The Dragon Princess's Desperate Bargain
Floris Academy was hailed as the empire’s premier educational institution, a gathering place for the most promising talents of the Barmark Empire—those between the ages of twenty and twenty-five.
But in reality, it was little more than a lavish social playground for the second-generation nobility.
Of course, it was a microcosm of the political world where talent carried weight, yet high ability and intellect did not necessarily make the place refined or elegant. The smarter the person, the less they could tolerate hearing others gossip about them—it was simply human nature’s inherent pettiness.
On the surface they acted refined, but behind closed doors they spread countless secret rumors with vicious, cunning precision to eliminate anyone who stood in their way. There was a saying for it: the higher the social class, the more meticulously and deviously they buried others.
After a dragon-race woman had shown up at the dining hall and engaged in what should have been a perfectly dignified conversation, the academy was once again buzzing—centered entirely around me.
“Did you hear? They say that Eros fellow completely subdued the Dragonis Kingdom’s princess in the student cafeteria yesterday.”
“Subdued? That’s putting it mildly. I heard the princess turned bright red with shame and ran away. What on earth did he do to her? Don’t tell me… even the princess has fallen to Eros…!”
They chattered away whether I was present or not.
Whenever I walked down the corridor, they whispered behind my back. When I wasn’t around, they gathered in groups and let their imaginations run wild about the dragon princess.
Wasn’t it beautiful?
Countless rumors—now so distorted they were unrecognizable—had flooded the academy, all revolving around a single topic.
It had started with the claim that I had instantly overpowered a dragon-race student.
Now the tales had grown tails of their own, claiming she had submitted to me and entered a secret, intimate relationship.
Why the hell does this keep happening?
I had simply shrugged my shoulders yesterday in the cafeteria when the young nobles asked why the dragon woman—Elteumia—had run away. I hadn’t felt the need to explain myself. Staying silent seemed like the smarter move if I wanted to preserve the aura of reverence they held for me.
But thanks to that silence, people’s imaginations had gone into overdrive. Before I knew it, I had been repackaged as the man who could bend even a proud foreign princess to his will.
This… was dangerous.
It was exactly the behavior of a villain.
I had been trying to flip my reputation to avoid any death flags, but my own actions were tearing that plan apart.
I was sitting in my room, clutching my head and wondering what to do, when—
BANG—!!
The door flew open violently. A dragon-race woman stormed in, her face flushed crimson, breathing hard.
Her blue hair stood on end, and the tail behind her slammed against the floor, openly displaying her foul mood.
“Eros Brioche…! Get out here right now. We need to talk!”
She was visibly agitated, but she was still a princess. Noticing the eyes of others, she quickly glanced around before stepping fully inside and slamming the door shut.
…This is the men’s dormitory, you know.
“I don’t remember inviting you.”
“Shut up! This isn’t the time for that!”
“…What a willful princess you are.”
Elteumia tried to approach me, still unable to calm her excitement.
But Lise rose to her feet and stepped in front of me, blocking her path.
Facing Lise, Elteumia let out a snort of disbelief.
“What is this pathetic human? I have no interest in slaves, so move aside.”
Elteumia looked Lise up and down, issuing a clear threat. In what she probably thought was an intimidating stance, she thrust out her chest—whether it was the front or back was hard to tell—and tried to look imposing.
“Lise.”
At my call, Lise flinched and turned her head.
“Step outside. Don’t let anyone in until our conversation is over.”
“…Pardon?”
Lise’s eyes shook violently, as if an earthquake had struck them.
Her gaze darted back and forth between Elteumia’s flushed face and mine.
“I said, go outside.”
When I repeated the order in a dry tone, Lise lowered her head in resignation.
With a face full of discontent, she slowly left the room.
Once the door closed, I turned my gaze back to Elteumia, who was still fuming.
“Explain yourself right now, Eros Brioche.”
“Explain what?”
“Do you even know what kind of rumors are spreading around the academy because of what you said to me yesterday?!”
Elteumia demanded an answer, but I simply picked at my ear with a bored expression.
“What rumors? Oh, you mean the one about me subduing the dragon princess?”
“Yes…!”
“Or the one where the dragon princess who submitted to me offered her body to me?”
“…Huh? No…!”
“Or maybe the rumor that the dragon princess secretly came to my room last night for a private conversation? Ah, that one’s basically true now, isn’t it?”
“W-wait a second! The rumors have gotten that twisted?!”
“…Well, yeah.”
“If you knew that, why didn’t you say anything?! Go to the students right now and explain it clearly with your own mouth! Tell them it’s all false—that you just made a crude joke and I got angry, that’s all!”
Her desperate cry echoed through the room.
Why was I acting like this? The rumors were just as troublesome for me.
But seeing her aggrieved expression somehow stirred a mischievous urge inside me.
I put on a relaxed face, crossed my legs comfortably, and rested my chin on my hand.
“Why should I?”
At my retort, Elteumia’s mouth fell open. She stared at me with wide eyes, unable to believe what she had just heard.
“What…? Why? Aren’t these rumors horrible for you too? Your reputation is taking a hit!”
“…And is that my fault?”
“What?”
“Look, Princess. You seem to be under a serious misunderstanding. I have never once bragged to anyone that I subdued a dragon princess. The ones who created and inflated these rumors are other people—not me.”
“T-that’s…! The rumors spread like that because you didn’t deny them!”
“So that’s my fault?”
“…!”
“Besides, I was already the guy everyone pointed fingers at in this academy. Rumors always spin out of control regardless of my will. Even if I did nothing, I was still labeled a lecher and a scumbag, wasn’t I? So just let it go like you always have.”
In truth, I had never committed any shameless acts at the academy.
Yet I had always been the scoundrel, the lowlife, the target of ridicule.
Of course, it was probably because of my past behavior… but they never cared whether I actually did anything in the present.
Elteumia’s fists trembled as she took a step closer and screamed as if in agony.
“No!!”
“…”
“This cannot happen! You might not care because you were always trash, but I’m not!!”
“…I don’t recall calling you trash.”
“Our family is the most noble ducal house in Dragonis Kingdom—the very first nation of the dragon race! As the successor of that family, I cannot allow my name to be tarnished!”
“No, so what I’m saying is…”
“And… if this continues, the rumors will definitely reach my father back home. Then… the family might order me to return immediately…”
Elteumia sank to the floor, her eyes growing red.
She rubbed her eyes with both hands, sniffling.
“…”
“I… I’ll have to return home without achieving anything. Then the position of family successor… will slip away from me…”
The girl who had been shouting in fury moments ago was now sitting before me, shedding tears like a little girl.
She was still demanding that I take responsibility and fix this.
She spoke grandly of family honor, but at its core, she was terrified of being driven out of the academy without leaving behind any accomplishments.
…I do feel a little bad.
“Sigh… So what do you want me to do about it?”
“That’s why…!”
“Honestly, whether the princess’s honor is ruined or she gets summoned home in disgrace, that’s your personal misfortune. It has nothing to do with me.”
“You… you really are a heartless beast…!”
“The one with the tail is the beast here.”
“Ugh!!”
I slowly stood up and walked toward Elteumia.
She backed away in panic, but I paid it no mind and stared straight into her eyes.
Wasn’t my motto to take advantage of situations like this whenever possible?
I had predicted this would happen since yesterday and figured she would come looking for me.
…Though I didn’t expect her to storm the dormitory.
“If you want it that badly, let’s make a deal.”
“A… deal…?”
“Yes, a deal. In exchange for me cleanly resolving this annoying rumor.”
I gave her a bright, cheerful smile and held up three fingers.
“Three boxes of Dragon Blood Grass from the Lethe Ducal House—the one famous for its pure-blooded dragons in the Dragonis Kingdom.”
“…What?!”
Elteumia’s face turned deathly pale as she cried out.
“Are you insane?! Dragon Blood Grass is something only direct descendants of our family…!”
“Then forget it. I don’t particularly need it. Today will be just like yesterday. Oh, that’s right. Now that you’ve kindly come all the way to my room, the rumor that the princess and I had a secret conversation alone in my room is basically confirmed.”
“…!!!!”
“Well, if someone asks what kind of conversation we had, I won’t give the same answer. Then the rumors will grow again—whether we talked with our mouths… or with our bodies.”
“W-wait!!”
“If you don’t like it, just leave. Go on.”
I turned around as if I had lost all interest and walked toward the door.
As I reached for the doorknob, I counted silently in my head.
One.
“Ah, ah!”
Two.
“Ah…!”
Three.
“Don’t move! Wait!!”
Elteumia’s urgent voice stopped me.
When I turned around, she was trembling, biting her lip so hard it was bleeding.
“I-I’ll give it to you…. I’ll give you whatever you want! So…!”
“Excellent choice. Then send it to my room.”
“What? That’s impossible…!”
“…Then put it in my locker.”
“That’s not possible either….”
“…Sigh.”
“So think properly…! Think it through!”
She really was picky about the details.
Well, I suppose the successor of a ducal house had to be mindful of others’ eyes.
“Then I’ll send Lise. Give it to her.”
“…Fine.”
In the end, Elteumia dramatically concluded the negotiation and left the room.
After she was gone, Lise returned with a strange expression on her face.
I was curious why she looked like that, but I decided not to ask.
At that same moment, while Elteumia and Eros were deep in conversation—
Lise stood with her back against the door.
She was guarding the entrance exactly as her master had ordered. That part was fine.
Until fragments of sound from inside the room reached her ears.
“I-I’ll give it to you…. I’ll give you whatever you want! So…!”
Elteumia’s tearful voice drifted through the door.
That desperate cry sounded exactly like a declaration of surrender.
W-wait a minute…!
Lise covered her mouth with both hands and pressed her ear against the door.
“Ah, ah…!”
?!
And then came Elteumia’s short, sharp moan.
“Not there….”
Where exactly…?! Where is he…?
Her eyes widened and her hands began to tremble.
She was convinced that this man was finally unleashing the lust he had been holding back all this time.
Just from the sounds alone, it certainly seemed that way.
“So do it properly…!”
What on earth is he doing?! In broad daylight…!