Chapter 155
Chapter 155
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Secret Vacation (2)
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The closest foreign land to Veil's office was the capital's western sector.
And in the west stood the empire's one and only Magic Tower, the White Tower.
It housed all sorts of magical devices managed by the mages.
The most notable was the crystal orb that allowed real-time communication between Magic Towers in different countries.
"Please wait here in this guest room for a moment, Your Highnesses."
Yulia, the first disciple of the White Tower's master, clad in a platinum robe, escorted the noble ladies to the guest quarters.
"Hic..."
Among them was Miya, the unassuming woman who had tagged along by chance.
'Why am I even...'
Feeling awkward, Miya stood at attention in the corner of the guest room, her posture like that of a black cat watching from afar.
"..."
Three women gathered around the elegant round table.
Soon, a mage returned carrying a small crystal orb.
"Just speak your desire to the orb, and it will respond accordingly."
She placed the blue orb in the center of the table.
"Then, we'll wait outside."
The mysterious sphere rested atop plush cushions.
A mystical power emanated from its smooth surface.
The power was so potent that even Miya, who had no talent for magic, could feel it.
"Thank you, Yulia."
"Not at all, Your Highness."
Lea, who had once studied under the tower's masters, expressed her gratitude to Yulia with a gentle gaze.
The head disciple bowed politely and withdrew from the guest room.
"Then let's begin."
Lea gazed down at the crystal orb with the cold eyes of an empress.
Then, in a firm voice, she commanded.
"Connect to the Blue Tower in Bakal."
――――――.
The blue crystal orb shimmered in response to the princess's order.
Soon, a man's voice replied.
"I have received your message. This is Kuhn, second disciple of the Blue Tower."
"Please dispatch a messenger falcon to the Bakal border outpost."
Was it because the caller was Leon's First Imperial Princess?
Kuhn accepted the request with a courteous tone.
"What message shall I relay?"
"Ask if a baron from Leon entered Bakal today."
She did not say "Veil" outright.
By mentioning only the title of "baron," it was a psychological ploy to evade the prying Northern Princess.
"Understood."
Once contact with Bakal ended, Lydia stepped forward.
She leaned in so close that her sharp fangs were visible in the orb and issued her command.
"Connect me to the Red Tower in the Eastern Continent."
――――――.
"This is Eugene, third disciple of the Red Tower."
"Hey, it's Lydia."
It's me, Lydia.
That single phrase prompted the tower master to show immediate deference.
"I heed Your Highness's call."
"Good. Tell Grandpa right now to check the list of Leon nobles entering the eastern border."
"All of them?"
"No, just the 'barons.'"
"Understood."
In an instant, the princesses had scoured all information from the northern and eastern borders via the towers.
Miya, watching from afar, blinked in astonishment.
'Why are they searching so desperately for Veil...?'
As Miya swallowed hard,
replies came swiftly from both towers.
"No barons among those who entered Bakal."
"No barons among those entering the Eastern Continent border, Lydia. Love you."
They had gone all the way to the Magic Tower to inquire,
yet with no word of Veil, the princesses fell silent.
"..."
Then, they turned their gazes to Miya, who had provided the tip that he had left the country.
'Scary...!'
Miya's spine chilled under the stare of the three sovereigns.
Meeting the eyes of the Conquest King's descendants made her tear ducts twitch involuntarily.
"Lady Miya. Are you certain Baron Veil left the country?"
"Well..."
Miya desperately recalled her memory of Veil.
His response when she had asked if he was going abroad.
"Wow—taking three whole weeks off. Planning to go overseas or something?"
"Nothing says I can't for a comfortable rest."
Nothing says I can't.
On second thought, those words did not mean he was definitely going abroad.
"He said he might go abroad. That's why I noted it broadly as 'overseas.'"
At Miya's answer, the princesses exchanged looks.
Now the scope of suspicion expanded to include domestic locations.
"Anyone have any guesses?"
At Lea's question, her sisters clamped their mouths shut.
Irina was especially quiet.
"Irina, you know something, don't you?"
Lea shot a suspicious glance at her sister, who struggled to maintain a blank expression.
"You went into the city with him often, didn't you?"
Meeting her gaze, Irina slowly closed her eyes.
Her beautiful silver eyelids glimmered.
"No, if even the great Lea doesn't know, how would I?"
As Irina replied humbly, the crystal orb on the table flickered.
――――――.
"Why is it doing that all of a sudden?"
Lydia asked.
Lea, familiar with magic, answered in her stead.
"Crystal orbs have had lie-detection spells since ancient times. Which means..."
「Beep. Lie.」
The orb decisively judged Irina's claim of ignorance about Veil's whereabouts.
"...!!"
The Second Princess's clear green eyes flashed at the unexpected verdict.
"What the hell is this thing saying...?"
As the Second Princess furrowed her brows, Lydia scoffed in disbelief.
"Ha, what? So you've known where Veil went all along and kept it to yourself? Planning to hog him later?"
Infuriated, Lydia clenched her fist.
She looked every bit the great Eastern Empress.
"W-what are you talking about? Hog him? I just wasn't sure, that's why I didn't say!"
「Beep. Lie.」
"Can't you shut that thing up?!"
Irina glared resentfully at the orb, which kept chirping obliviously.
Even Lea, who had been listening silently, let out a chuckle.
"Cute, Irina. It's almost pitiful watching you squirm."
The man she had already marked was now being eyed by other predators.
Irina began to grow anxious.
"Lady Miya. Please step outside the guest room for a bit. We have private matters to discuss."
Lea spoke in the haughty tone of a commander.
Yet her current attire was a dress that clung revealingly to her figure.
"Yes, Your Highness..."
Miya quietly exited the suffocating guest room and stood guard, firmly closing the door.
'This is straight-up terrifying. Veil, what the hell did you do...!!'
The knight stamped her feet in fear, her face full of dread.
Spotting passing mages, she hastily resumed her at-attention stance.
"..."
With Miya gone, Irina raised her voice even higher.
"You're the ones being blatant, aren't you?"
The silver-haired princess crossed her arms alone.
"Look at what you're wearing. You dolled up to get at Veil too."
The princesses, who usually focused solely on state affairs as rulers.
One in a provocative black cheongsam fit for a dancer.
One in a sensual dress like a newlywed wife.
Feeling the threat, the silver wolf shot them displeased looks.
"You're delusional. I just turned of age, so I wore our kingdom's traditional attire, that's all."
「Beep. Lie.」
The orb shot down Lydia's bold claim without mercy.
Her twin-tailed cheeks flushed as her true intentions were exposed.
"Y-you insolent orb... calling out lies like that...!!"
Irina chuckled at her fiery sister's reaction.
"The lie was yours just now."
The Second Princess smirked, as if she had expected it.
She tossed her long, wolf-tail-like hair and turned her head.
"Go ahead, make excuses all you want."
She aimed to expose Lea's inner thoughts through the orb's power as well.
"Lea, got something to say?"
"..."
The empire's First Imperial Princess glanced down at the orb.
Knowing its capabilities well, she pressed her soft lips together and stayed silent.
"Ha, figures."
Irina smirked at the sight.
"That's basically an admission."
Now that Veil was a noble,
there was no legal issue with royals associating with him.
However, the problem was justification.
The three princesses sought to prove who had the strongest claim on Veil.
"..."
A moment of silence.
Then Lydia pinched the cheongsam clinging to her side and opened fire.
"Sorry, but it's only natural for me to meet him dressed like this."
The black-haired princess fiddled with the unfamiliar cheongsam and declared confidently.
It was a design typically worn by married women.
"After all, I already shared a 'mixed bath' with him recently."
She placed a hand on her chest.
Her gaze turned seductive and alluring, unlike before.
「Beep. Truth.」
At the orb's confirmation of truth, Lea and Irina's eyes widened.
"W-what did you say...?"
Emboldened, Lydia grinned smugly, her expression brimming with arrogance.
"You all know what kind of relationship allows for a mixed bath."
The triumphant Eastern Empress gently rubbed her lower abdomen, where she had held Veil.
The cheongsam's fabric clung tightly, dipping provocatively at her navel.
"In our East, it's only for 'husband and wife'—"
Not to mention the glimpse of her pale armpit through the sleeves.
It was a charm distinct from the two mature princesses.
"..."
The two imagined Veil and Lydia gazing at each other with lewd eyes in the bath, washing one another.
Their composed gazes trembled faintly.
"You dragged Veil to the bath to seduce him?"
"You're so brazen, Lydia."
At the two princesses' words, Lydia shrugged as if she had been waiting.
"No—? He came in himself—."
Lydia's face reddened as she recalled that day.
"And we even saw each other's bodies..."
The once haughty youngest sister's shy, feminine expression—so new to her.
Feeling the crisis, Irina looked to the orb.
Sadly, it spoke only the truth.
「Beep. Truth.」
"Doesn't that mean he should be mine?"
Lydia placed her hands on her hips confidently.
She resembled a young leopard preening amid beasts.
"..."
Irina steadied her breathing.
Then, with wolf-sharp eyes, she countered.
"Even so, you only saw his body."
The silver-haired princess, sensing her turn, rebutted immediately.
"Don't you need to tangle bodies in a secret chamber for it to count?"
She gently rubbed her leggings-clad, voluptuous thighs.
Recalling the moment she had gripped Veil's leg like a pillar in between.
"Veil and I spent a long time in a hot, humid closet together."
Just thinking of it made sweat bead on her thighs.
Growing warm, she fanned her dress shirt leisurely as she replied.
「Beep. Truth.」
"He was so into it, he couldn't keep his wits about him in my arms."
The sight of him burying his face in her chest like a baby, snoring softly.
"So cute. Made me wonder if raising a child feels like this."
Her gaze was mature, as if she had already built a family with him.
Her figure felt soft and plush, like a mother's.
As if in that sticky chamber, she had been touched by the man's hands.
"O-oh, the closet..."
Lydia's sharp fangs growled.
Irina was no longer the insignificant girl of the past—far from negligible now.
She would no longer be culled as before.
But this was merely the beginning.
The eldest, Lea, had yet to go.
"..."
Lea flinched at her provocative sisters' boasts.
Yet when her turn came, she remained silent.
"What's with you today? So quiet."
Lydia eyed her suspiciously.
Irina guessed coolly with a ruler's gaze.
"She was just escorting as guard duty. What could happen with Veil on official business?"
"Yeah, she even met the Werewolf."
The two lifted their chins, convinced they had overwhelmed Lea this time.
Only then did Lea begin to react slightly.
"..."
Lea cleared her throat, maintaining decorum.
But soon, memories of the campsite with Veil surfaced, turning her cool gaze sultry.
As if something so indecent she could scarcely describe it herself had occurred.
"You can't fool us this time, Lea. No lies in front of this crystal orb."
Irina fixed her hesitating eldest sister with a cold stare.
Lydia nodded, hands on hips.
"Yeah, if you're out of ammo, just bow out quietly today—."
Hearing her sisters' taunts, Lea closed her eyes slowly.
Then...
She opened them regally, like a queen, and spoke.
"Who knows."
Lea hadn't joined because she gained nothing with Veil in terms of progress.
Quite the opposite...
"I held back from saying it myself because it'd shock you too much..."
She was far more intoxicated in victory than anyone.
"For your sakes, I thought it best to withdraw today..."
Lea rose from the round table.
The thin, long dress wrapping her body stretched taut.
"From now on, we'll act separately. You weren't planning to tell us Veil's location anyway, right, Irina?"
Irina looked up stiffly at the first-to-rise Lea.
Crossing her arms alone, she retorted.
"Of course not. I can't let selfish types like you exploit him."
"Selfish..."
Lea repeated her sister's words.
"You seem confused, but you're no different from us, Irina."
The princess modestly brushed back her glorious golden locks.
Then, flatly summarized their situation.
"Wanting to recruit him as fine talent? That's just an excuse, right?"
Lea grasped the guest room doorknob.
And stated matter-of-factly.
"We're simply bewitched by him."
Her gaze was sensually commanding, befitting the empire's leader.
She was fully aware of their predicament.
Yet she had no desire to escape it.
Rather...
"Oh, right, we were told to speak to the orb?"
She wanted to plunge even deeper.
Into the sly fox of a man's embrace.
"Yes. Since we're here, I'll tell you one thing."
At the First Imperial Princess's words, Irina and Lydia swallowed hard.
Miya eavesdropping near the entrance did the same.
With all eyes on her,
Lea dropped a single line with regal poise.
Just like her mother, the empire's First Imperial Consort, Rosanna.
"You know, I already know the length of Veil's... that part."
That part.
Her eldest sister's bombshell struck their minds, leaving the sisters dumbfounded.
Miya at the entrance clamped both hands over her mouth.
「Beep.」
「Truth.」