Chapter 122
Chapter 122
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 121. The Dancer (1)
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“Haa…”
I headed to work with a troubled mind.
Was it because of what happened this morning? I just couldn’t focus on my defense knight duties at all.
I worried it might interfere with my work.
*There’s so much I have to handle in the office…*
“Veil, what are you doing? It’s your turn.”
Miya spoke up from where we were playing poker at the table.
“Ah, right…”
I’d been spacing out, so I mechanically played my card.
Sure enough, my senior chuckled as if she’d been waiting for it.
“If you discard that—I win.”
Miya laid down a higher card than mine.
She scooped up the silver coins on the table.
“Yesss—lunch money earned.”
“Congratulations…”
Even after losing money, I mumbled blankly, and Miya gave me a puzzled look.
“That’s weird. Stingy Veil is taking a loss without batting an eye.”
Her round cat-like eyes stared right at me.
I chuckled and brushed it off.
“Maybe I’m just tired today.”
“Tired enough to forget about money?”
My senior seemed even more flustered.
She looked at me with a grave expression.
“You’re not actually sick, are you?”
Miya reached out and slapped her hand against my forehead.
She muttered thoughtfully.
“Hmm—weird. No fever.”
“It’s just my mind’s a mess. I’ll be fine after some rest.”
When I hinted at troubles I couldn’t voice aloud, Miya nodded in understanding.
Instead, she tactfully comforted me.
“Got it. How about taking the afternoon off then?”
“Yeah, maybe. Resting sounds best.”
I already had a bad hangover from yesterday’s drinking party anyway.
Staying home and lying down comfortably seemed like the way to go.
“Alright, I’ll head back to headquarters and let them know ahead of time.”
“Thanks, Senior.”
Miya stood from her seat.
Habitually shaking out a pack of cigarettes, she stepped into the office hallway.
“Rest up and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I silently waved to my senior.
Afterward, I leaned back in the office chair and let out a deep sigh.
“Haa…”
It’ll be fine.
It was just a kiss.
I never imagined my first kiss would be stolen in a drunken haze.
Sure, I went along with it thinking it was a dream…
If anyone had seen us, I’d be dragged straight to the guillotine.
*I need to be more careful from now on.*
No more wandering around. I’ll act with reverence.
With that thought, I waited for the messenger pigeon carrying my leave notice.
But…
――――――――.
Along with the leave notice from headquarters, the messenger pigeon brought another document.
Attached to it was a handwritten note from Miya.
「Sorry, Veil. The general approved, but on the way back he asked me to have you deliver just one gem.」
A small pouch tied to the pigeon’s leg.
When I opened it, several red rubies gleamed inside.
Red like Lydia’s eyes…
「Take it to the Eastern restaurant in the north, Red Flower Pavilion.」
Red Flower Pavilion.
An Oriental-style eatery in the northeast of the capital, frequented mainly by the upper class.
However, it was a secretive place that accepted only a tiny fraction of even them as customers.
Even the once-famous Rofer family from the north couldn’t get in, or so I’d heard.
*Well, they wouldn’t let in vulgar upstarts like that.*
I tucked the ruby pouch into my bosom.
Then, I rose from the office chair.
“Haa… So much for resting.”
I locked the front door and descended the stairs.
After that, I hailed a carriage and headed to the finest restaurant in the north.
――――――.
“Here’s Red Flower Pavilion.”
“Thanks, keep the change.”
I handed the coachman some silver and stepped down from the carriage.
And then…
A grand six-story wooden building loomed before me.
Beautiful tiled roofs.
An antique entrance, guarded by the restaurant’s security detail.
As expected of a place reserved for the empire’s absolute elite.
“What’s your business here?”
“Official duties.”
I showed them my Surveillance Bureau badge from my bosom.
Usually, security guards jump at the sight of an imperial knight’s insignia and open the doors.
But Red Flower Pavilion’s guards were different.
“Please wait a moment.”
They whispered among themselves, then began communicating with someone via telepathic magic.
「He’s here.」
「Let him in.」
I eavesdropped on their conversation with Grand Aura.
My brow furrowed.
*Not just a simple delivery…?*
“Please, come inside. We’ll guide you.”
I shrugged it off as nothing major and followed them in.
After all, I just had to hand over the rubies and be done.
But.
“How far are we going?”
“We’ll arrive soon.”
I’d clearly come just to deliver gems, yet they led me deep into Red Flower Pavilion.
Up the stairs to the top floor, the sixth level.
That area was a private space not open to the public.
A commoner and defense knight like me had dared to enter it.
“Please, have a seat here.”
I found myself seated in a modest private room.
It was furnished with an Oriental-style table and folding screens.
“Um… I’m just here for a delivery, not to eat.”
I said, eyeing the expensive-looking dishes.
But the guards replied nonchalantly.
“We know.”
They slid the door shut.
And departed into the distance.
“…”
What the hell was this?
I tilted my head and sat in the chair.
I stared blankly at the folding screen painted with opium poppies.
The same artwork I’d seen days ago at the place where I met Lydia’s kin.
They were lined up in a long row.
*Feels like I’m sitting alone in a theater.*
In that strange atmosphere, I only sipped water.
“You’re here.”
As I drank, a voice came from beyond the screen, and my eyes sharpened.
“Lady Lydia…?”
When I asked, the youngest imperial princess emerged from between the screens.
“I’ve been waiting.”
Unlike usual, she wore loose-fitting Oriental robes.
She smiled brightly and approached the seat beside me.
“Was it you who requested the rubies, Your Highness?”
“Yes, I specially asked a Surveillance Bureau executive.”
I was stunned by her power, commanding even officials from another agency.
Still, I calmly asked her purpose.
“Why did you need the gems?”
“Just needed a few, so I had you bring them.”
Lydia glanced at me with a prim expression.
As if rubies were of no real importance.
“More importantly, I heard you took leave today?”
The princess asked with an odd glint in her eye.
“Yes, I planned to deliver this and rest.”
“Is that so~?”
As I said I had no further plans, Lydia’s lips curved up.
As if she’d been waiting for those words.
“Then you don’t need to go home tonight.”
The princess sat right beside me.
In a friendly tone, she added,
“It’s the weekend tomorrow anyway, right?”
“That’s true. But I have no intention of staying out.”
I nodded awkwardly.
The princess rested her chin on her hand and gave a seductive smile.
“Then let’s have a meal together.”
“Understood. A meal is fine.”
I replied smoothly to her words.
With the nuance that it would be just a meal.
“Hmm~”
As I slyly avoided an overnight stay, the princess’s lips twitched.
But she hid her smile and called out.
“Bring the lunch.”
Clap clap.
At her applause, chefs emerged from beyond the screen.
As if they’d been waiting.
*What…?*
Luxurious Eastern dishes began filling the wide red table.
Most were things I’d enjoyed at the summit.
“Come on, eat up.”
The princess picked up her chopsticks as if nothing was amiss.
She deftly placed meat onto my plate.
“Was this whole thing set up just to have a meal with me?”
“Of course. Why else would I send you on a pointless ruby delivery?”
At Lydia’s bold declaration, I inwardly sighed in relief.
*Good. A meal is fairy-tale level.*
Was it because of what happened with Leah?
I was starting to fear the princesses’ invitations.
The gifts piling up at home, the broken sofa.
With my house compromised, I couldn’t afford a single lapse in vigilance.
In that sense, a meal with the youngest princess was child’s play.
“I’ll dig in.”
I smiled and ate the meat she’d served me.
“Even so, next time let’s eat somewhere more open. This place is a bit intimidating.”
“Hmm, is it?”
The princess didn’t eat.
She just sipped water while staring at the screens before the table.
“However, the reason I called you here isn’t just the food.”
Lydia extended her finger.
Pointing to the center of the room, set up like a stage.
“This place is famous not only for its cuisine, but for its dancers.”
*Dancers…?*
As I tilted my head, the room’s lanterns extinguished one by one.
「Begin.」
At the princess’s commanding voice, red light bathed the stage center.
Soon.
Women in qipaos entered in a graceful line.
Thin fabric clinging to their bodies.
Highlighting their figures perfectly.
――――――.
To hazy Oriental music, they began to sway seductively.
Their movements sensual, like goddesses from myth.
And those daring slits up to the hips…
I kept my gaze firmly away, lest it wander from the princess beside me.
“How is it?”
The ruler of the East asked from her seat next to me.
Her voice somehow more serious than usual.
“Beautiful.”
I answered honestly.
But I didn’t let the atmosphere sway me.
I’d already been through far too much that morning.
Growing accustomed to the dancers’ motions, I calmly sipped water.
Arms crossed, I observed their performance rationally.
“The dancers are incredibly skilled.”
“Is that so?”
The princess eyed me cautiously.
Then, in a deeply meaningful tone, she asked,
“Enough to make you fall for them?”
“…?”
I’d been watching the dancers with an empty mind.
Her question drew a mechanical reply.
“Yes, what man wouldn’t fall for such a beautiful sight.”
I said it flatly, praising my subordinates’ efforts.
“Anyone would lose themselves staring.”
“Yes, they would.”
Lydia’s lips curved, satisfied with my reaction.
“This dance is what grown women perform when they’ve found a man they like.”
She spoke in a voice that grew inexplicably sultry.
“Every Eastern woman learns it as part of their coming-of-age rite.”
“I see.”
*Coming-of-age rite…*
I nodded without much thought.
Still, enjoying this eye candy was helping me forget the day’s events a bit.
Thinking that, I watched the performance with the princess.
But.
A fragrant scent began to waft through the room.
The aroma dulled the mind somehow.
“Your Highness, might I ask if you’ve applied any perfume?”
Finding it odd, I asked while quietly watching the dancers.
“…”
No reply from Lydia.
“Your Highness…?”
She’d always answered kindly before, so her silence made my brow twitch.
“Are you alright?”
I turned to check her.
The moment I looked at the princess’s seat.
“…?”
Her sudden absence sharpened my eyes.
“Where did she go…?”
Suspicious, I scanned the surroundings hurriedly.
But no trace of the twin-tailed girl in the audience.
I started to rise to search for her.
That instant.
――――――.
A sharp string instrument halted me.
I looked toward the dancers, the source.
*What? The dancers…*
They’d been dancing right up to me moments ago.
Now they’d vanished.
Just like Lydia.
In their place, pale red mist rose from the screens.
“…”
I stared intently at the mist.
Gradually, a small silhouette emerged within.
“No way…”
The familiar shadow widened my eyes.
Soon.
“Veil, sit down.”
I faced Lydia, changed into the dancers’ provocative attire.
“The dance is just beginning.”
In a black qipao, she spoke to me with the most alluring, seductive gaze.
“P-Princess! When did you prepare a dance like this?”
I asked with panicked eyes.
The princess sauntered toward me, swaying her enticing hips.
“Who knows.”
Lydia looked down at me with a little devil’s gleam.
Her finger gently traced my chin.
“Ever since you signed that bill allowing shared rooms from age nineteen…”
That’s right.
Lydia had just turned nineteen, her recent birthday passed.
Now old enough to do as she pleased.
“After you signed it?”
The twin-tailed girl climbed onto the table.
Like a black panther.
Her red eyes sparkled, predatory.
“You agreed to it, didn’t you, Mikhail.”