Chapter 130
Chapter 130
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Student Date (4)
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While walking side by side,
I glanced back at Lea, whose steps were slowing down again.
“...”
Her gaze was fixed on a street vendor.
What she was staring at were apples skewered on wooden sticks.
She was intently watching the boy working at the stall dunk an apple into caramel.
“Would you like one?”
I asked leisurely.
Lea cleared her throat and replied,
“No, I was just observing the state of commerce in the North.”
Even as she said that, her eyes lingered on the caramel apples.
In that moment, she looked just like a little girl seeing cotton candy for the first time.
“Wait here a second.”
As if on cue, I stopped walking.
I approached the stall and said to the boy,
“I’ll take two of those.”
“Huh…? I’m fine, really.”
Lea protested as I returned with two caramel apples.
But I steadfastly handed one to her.
“Doesn’t holding a snack like this make us look even more like students?”
“...”
Lea gazed up at the hand offering the apple.
Then, with a slight curl of her lips, she answered,
“How curious.”
“What is?”
When I asked calmly, the Empire’s First Imperial Princess half-closed her eyes and gave me a peculiar look.
“You’re oblivious in some ways, yet so quick in others.”
Lea tilted her head.
Then, as if peering into my soul, she asked sharply,
“You haven’t been pretending not to notice all the hints I’ve dropped, have you?”
“Haha… I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
I avoided the princess’s gaze and took a bite of my apple.
“...”
The outside was sweet caramel.
The inside burst with tart apple.
It was quite delicious.
“You should try it too, Your Highness. It’s good.”
I smoothly changed the subject with the suggestion.
Lea either let it slide graciously or turned back to her apple.
“Very well…”
She elegantly swept her black hair behind her ear.
Then, narrowing her eyes, she parted her lips.
*She looks just like a pretty schoolgirl from this angle…*
But that was my misconception.
The princess bringing the apple to her mouth.
At first, unsure how to eat it, she opened her lips wide and went straight for the caramel.
Seeing that made me feel oddly amused.
“Mm…”
Soon, she got the hang of it and took nearly half the apple in one go.
She crunched into it refreshingly.
“...”
Chewing with a seductive smile.
She savored the taste before swallowing deeply.
“It’s quite palatable…”
Lea wiped the caramel from her lips with the back of her hand, a mature smile playing on her face.
The caramel stretched long and sticky, dripping onto her uniform.
I stared blankly at her clothes.
If she were an ordinary schoolgirl, it would have fallen straight to the ground.
But perhaps due to her dizzying curves,
It didn’t even touch the dirt—instead landing on her necktie.
That voluptuous figure.
It was so sensual that no one could mistake her for an ordinary schoolgirl.
“Are you all right? I’ll get a napkin.”
“No need. I can handle something like this easily.”
Lea touched the caramel stain with her finger.
The brown liquid writhed, then dispersed into the air and vanished completely.
“Oh, it got on my finger a bit.”
Lea stared at the caramel on her finger.
Then, she naturally stuck out her tongue and licked it off.
“Whew…”
I turned my head away from the sight.
Pushing away sad thoughts inside, I tried my best to exclude her from my mind.
“Done eating? Let’s get going.”
On the way back to the office.
I spotted the Imperial Guard patrolling in pairs at every corner.
*The Prime Minister’s procession is thorough… The patrols are densely spaced.*
They were originally stationed at the palace, so spotting Lea was even easier for them.
Which meant we had to be extra tense right now.
“Hmm—”
But the princess, whether sensing my worry or not, remained utterly relaxed.
She even seemed to be enjoying my nervous state, looking up at me with amusement.
“Anyone would think you were a spy.”
“In this situation, I’m with Black Moon.”
As I scanned the surroundings with sharp eyes, Lea gave me a playful look.
Then, casually…
“...!”
She took my hand gently.
“A spy needs this level of caution.”
I swallowed hard at the feel of her soft hand enveloping mine.
In the meantime, she intertwined our fingers completely.
“So, what shall we do next?”
Lea looked up at me like a lover and asked.
She deftly shifted the topic to distract me from our clasped hands.
“Well…”
I avoided the gazes of the knights scattered everywhere.
My eyes naturally drifted to a place students might go.
“Hey, that woman…”
A red-haired woman sitting pitifully at a lone table on the street.
She was the alchemist I’d met at the jewelry shop with Irina a few months ago.
“Fortunes told. Compatibility readings.”
It felt like just yesterday she was working at a workshop in the affluent district of the North.
Now she was miserably divining in a market corner.
“Hm, a fortune teller?”
Lea followed my gaze to the woman.
“Fortune-telling… That gypsy magic, I suppose.”
Ever hungry for knowledge and scholarship,
She eyed the fortune teller with keen interest.
“Shall we?”
When I asked, Lea squeezed my hand tighter.
Until our palms were slick with sticky sweat.
“Yes. There are guards around, so let’s slip away naturally while getting a reading.”
The princess and I strolled casually down the street.
We stopped together in front of the shabby fortune teller’s table.
“Welcome, what handsome folks.”
She looked a bit thinner than before.
Sensing my pitying gaze, the woman met my eyes briefly.
“Hm? The boy looks kinda familiar…”
“No idea. I don’t think we’ve met…”
I put on a cold face.
No point letting it slip in front of Lea that I’d come here with Irina.
“Yes, this is our first time here.”
Lea spoke to the red-haired woman with a relaxed expression.
“I see. I’ve been so busy lately…”
The fortune teller sighed, glancing at me.
She’d clearly been kicked out of her old workshop.
“Anyway, I’ll read your love fortunes first. Two silver coins.”
Exactly the price of two meals.
Steep for a fortune.
“Let’s see the fortune first.”
Ever meticulous, Lea firmly countered.
“I’ll decide the price based on how accurate it is.”
“Pardon…?”
Even before the fortune teller, the princess seized control.
The red-haired woman looked stunned for a moment.
“Ah, understood.”
But soon, cowed by her voluptuous figure and overwhelming gaze, she acquiesced.
“Then, may I have your birthdates and names?”
The fortune teller asked, studying our faces closely.
“Do we have to give names? You should know just by looking.”
I said prickishly, hiding our identities.
After the demanding girl, now a tough boy—the red-haired woman flinched.
“N-No, names aren’t necessary. Birth time will do…”
Lea wrote her info first and handed it over.
Then she subtly prompted me to add my birthdate beside it.
“Got it.”
The princess sneakily memorized my birthday from the paper.
Then returned it to the fortune teller.
“Right… Let’s see here…”
The fortune teller already looked drained from dealing with the compatible pair.
But her expression turned even more shocked at the results.
“Huh… This date is definitely…”
She stared blankly at Lea’s face.
Then realized she was the Empire’s First Imperial Princess.
“P-Princess…?”
“Don’t make a fuss. Quietly do the reading.”
Lea pressed a finger to her lips, warning with cold eyes.
The red-haired woman quickly scanned around and nodded.
“Y-Yes. Understood. Then this one too… not a student, but…”
“My escort. Speak freely.”
Only then did the fortune teller recall meeting me.
“Yes… Got it.”
She swallowed deeply.
Then calmly showed the cards calculated from my birthday first.
“Yes… For the knight, we have the Red Fox.”
The cards were slightly different from last time.
I’d heard these were more accurate for romance.
“Naturally adept at flattery and quick-witted, you slip out of any crisis with a sly grin.”
Lea showed more interest than I did.
She nodded with intrigued eyes.
“Impressive.”
“What do you mean? Where’s a knight as pure as me?”
I grinned sheepishly, and the fortune teller and Lea both stared up at me.
“Sorry. Don’t get too serious…”
The fortune teller covered her mouth with her fist and cleared her throat.
Then smoothly recited Lea’s fortune.
“Now, for the princess—no, the girl, we have the Lion.”
Just as expected.
“A lion… Fitting, since my army’s symbol is also a lion. Curious.”
“Yes, lions fiercely protect family and pride, with a strong drive to continue their line.”
The fortune teller spoke with a serious gaze.
“With the pomegranate tree card alongside, it’s likely a lioness… And the tree here signifies…”
*Huh…?*
A memory from before flashed by.
Instinctively uneasy, I gestured at the fortune teller.
“You don’t need to say that far…!”
As I urgently cut in, Lea, finding it suspicious, grabbed my arm firmly.
Smiling sweetly, she asked the fortune teller again.
“It’s fine. Whisper it to me.”
The red-haired woman eyed me warily.
But no matter that I was an imperial knight—her opponent was the Empire’s princess.
She whispered honestly, yielding to authority.
“Really—?”
Lea chuckled, pleased with the answer.
“So, what about me and this boy?”
“By day, the lion clutches the fox tight. By night, the nocturnal fox curls atop the lion’s back.”
Buoyed by the princess’s praise, the fortune teller rattled on.
To me, she seemed more the flatterer than I was.
“Hmm—Interesting. A plausible reading.”
“Hehe, I’m decent at fortunes. Got fired from the workshop for being too blunt, though.”
Lea folded her arms alone.
Her ample curves stood out even more.
“Speaking truth to power is vital for a subject. I’ll guarantee your safety.”
Lea drew a luxurious pouch from her waist.
She handed it to the woman.
“T-This much…?”
The red-haired woman jumped at the bundle of gleaming gold coins inside.
Enough to buy a carriage and more.
“Yes. Especially the pomegranate tree bit struck me.”
“Hehe… Thank you—.”
Lea glanced up at me.
With a leisurely smile, she placed a hand on my shoulder.
“Time to go, Fox Veil.”
The princess rose using my shoulder for support.
She extended her hand to me quite naturally now.
“Understood…”
I sighed deeply and took the black-haired schoolgirl’s hand.
Together, we headed toward the hill with the office.
“Wow…”
The red-haired woman clutched her divination book to her chest.
She watched the lioness dragging the fox away with a peculiar gaze.
As if imagining something naughty.
“Amazing. To meet another perfectly compatible pair.”
The woman swallowed deeply, eyeing Lea’s sensual retreating figure.
She packed up her table to go eat with her newfound gold.
―――.
“Now, just through that back alley, and we’re near my office.”
I pointed to the dim passage between buildings.
“A shortcut, huh.”
“Yes. In this situation, it’s actually safer.”
Lea stared blankly at the dark path.
Then nodded.
“Yes, let’s go.”
*Finally, almost there…*
I breathed a sigh of relief at the nearing office.
The moment we reached the middle of the passage.
“...!”
My eyes flashed at the sight of an imperial knight approaching the exit.
“This way, quick.”
I carefully pulled Lea into a narrow gap.
We held our breath and hid together.
*How are they patrolling all the way here…?*
The tight space barely fit two people.
I peeked out, checking the way we’d come.
“How’s that side?”
To make matters worse, a colleague appeared from our entry path.
We were trapped in the passage.
“Nothing unusual. No one here.”
Knights approaching from both ends.
Fleeing either way meant getting our faces seen.
“Lea, sorry, but we need to stay close a bit longer.”
“It’s fine.”
The princess stared up at me from so close our chests nearly touched.
She watched intently as I seriously scanned around.
“You do resemble a fox, after all.”
The knights’ footsteps drew nearer.
I timed it and covered Lea’s body with mine, ducking our heads.
Like lovers secretly sharing intimacy in the shadows.
*Please just pass by…!*
Clank… Clank…
The military boots sounded right beside us.
Then.
“Hm? You students there. What are you doing in there?”
Unluckily, the knights’ steps halted abruptly.
*We’re done for…!*
Even I couldn’t keep a straight face then.
I wore a dazed expression before Lea.
“...”
In the narrow gap, bodies pressed together, the princess.
She gazed up at my pursed lips.
“Don’t worry, Veil.”
Catching my frantic eyes, she narrowed her blue ones.
Then…
“I have a good idea.”
Lea quietly lifted onto her tiptoes.
She cupped my chin and slowly brought her lips to mine.
“Mmm…”
In the shadows, the princess kissed me deeply enough to see her white breath.
Her tongue tasted sweetly of caramel.