's base material is good.]
[Our Master is handsome, as expected.]
Aru and Integra shrugged and praised him, but Luther soon spotted one fatal flaw.
“Too…… tall?”
That was right.
Luther was tall.
Precisely 191 cm.
When he first opened his eyes, he had been about 189 cm, but through continuous upgrades pursuing a more combat-perfect body, he had grown 2 cm taller.
So, 191 cm.
Tall.
Too tall.
Even among men, it was tall, but among women, this was just giant territory.
Of course, tall women existed in the world, but the problem was they were extremely rare.
'Passing by, it'd definitely draw eyes no matter what.'
Everyone would stare for sure.
No, the moment they saw him, they'd think, 'Was there a maid that tall in the Plum Blossom Palace?' and get suspicious.
“This won't work, will it?”
At Luther's words, Aru nodded immediately.
“Yeah, I figured.”
[As expected.]
“Not just tall, but broad shoulders too.”
[And no maid outfit would fit that build anyway.]
“Hmm, yeah, guess we have to give up on the cross-dressing.”
[Exactly, no choice but to give up.]
Aru and Integra were going back and forth, but their faces clearly said they had known from the start it wouldn't work.
“No, then why the hell.”
At Luther's question, Aru giggled ehehe and said with that lovable face again.
“But it was fun, right?”
[Exactly, yeah.]
[ㅋㅋㅋ I recorded everything.]
[Have to watch it before bed tonight too.]
These wicked little things.
As Luther's face soured, Aru giggled ehehe again and quickly pulled out makeup remover and cotton, while Integra acted cute.
[You're not mad, right?]
[Our Master has an ocean of magnanimity, so no way he's mad.]
[I'll hug Master's arm tight later. Okay?]
“Should I hug your arm too? Arm?”
With Aru saying that too, Luther, out of words, clamped his mouth shut and closed his eyes.
He could swear he heard Integra and Aru stifling laughs, but it must be his imagination.
Anyway, another ten minutes or so passed like that.
Fully back to his original appearance, Luther let out a long sigh before asking Aru,
“So, Aru, any other way?”
Surely they weren't so immersed in cross-dressing play without even a backup plan.
At Luther's well-founded question, Aru nodded right away.
“Yes, there's a secret passage. Actually, I was saving it for my next escape, but emergency calls for it.”
With that, Aru stood up, sat on the floor, and pointed under the bed.
“It's a secret passage leading outside. It connects to other parts of the palace too…… but it's complicated, so I'll draw you a map.”
And Aru actually started sketching a rough map on some paper.
But instead of looking at the map, Luther looked at Aru and asked,
“Hey, Aru.”
“Yes, Luther.”
“Isn't this…… classified?”
“Right, even my maids don't know about it.”
He had suspected, and it was true.
A secret passage known only to royalty, prepared for emergencies.
At this level, it wasn't just any secret.
Knowing this passage meant one could infiltrate the palace from outside—in fact, straight into Peliaru Princess's quarters, one of the royals.
“But it's Luther, right? My lifesaver.”
So, no need to keep it secret.
She could tell Luther.
Aru looked up with her blue eyes, meeting Luther's purple ones straight on.
And Luther understood.
Aru wasn't acting short-sighted.
She truly trusted Luther, that's why she was telling him this.
“Thank you for trusting me.”
“Ehehe, well…… you're the first man to enter my bedroom, and a candidate for groom too.”
“Huh?”
Luther unwittingly asked back, but instead of answering, Aru blushed her cheeks red, ehehe'd, then handed him the map and said,
“Go before it's too late. The maids will come soon.”
[The fairy puffing her cheeks since earlier is worrying too.]
Startled by the added message magic in the voice, Luther glanced over and spotted the mini Integra, just as Aru said, cheeks puffed out with a dissatisfied face.
[Right?]
Since it was message magic again, Luther just nodded once, and Aru laughed karururu again before saying,
“Then, Luther, see you tomorrow.”
“Yes, tomorrow.”
This time, not as a bath intruder, but officially as a royal benefactor with the Silver Grace Tablet.
Receiving Aru's farewell, Luther crawled under the bed and immediately found the secret passage.
And another minute or so.
In the dim secret passage, Luther re-equipped his nanosuit and activated the night vision on his faceplate to scan the interior.
It was basically a single path, not very wide.
Wide enough that two men passing would have to bump shoulders, something like that?
“Integra, you saw the map? Guide me please.”
[Understood. But first, Master, one thing to keep in mind.]
“What?”
[The Peliaru Princess.]
[She seemed nice for a moment, but she's a real fox.]
[Be careful, Master. Got it?]
“Y-yeah.”
But did she have to say that while hugging my arm tight?
In such a narrow space too?
Integra, who always talked big but had zero resistance to the real thing, blushed as usual, and Luther blushed a little too.
About 7 seconds later.
As Luther and Integra, finally regaining composure, advanced silently,
[Master, life sign detected ahead.]
[Stop for a moment!]
At Integra's voice in his head, Luther immediately halted and lowered his stance.
[One life sign moving at the intersection.]
[Not coming this way based on direction, but in 5 seconds, it will pass through Master's field of view.]
Narrowing his brow at Integra's words, Luther thought.
This place was a secret passage known only to royalty.
Yet someone was passing through it now?
Who?
And why.
[3]
[2]
[1]
At the end of Integra's countdown, a woman passed into Luther's view.
Her face was properly hidden by a black cloth veil over nose and mouth, but even from the exposed parts, she was clearly a stunning beauty.
A black dress that fully revealed her voluptuous figure, a black shawl over her shoulders, and red hair made even clearer by the lantern in her hand.
The woman completely passed out of Luther's sight.
And now Luther had two reasons to tail her.
One, their destinations overlapped. Meaning, the path she was on led outside the palace.
Two, the woman's identity.
[Master, my guess right?]
'Yeah, Integra.'
Reina de Arets.
Peliaru Princess's stepmother and Queen of Malkuth Kingdom.
One of the three spy candidates, a person of interest.
* * *
Reina de Arets.
37 years old.
But her beauty, once hailed as Malkuth Kingdom's top beauty, hadn't faded a bit.
No, it was no exaggeration to say she had become even more beautiful.
'If just looking at appearances, I'd believe she and Aru were sisters.'
And not ones with much age difference.
'Combat-wise, she's the weakest of the three spy candidates. But power-wise, she's the strongest.'
With the king fallen, her influence reached every corner of the palace, no exaggeration.
'And she's not weak in combat just because she's the weakest of the three. As a descendant of the sea witch clan, she's extremely proficient in all sorts of magic.'
But the real highlight was her beauty-based seduction.
The mind control technique 'Witch's Temptation' was so powerful it ensnared not just the opposite sex, but same sex too, making them captives of Queen Reina.
''Witch's Temptation' is a kind of evil eye magic. Meaning, avoid eye contact and you can dodge it to some extent.'
But not completely.
Get close, and you're exposed to Queen Reina's pheromones.
'Keep distance, magic rains down; close in, pheromones muddle the mind.'
In a way, she was the trickiest of the three spy candidates: Queen Reina.
'No wonder the three spy candidates are southern faction bosses for a reason.'
Even the weakest, Queen Reina, was a powerhouse that low-tier dragonkin like Valboa or Astra couldn't even dream of challenging.
[But Master.]
'Hm?'
[Way more detailed info than on the High Priest.]
[Next it'll be three sizes—wait, you don't know them, do you?]
'N-no way.'
Integra glared daggers as Luther coughed awkwardly and replied, but given the situation, she didn't press further.
[Anyway, Master, worth tailing. We have to use the same path to get out anyway.]
Just as Integra said.
They couldn't exit the passage without letting Queen Reina go first.
'Follow slowly.'
Instead of the real thing, Luther tracked the life sign on his HUD from a safe distance, tailing Queen Reina.
Another twenty minutes or so like that.
Queen Reina emerged from the forest exit somewhat away from the palace, glanced around once, then quickened her pace.
[Keeps looking back.]
[Seems anxious.]
Luther thought so too.
Queen Reina's steps carried not just anxiety, but urgency too.
And at a small pond.
Luther, surveilling Queen Reina from afar using the faceplate's zoom function, suddenly held his breath.
A man in a black mask.
The man from the High Priest's mirror appeared before Queen Reina.