Chapter 140
Chapter 140
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Mixed Bathing (1)
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“It’s clearly a good opportunity, so is there some problem?”
Mosian tried his best to persuade the two imperial princesses.
However, the women’s attitudes were utterly unyielding.
“The Capital Garrison was formed to defend the capital, so they’re not suited for dispatch.”
“I agree. Their absence would lead straight to weakened security in the capital.”
Lea took a monocle from her tight chest pocket.
She perched it over one eye and spoke with a sensual gaze.
“It would be better to replace them with specialized personnel rich in field experience.”
Lydia chimed in.
She stroked her necktie as she added her support.
“We’ll dispatch personnel from our eastern experts.”
“Our west will join in as well.”
The princesses proposed in turn, as if perfectly in sync.
Tina blinked both eyes at the sight.
He’d only mentioned the Noston Knight Order, and suddenly they were borrowing top experts.
“…”
Crown Prince Urus, seated beside her, looked down at Tina fondly.
“Well done, Tina. Thanks to you, the diplomatic exchange went smoothly.”
His gaze praised his little sister for his unwavering trust in her.
Tina wore a momentarily awkward expression.
“Uh… of course. Who do you think I am—?”
The white-haired princess brushed it off positively for now.
However, her eyes remained fixed on the two imperial princesses.
They acted as if Noston were their reverse scale, stubbornly opposed.
Doubts began to swirl in her mind at the sight.
‘What could be in the Capital Garrison that they’re blocking it so hard, even offering specialized personnel?’
The princess briefly thought of the only defense knight she’d met.
Suddenly, his fox-like sly eyes and roguish smile came to mind.
‘Come to think of it, the Second Imperial Princess seemed quite interested in him too.’
If these two were connected to Veil like Irina…
Just what kind of man was he?
‘Maybe… he’s not just some ordinary defense knight.’
――――――.
While Tina pondered deeply,
the meeting concluded successfully.
Lea rose silently from her seat.
Then, as she headed into the corridor,
she ran into Bakal’s crown prince, who had been waiting for her first.
“Thank you for agreeing to the exchange, Your Highness Lea.”
“You’ve worked hard too, Crown Prince Urus.”
Lea gave the massive man a faint smile.
“Um, if I may…”
Urus ordered his attendants to step back for a moment.
“What is it?”
In response, Lea also distanced herself from Mosian and Lydia.
“Since you’re going this far, it must be something important.”
Lea asked with arms crossed alone.
Her sensual figure stood out all the more.
“…”
Urus couldn’t help but let his lips curl up at the sight of the princess.
He cleared his throat awkwardly to hide his true feelings.
“W-well… about that political marriage from earlier.”
“Yes, I turned it down.”
The crown prince scratched the back of his head at Lea’s firm words.
Then, mustering courage, he said,
“If I don’t meet the criteria for a political marriage… might I ask what Your Highness’s ideal type is?”
Ideal type.
Lea tilted her head at the unexpected question.
“My ideal type… you mean?”
“Yes, the qualities you prefer in a husband.”
The crown prince asked boldly.
His eyes betrayed tension, at odds with his large frame.
“Well…”
Lea rested her hand on her chin with a sensual gaze.
She thought of someone’s back she had embraced and said,
“For starters, someone big enough that my hands just meet when I hug them would be nice.”
Urus glanced down at his own body.
His massively developed physique.
It was clearly too much for Lea’s arms to wrap around.
“And someone quick on the uptake, who can read my feelings, would be even better.”
Urus scratched his temple.
Lea’s face was the epitome of an expressionless empress—impossible to read her thoughts.
Especially since he, a foreigner, knew next to nothing about her.
“And finally…”
Lea tapped around her eyes with a finger.
At the same time, her gaze softened like a pet owner’s gentle look.
“I’d like someone with sly, mischievous eyes that make me want to tease them for no reason.”
“Sly eyes, huh…”
Urus sighed inwardly.
His expression turned half-resigned.
“I understand your will well.”
She had listed only traits opposite to his own.
Looking at her, Urus firmly realized Lea had no interest in him.
“I envy the man who matches your ideal type.”
Lea looked cutely at the disappointed giant.
With arms still crossed, she encouraged the foreign crown prince like an older sister.
“Don’t be too down, Urus. You’re an impressive man yourself.”
She quietly extended her hand.
“I hope we can meet again laughing together, even after you become Bakal’s emperor.”
The crown prince stared at the golden-haired woman’s hand.
Then, he grinned and shook it.
“Of course. Our predecessors may have been at each other’s throats, but we have no need to be.”
The two shook hands.
Then, they parted gracefully toward their respective camps.
“…”
Urus ran into Tina in the corridor.
The two stood side by side and spoke quietly.
“I’ll head back first, so you go to the hot springs with the elders.”
At her brother’s suggestion, the white-haired princess tilted her head.
“Huh? Didn’t you say you wanted to try the hot springs too?”
“I changed my mind.”
Tina noticed her crown prince brother had been rejected by Lea.
“Rejected and your pride’s hurt?”
“As if. The plan’s gone awry.”
Urus answered his sister with a serious expression.
‘Plan…?’
Tina frowned, sensing there was a plan she hadn’t been told about.
However, his expression was so grim that she let it slide for now.
“You head to the hot springs with the elders first.”
Bakal’s elders.
They were typically composed of elderly imperial relatives and legal scholars.
They wielded great influence not only over the crown prince but the emperor’s governance as well.
“Fine, got it…”
Tina wasn’t thrilled but nodded anyway.
From a royal’s perspective, the elders were irritating existences.
The crown prince silently watched his sister board the carriage first.
The ornate carriages of the elders departing in a line behind her.
Watching them head east, the crown prince’s face soon turned icy.
“Outrageous, First Princess.”
Left alone, the crown prince’s eyes grew cold.
Countless knights stood arrayed behind him.
“Where on earth is a man like that…”
A man with sly eyes despite being male.
One skilled in mind-reading, attuned to an empress’s heart.
No matter how he thought, such a man was rare.
「――――――.」
“Haah…”
I, who had arrived in the east ahead of time, let out a deep sigh.
Dark circles had formed under my eyes since meeting Irina yesterday.
“Why are they so late?”
Dressed in uniform, I’d been waiting all day in front of the newly completed hot spring temple.
Until Bakal’s elders arrived.
Of course, I could have refused the draft.
But the sole reason I’d come here in person despite that was one thing.
‘At this time, a major incident erupts at the newly completed eastern hot spring.’
The hot spring temple in the capital’s east.
Here, multiple Bakal elders die in an accident.
Cause of death: likely heart failure.
Old men who overindulge in alcohol in the hot springs suffer fatal shocks.
Of course, it wasn’t intentional.
However, blamed for negligence in safety, Lydia faces severe repercussions.
Diplomatic ties with Bakal sour to the worst, and with the elders gone,
the emperor shifts to a brutal dictatorship.
And they…
‘On the Day of Purge, they supported Crown Prince Leon first and foremost.’
For the alliance of princesses, I had no choice but to come myself.
“They’re late.”
While waiting for the elders’ carriages,
I rummaged in my pocket and pulled out a note.
「His Highness the crown prince’s close aides have been placed in the two most secluded spots in the temple.」
Ekina, deputy leader of the Crimson Flame and the crown prince’s double agent.
I reread her directive.
‘The two most secluded spots in the hot spring…’
Likely, the VIP public bath for the elders.
And the private VIP bath for royals.
Places forbidden to lowly knights like me.
‘But there are ways.’
I crumpled the note and stuffed it into my jacket’s inner pocket.
And…
――――――.
Finally, I faced the arriving Bakal carriages.
「Bakal’s elders have arrived!」
Eastern deputy leader Batsch shouted in a loud voice.
The knights lined up tensed in unison.
I watched leisurely from a distance, apart from them.
With Batsch and Tau as my disciples, I was treated as an equal to the deputy here.
“This is the newly completed hot spring temple.”
Lydia, who alighted first from the carriage, politely introduced it to the old men.
“…”
Solemn, icy expressions like statues of plaster.
As expected of an empire’s elders—their personalities were foul.
“Well, the exterior isn’t bad.”
“A bit smaller than expected, but… it’ll do.”
Lydia looked displeased at the elders’ bland reactions, or so I thought.
But…
“The interior is even more splendid. Please see for yourselves.”
Knowing the importance of this event, Lydia maintained a pretty smile with effort.
“Alright, let’s go in and check it out.”
The elders gave a curt thanks to the princess young enough to be their granddaughter.
They passed the eastern knights and headed leisurely into the temple.
Among them was one rather familiar young woman.
And she…
“Huh, Sir Veil…?”
Pointed me out in front of everyone.
“Aren’t you in charge of Noston?”
All eyes focused on me at her words.
Uncomfortable under the stares, I forced a smile and replied.
“I’m on temporary dispatch.”
“Hehe… I see. You missed me too, huh?”
Tina crossed her arms alone and looked at me approvingly.
Her mature, half-lidded eyes were striking.
“It’s an honor to serve you again.”
For the sake of our nations’ diplomacy, I showed utmost courtesy.
“Alright, let’s share some fun stories again today.”
Tina covered her lips with a fist and chuckled.
She seemed glad to see me amid the odious elders.
But.
Her smile soon stopped.
“…”
The empire’s Third Imperial Princess Lydia, who had been leading.
She turned back and flashed chilling crimson eyes.
“Oh my, Your Highness Lydia. Do you have something to say to me?”
Tina tilted her head and asked.
As if she were clueless.
“Come to think of it, I haven’t greeted you properly since the meeting.”
Tina approached Lydia boldly.
Looking down at the petite princess shorter than her, she smirked.
“Seeing you up close like this is a whole new feeling. You’re so cute.”
The Third Imperial Princess glared coldly up at the woman a head taller.
“Cute…?”
Lydia looked uncomfortable.
At her expression, the eastern knights gulped in unison.
They knew her temperament all too well.
“Yes, so petite I just want to squeeze you tight.”
Tina smiled brightly, complimenting Lydia.
However, the perceptive Third Imperial Princess saw through it.
She was trying to humiliate her in front of a defense knight.
“…”
The two stared coldly at each other.
Blue eyes and red eyes glared fiercely, as if to freeze and incinerate one another.
“Haha… The hot springs are this way.”
Caught between them, I attempted awkward mediation.
“We’ve prepared private rooms for the princesses, so please relax.”
“Oh, private baths? How thoughtful.”
Tina clasped her hands and looked up at me approvingly.
She smiled with crinkled eyes and said,
“If you’d like, Veil, why not join me? It’d be nice to chat in the warm water together.”
Mixed bathing proposal.
My nape burned as if pierced.
“Veil.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Lydia called me with unfocused red eyes.
“Go inside and handle the elders’ security.”
“Understood, Your Highness.”
I curled my lips at the Third Imperial Princess’s timely suggestion.
Then, I hurriedly escaped the bear and moved to guide the old men.
But at that moment.
“Wait.”
Lydia approached me hurriedly with short strides.
Then whispered secretly.
“Use the private bath after entertaining the council. I prepared it just for you.”
She’d prepared a private VIP bath for me.
I grinned and smiled at the princess.
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
Perfect, since I needed to investigate there.
Pleased things were going well, I guided the elders more energetically.
“Come on in. I’ll escort you personally.”
Lydia stared intently at my receding back.
Then, she smirked and resumed glaring at Tina.
“…”
The foul-tempered old men followed me in a line into the public bath.
Thanks to that, I finally escaped the hellish atmosphere.
But.
“What’s this, the water’s too hot?”
The public bath where the elders entered was no less hellish.
“No food here either?”
The old men in white t-shirts and shorts.
They evaluated the hot spring with grumpy faces.
“Hot springs are best with a drink… tsk!”
The attendants waiting inside looked flustered at the elders’ complaints.
They had no idea how to properly host these foreigners from another culture.
“What do we do…?”
“How should I know? Get some alcohol first. Call the head chef now.”
The attendants, who’d never imagined eating in a hot spring,
sighed deeply.
At that moment.
“What’s that savory smell?”
The elders, who had been bracing themselves, turned their heads.
――――――.
The sound of wheels rumbling echoed through the hot spring.
The old men all focused on the approaching cart.
“Here’s drinks and snacks.”
I and the eastern knights, changed into white t-shirts and shorts.
We entered the public bath with confident expressions.
“We’ll serve you in Leon style instead of alcohol.”
Watermelon-soaked cider.
Along with boiled eggs.
“Try it, and you’ll forget all about bathside booze.”
I curled my lips like a sycophant.
With a shady smile, I faced the picky elders.