Chapter 112
Chapter 112
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: The Hour of the Banquet (2)
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“Ah, you’ve reached the realm of sensing Grand Aura.”
I forced a smile as I replied.
“Congratulations once again.”
I placed my fist over my left chest.
Then, I bowed politely, avoiding Lea’s gaze.
“Yeah, thanks.”
The princess smirked and tilted her head.
Next, with an arrogant yet strangely captivating look like a queen, she asked me,
“But how do you think I came to realize it?”
Still bowing, I furrowed my brow.
“Well, obviously through research...”
“Do you really think mere research would make that possible?”
Lea cut me off sharply.
“...!”
She leaned toward my lowered face.
Her dress clung tightly to her full curves, bringing them right in front of me.
“Wouldn’t it have been much faster to touch and feel it with your own body?”
Lea forced our eyes to meet.
After that, a brief silence hung between us.
“...”
When I didn’t respond, she lifted the corner of her mouth.
Her face remained expressionless as she patted me.
“Go enjoy the party, Sir Veil Mikhail.”
The princess turned away indifferently.
She started heading down to the first floor.
“Are you leaving?”
“Yeah, I came to a banquet for once.”
“I didn’t expect Your Highness to enjoy a place like this.”
At my question, the princess removed her mask.
She dropped it casually onto the table and said,
“You’re right. The young ladies are probably just having boring chats anyway. I’ll hang around a bit and head back to headquarters.”
Of course, this was Lea, who’d have become emperor if she’d been born a man.
She’d never be satisfied with chit-chat from ordinary young ladies.
“By the way, who did you invite to the party?”
The princess looked at me curiously.
“The invitation?”
“Yeah, one per attendee.”
At her question, I grinned slyly.
“I gave it to an acquaintance couple.”
The princess frowned at my deflating answer.
“An acquaintance couple...?”
“Yes, they should arrive soon. They’re guests from the North, after all.”
Lea nodded nonchalantly at my words.
Then, she descended alone to the first-floor party hall.
As she came down the stairs, everyone around turned to look at Lea.
Her sensual aura and beauty were hard to believe for a 24-year-old.
And her perfect hourglass figure.
The combination captivated not just men, but women’s admiration too.
“Lady Lea...?”
“Really? She hardly ever shows up to these.”
The young ladies, finally meeting their idol, sparkled with excitement.
Like birds, they flocked to the princess.
“Lady Lea, you look stunning today.”
“It’s truly an honor to meet you!”
Lea gazed at the gathered young ladies with cold eyes.
Like a lion encountering an annoying flock of birds.
“Nice to see you all. You’re as beautiful as ever.”
The young women were touched by the princess’s praise.
“Oh, I’ve been working hard on my upkeep lately...”
But their smiles froze in an instant.
The empire’s First Imperial Princess had cut them off.
“Like birds in a cage. Nothing’s changed at all.”
Pointing out their lives of complacency, luxury, and sloth.
The young ladies fell silent, at a loss for words.
‘No wonder no one approaches her...’
I rubbed my forehead.
And sighed deeply at Lea’s cold demeanor toward others.
“Th-this way, Lady Lea. Have a drink with us.”
The young ladies guided the First Imperial Princess to their table.
The princess looked up at me standing on the second-floor railing.
I smiled at her, urging her to mingle a bit.
“...”
As expected, Lea ignored my signal.
But...
“Alright, let’s have just one drink, then.”
She soon changed her mind and decided to spend time with her peers.
“Chat freely among yourselves. I’m happy just listening.”
The noble heirs, relieved by her attitude, naturally drew her into their conversation.
My fiancée bought me a new carriage for the party today.
Lately, my husband ate an elixir and became an upper Expert.
And so on...
They were all busy boasting about their husbands, not themselves.
The princess pretended to listen indifferently.
“Upper Expert at best...”
When Lea muttered quietly to herself, the perceptive young ladies all turned to her.
“Yes, Your Highness?”
Lea inwardly scolded herself for nearly bringing up a certain man.
“Nothing important. Don’t mind it.”
The princess regretted instinctively showing interest in husband talk.
She shook her head and tried to stand.
Staying here longer might make her dumb too.
But.
The princess’s indifferent steps halted abruptly.
“Oh my, who are they?”
“Could it be the Northern Duchess...?”
The author of the novel she loved reading.
Her spiritual mentor who’d blossomed her fantasies had visited the imperial palace.
A black-haired woman in a frilly Gothic-style dress.
Striking black mole under her eye.
She was welcomed alongside a burly man in Northern uniform.
“I really enjoyed your latest work too!”
“Me too, I never thought I’d meet you in person...!”
Nobles of all ages flocked to her.
The duchess briefly parted from her husband to greet them.
“Thank you all so much for enjoying my novels.”
The high-society young ladies near Lea approached her too.
Meeting a celebrity was fun, after all.
“Sit over here!”
The young ladies guided the famous novelist to their table like a prized collectible.
“...”
Then, the princess quietly sat back down at the table.
It wasn’t interest in the novelist that made her sit, of course.
She’d just been swept up in the crowd and “had no choice” but to take a seat.
I looked down at the princess’s behavior, finding it cute.
‘This is repayment for giving me mana.’
The person I’d invited for Lea.
It was the author of Northern Duchess and the Slave Knight.
The young ladies at the round table all stared at the duchess.
Lea pretended disinterest, listening quietly from a slight distance.
“I have so many questions.”
“Rumor has it all your novels are based on true stories—is that real?”
At the young ladies’ questions, the duchess smirked.
She found the chick-like cluster adorable.
But among those chicks lurked a lion.
The beast feigned disinterest, yet her gaze was already fixed on the duchess.
“Haha... The protagonist is just a duchess like me. Definitely not autobiography.”
The young ladies were disappointed by the novelist’s smile.
“Aww, what a shame.”
“It was so romantic...”
Lea felt the same.
She scoffed with a ‘just as I thought’ expression.
But...
“Well, they are based on facts, to some extent.”
True to her novelist nature, the duchess toyed with the young ladies’ hearts.
They thrilled at her words.
“Like when the slave knight got a chance to escape, left, but couldn’t forget the duchess’s embrace and returned.”
Everyone leaned in at one avid fan’s words.
“The ‘Branding Kiss’ you gave him then—was that real?”
Branding Kiss.
Lea swallowed hard at the term.
It was a passage she’d read with deep impression too.
The duchess who toyed with him yet cherished him in crisis.
The slave knight who eventually realized his dependence on her and returned.
The scene where she lifted his chin and kissed him deeply as a reward.
One of the famed scenes in adult novels.
‘Of course, I know because I accidentally saw it...’
I shook my head, wanting to erase that memory.
I couldn’t believe women read such stimulating stuff.
“Hmm... Isn’t it answer enough that I took my husband’s first kiss?”
“...!!”
The women squealed like schoolgirls at the duchess’s reply.
“But how do you confirm if it’s really his first kiss?”
One woman asked.
The duchess smiled gracefully and replied.
“Sharing that here might be a bit too much. Probably not many are curious anyway.”
At the novelist’s words, everyone raised their hands at once.
Insisting they wanted to hear.
Lea glanced at them.
Then, shyly raised her hand between their shoulders.
“Hehe... Alright, I don’t usually share this, but since so many are curious, I’ll tell you specially.”
The duchess’s expression changed.
Her originally elegant, pure face.
“Confirming your partner’s first kiss is simple.”
But as she explained the secret.
It turned more seductive and alluring than anyone’s.
“When you tangle tongues, inexperienced men are stiff and just thrust like bulls.”
The young women swallowed deeply at her words.
“But experienced men instinctively wrap and caress your tongue gently.”
The young ladies marveled at the duchess’s detailed explanation.
“Wow...”
But Lea was different.
Ignoring the admiring young ladies, she asked in a charismatic, queenly voice,
“And if you confirm it’s not his first? What then?”
The high-society women startled at Lea’s first words all evening.
They quietly stepped aside, leaving the duchess and princess to talk privately.
“Who’s that...?”
“The empire’s First Imperial Princess, Lea.”
The women hurriedly answered the duchess’s awkward question.
“Oh, forgive me. Raised in the North, I dared not recognize Your Highness...”
“Duchess, cut the formalities—answer the question.”
The First Imperial Princess cut her off firmly.
The duchess smiled and complied.
“Well... Even if someone already stole his first kiss...”
The slave knight’s owner lifted her lip corner.
And said to the empire’s eldest daughter,
“Not all of his body has been conquered yet, right?”
She raised a finger.
Then slowly pointed it toward her own body.
“One outer castle falls, does the nation perish? You must conquer deeper places.”
The women looked puzzled at the duchess’s grandiose words.
But Lea was different.
The empire’s commander smirked in understanding.
“I see. They call you the North’s great literary master for a reason—impressive.”
“You flatter me, Your Highness. It’s an honor to meet one of the empire’s pillars.”
In the warm atmosphere, I exhaled deeply from above.
Satisfied, I tried to stop worrying about Lea.
‘Good call bringing the duchess. She looks happy.’
As I turned away.
I met eyes with Lea looking up.
“...?”
She wore a strange smile.
She seemed in a good mood, but something felt chilling.
‘What... what is it? What did they talk about?’
I hurriedly averted my gaze.
Just then, as I was about to leave, I bumped into a man.
A towering knight nearly 190 cm tall.
His purple eyes suggested minority heritage.
“You’re Sir Veil, right?”
“Yes, that’s me, but...”
He offered a handshake upon confirmation.
“Thank you so much for inviting us. I’m Baron Taylor, husband of the Northern Duchess Lynn.”
Taylor, promoted from slave knight to baron.
He smiled broadly, expressing his gratitude.
“Ah, you’re the one from that novel...?”
“Yes, they call me the slave knight in society.”
Handsome features.
Solid muscles and a subtle smile.
‘No wonder the top-tier Northern Duchess fell for him.’
“Thank you? I got auctioned off easily thanks to the duchess too—it’s just a small token.”
At mention of the auction, Taylor nodded.
“But it’s amazing. Lynn looks gentle, but her personality is so fierce, she’s hard to get close to...”
Taylor and I looked down at the duchess together.
“She seems desireless, but her possessiveness is immense.”
“Is that so...”
I watched Lea as he spoke.
The princess’s gaze pierced through me strangely.
“I get the feeling. Must be tough.”
“Yeah... It’s no joke. Really...”
The giant man sighed deeply at my words.
Come to think of it, he had heavy dark circles under his eyes.
‘Even that build finds it exhausting. The duchess must be something.’
“Do you have a lady you’re seeing, Sir Veil?”
“No way. I’m a commoner to begin with—not fit for this crowd.”
The baron chuckled at my words.
“I’m from slave stock too. You’ll meet a good match someday.”
“A match...”
Some faces came to mind.
But people way beyond my reach.
“Mind your stamina. You look a bit lean.”
‘I’m not skinny anymore, though.’
“Stamina?”
“Yes... I’m clueless since Lynn was my first, but... Women have surprising endurance.”
As the baron sighed deeply.
The duchess waved from below.
Signaling him to come down.
He gestured as if complying, the former slave knight.
“Then I’ll be off.”
“Yes, take care... No, let’s meet alive...”
I pitied the baron trudging down like he was being dragged.
His muscular frame looked utterly drained.
I later learned they already had four children.
‘I absolutely must not get caught like that...’