The One Who Would Give His Life to Save Me #3
After Leni’s true identity was revealed, her treatment improved significantly. Yet one thing remained unchanged: she still refused to let servants into her room.
Emil thought that was for the best. The servants were highly likely to report Leni’s every move to Alon Ricgard.
That was why Emil continued to serve her in the role of a priest, attending to her needs much like a personal attendant.
Today, he was combing her hair.
Even though Leni always grew shy at Emil’s touch, she never insisted on doing this particular task herself.
Her red curls cascaded beautifully all the way to her waist—far too long and intricate for her to manage alone.
Emil applied fragrant oil to a comb made of deer antler and carefully worked through her hair, strand by strand, so they wouldn’t tangle.
“Does it not pull at all, Your Highness?”
“Mm… it’s fine.”
Leni gave a small nod.
“I’m glad.”
Because her hair was so long, the oil on the comb wore off quickly. Emil reapplied it and swept the comb through once more.
“Hey. I want to try combing hair too.”
“You, Your Highness? As I told you last time, that’s impossible. Your hair is so long that doing it yourself would be…”
“No, not my hair. I meant yours, Priest.”
Leni shook her head.
“My hair?”
At those words, he reached up and touched his own locks.
Emil’s hair had a slight natural wave and was loosely tied back after growing out a bit.
If he untied it, there would certainly be enough length to comb through…
“Yes. I want to comb your hair just once. Your hair is so beautiful.”
“Is that so? That’s the first I’ve heard of it.”
“It’s true. It’s pure white and lovely—like snow fallen upon your head.”
Emil’s hair was the same snow-white as Pidea’s. She had said there were quite a few others like it, but it was still a rare color.
“Then go ahead and try it now.”
“Huh? Is that really okay?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t it be? Besides, I’ve just finished combing Your Highness’s hair…”
Emil gave Leni’s hair one final smooth stroke from crown to tip, then neatly arranged it. After that, he sat down beside her.
Leni stood up, preparing herself.
“Um, so first I need to put oil on the comb…”
“Before that, you should undo my hair first.”
“Ah, right.”
Leni fumbled a little as she untied the cloth holding Emil’s hair. The silver strands slowly cascaded down.
The sensation of her small fingers slipping through his hair felt pleasant.
When he glanced sideways at her, he found her adorable—flustered yet completely focused on his hair.
“By the way, what were you talking about with Sir Neil earlier?”
Emil asked a gentle question to ease Leni’s tension.
She paused, glanced around cautiously, then lowered her voice.
“We were saying that we still need to be careful of Alon Ricgard.”
When Emil reacted, he felt her fingers flinch slightly through his scalp.
He asked in a hushed tone, “Is he still plotting something? But is that even possible? The mastermind of the rebellion, Lord Damon, is dead. And for Alon to declare himself king… that’s simply impossible.”
“Yeah, that’s what Neil said too. But…”
Leni continued combing slowly as she spoke.
“Priest, have you heard that they’re holding a jousting tournament in Iredain?”
“A jousting tournament, you say?”
“Yes. To celebrate Daisy’s tenth birthday.”
Emil frowned.
He definitely remembered Daisy mentioning something like that. She had proudly declared that she was now almost half an adult.
Come to think of it, there had been noticeably more outsiders in the streets lately.
But could they really go through with it…?
“Still, wasn’t that something planned before the rebellion? After such a major incident, it doesn’t seem likely they’d proceed as scheduled.”
“That’s the thing—they are.”
Leni explained.
“First of all, Alon’s treason hasn’t been made public. There’s a high chance they won’t investigate it for a while. So in the current situation, with my sister about to ascend the throne, canceling the jousting tournament would only draw more attention to Iredain’s internal troubles.”
“Ah… I suppose that makes sense.”
If he were to compare it to his previous life, it was like a giant corporation whose CEO was on the verge of being ousted deciding not to cancel a major event because it would tank the stock price—so they pushed forward anyway.
“When you put it that way, it’s not that strange. But what exactly is Sir Neil worried about?”
“Well… Neil seemed skeptical about the tournament itself from the beginning. After all, it was being prepared right when they were planning a rebellion. The timing is too convenient.”
Leni murmured as if lost in thought.
“So Neil suggested that we should just leave Iredain entirely. The political situation in Myrdin is too unstable right now… If I, who am officially recorded as dead, return, it would be incredibly dangerous. He said one option is to ride straight to Locni, even if the road is risky.”
In truth, that would have been the correct choice from the start.
Regardless of the pardon for the rebellion, since Alon Ricgard had already tried to harm Leni once, it would have been safer for her to leave Iredain. The only reason they hadn’t was the fear of how Alon—now branded a traitor—might react.
“But if we do that, Alon might ignore the whole treason business and just imprison both Neil and me.”
In other words, Leni was acting as a kind of collateral guaranteeing Alon Ricgard’s pardon. He couldn’t touch her recklessly, but neither could she be taken away until the situation stabilized. It was an awkward stalemate.
“According to Neil, once things settle in Myrdin, my sister will bring soldiers to retrieve me. He said that would be the safest way.”
“That does seem reasonable.”
“Then… if that happens, could you come with me, Priest?”
At Leni’s sudden question, Emil turned his head slightly to look at her.
She wore her usual expressionless face, but he could see her biting her lip tightly as she waited for his answer.
“Of course I will.”
“…Really?”
“Yes. Am I not Your Highness’s exclusive priest?”
At his reply, a faint smile bloomed on Leni’s lips.
“Thank you… Priest.”
She resumed combing his hair.
Enjoying the pleasant sensation against his scalp, Emil turned over their earlier conversation in his mind.
If Alon Ricgard was plotting yet another scheme… what could he possibly do?
Emil had neither the military force to suppress a rebellion nor the ability to bring back a traitor’s head.
What could a mere priest do in a power struggle between such lofty figures?
Yet a thought brushed across Emil’s mind.
…No. That’s not true.
There was definitely something he could do.
In fact, it might be the only thing he could do.
If Sir Neil saved Leni with his sword and brute strength… then I’ll do it my way.
Wasn’t that exactly where Emil’s true talent lay?
He had always been far better at seducing people with reason and manipulating them than at wielding a sword in battle.
Cately.
The name that rose in his mind at that moment was the lady of Iredain.
The servants of Iredain Castle could sense that their mistress’s temper had grown strangely sharp lately.
It wasn’t surprising.
Lady Cately had always been a meticulous person.
To become entangled in a rebellion on top of that…
Even if it had been overlooked for now, the pressure she must be feeling was no ordinary burden.
With a grand event like the jousting tournament looming, it was only natural for her nerves to be razor-sharp.
From morning until evening, she sat at her desk handling a mountain of documents.
During that time, one of the maids caused a small accident.
The floor was slippery, and she lost her balance, tumbling straight toward Cately’s desk.
“Kyaa…!”
But the one who screamed was not the fallen maid.
Lady Cately let out a coquettish cry like a maiden, startling everyone in the room.
“M-M-My lady! I-I’m so sorry!”
“…It’s fine. Be more careful next time. Now go and attend to your duties.”
Everyone had expected her to be scolded, but instead Cately reacted with obvious panic, waving her hands to shoo them all out.
“What are you all staring at? Leave at once. Go!”
“Y-Yes, my lady!”
The female servants hurried out, while the male servants recalled Lady Cately’s earlier scream and smirked to themselves.
They would surely gossip among themselves later with lewd jokes about what kind of sounds the lady must make in bed.
“Don’t you think so too?”
“Hngh… enough with the nonsense… ah.”
Emil, crouched beneath the desk, smiled playfully and once again buried his face happily between Cately’s legs.
“You really must be careful. Even I was startled. To make such a lewd sound…”
“Lewd… hah… what are you saying…!”
Cately’s skirt was hiked all the way up to her waist. Under the desk, Emil was eagerly pleasuring her most secret place with his tongue.
“Did you not realize how obscene that cry was? Everyone must have found it strange.”
“That’s why I told you to stop… ngh.”
Emil happily delved deeper, slipping his tongue inside her.
“Aah… Emil, please…!”
Cately’s body trembled violently as she braced herself against the desk and moaned.
She was desperately trying to hold back so her voice wouldn’t carry outside.
“How could I possibly stay still with such a lewd sight before my eyes? You might as well ask a wolf to refuse fresh meat.”
“But there are people around…!”
“Then you must stay quiet.”
Emil gently bit the swollen nub protruding between her plump folds. Immediately, a sweet cry burst from her lips.
“Nnghhuu…!”
“I told you to be quiet.”
Cately clamped a hand over her mouth, her whole body shaking uncontrollably.
Whether from pleasure or overwhelming sensation, even soft sobs could be heard.
Beyond the desk, her disheveled face was visible.
Her eyes were glazed over, and drool trickled from between the fingers covering her mouth.
“Hic… I have so much work…”
“That’s exactly why I came. Work hard while I pleasure you.”
“Haa… it feels so good… how am I supposed to work like this?”
Between her legs, a mixture of Emil’s saliva and her own nectar dripped all the way down to the floor beneath the chair.
There was no way she could ask a maid to clean that up.
Emil sucked on her with delight.
“Haaaaah…!”
It was truly a beautiful sound.