Chapter 188
Chapter 188
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Fox Hunt (2)
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“Secret technique, you say….”
Relieved in her heart, Miya started to answer the princesses’ question.
The reason why Veil had been particularly proactive toward her.
“...”
Her secret was simple: ‘familiarity.’
She could pat his shoulder without hesitation.
They could share meals together, and she could barge into his office unannounced and sprawl out on the sofa. It was that natural of a relationship.
A powerful title: ‘workplace senior.’
However, Miya soon clamped her lips shut.
On second thought, there was no reason to hand her secret over to her rivals.
She knew this well, so she swallowed deeply.
And then...
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can tell you.”
She responded confidently to the princesses.
“...”
Lydia’s expression turned icy.
Irina remained utterly expressionless.
Lea sipped her tea with relaxed eyes.
Only Tina, sitting across from them, furtively gauged the mood.
“Why not?”
Irina was the first to ask back.
Her gaze held the humble wisdom of a monarch eager to learn.
“Well, if I’m going to ‘compete’ with you princesses, I need my own weapons.”
Competition.
At Miya’s declaration of war, the princesses focused intently.
“To be honest, Veil still seems uncomfortable around you all.”
Summoning her courage, Miya stated it boldly.
“He only told me about his vacation spot. Doesn’t that mean being with you princesses has been ‘exhausting’ for him all this time?”
A sharper jab from Miya than expected.
It showed keen observation from someone who had watched Veil up close.
“Being with us is exhausting?”
“Yes. Otherwise, why hide his destination?”
Miya responded smoothly to Lydia’s flustered question.
Her eyes narrowed like those of a sly cat.
“Indeed, Lady Miya. You’re certainly a clever lady who’s caught Veil’s eye.”
Lea, who had been quietly watching,
responded leisurely to Miya’s provocation.
“But when we visited your home, Lady Miya.”
Lea, raised more lavishly than anyone in this wealthy empire,
recalled touring the rundown Greta estate.
“Your house still has a lot of debt, and the baron doesn’t seem to have the means to maintain his title properly.”
The empire’s First Princess pointed out Miya’s greatest weakness.
“In that regard, can you really make Veil happy? You, sly little baroness?”
Lea set down her teacup.
Crossing her ample thighs, she spoke bluntly.
“Men are always most burdened by anxiety over the future and responsibility for the household.”
As she folded her arms alone, the voluptuous curves hidden beneath her thick uniform jacket stood out.
“I can fulfill that. If he wants, I could let him farm watermelons for life.”
The princess said this, then murmured quietly to herself.
“Of course, only until noon.”
Afterward, Lea adjusted her posture.
And returned to being the empire’s kind First Princess.
“That’s how perfect a match we are. We can fill each other’s shortcomings.”
The wealthy Lydia agreed.
“Right, Veil ended up saying he likes me. And if he’s tired, I can just let him rest more—what’s the big deal?”
She faced her own flaw head-on and aimed to improve it.
“So, as long as we overcome that uncomfortable status gap, you think you can make him much happier than me?”
“...”
Miya had no rebuttal to that.
She was definitely behind in wealth, progress—everything.
“Ufufu...”
Noticing this, Lydia giggled like a little devil and stood from her seat.
Cookie crumbs clung to her lips as she leaned in close to Miya.
She had a youthful charm that would make her look like a teenager even in her thirties.
“You’ve only gone as far as a single kiss, right?”
Tilting her head made her black twin tails sway too.
It suited her signature school uniform look perfectly.
“You must have been in absolute bliss. Without knowing how much sweeter the next steps get.”
Lydia teased Miya with her characteristic eye smile.
Miya was utterly dumbfounded by the Third Princess’s unique brand of pawing.
But the princesses’ provocations were just beginning.
“Veil has gotten better at kissing lately.”
When Irina chimed in, Lydia stuck out her short, cute tongue.
A hot, sultry breath escaped her mouth.
“Yeah, now he even takes the initiative to wrap around mine.”
The princesses, who had tasted ecstasy first, bragged leisurely.
Then, Princess Christina, who had been silently listening beside them, spat out her tea.
“Pfft...!!”
She had thought the princesses of the Leon Empire were always brimming with charisma.
Even Bakal’s elders had warned her to be cautious of these women more than the crown prince.
Yet, when it came to Veil, they were no different from giggling schoolgirls.
‘Just what kind of skinship do they have with Veil... to make these noble princesses...’
Christina, with her winter-white hair and blue eyes, felt her own body heat up inexplicably.
“And the arrogant way he goes after my butt...”
Lydia placed a hand on her hip.
Though the shortest woman present, her presence was overwhelming.
“He has a pretty rough charm. He’s not just some boring guy who only takes it passively...”
Lydia’s cheeks flushed pink just thinking about it.
“Looks like even a fox has the fangs of a beast.”
Christina, who had been listening politely, saw her ice-blue eyes flash.
A much younger princess enjoying such hardcore play...!
‘Sp-spanking the butt too...!’
She couldn’t help but admire Leon Empire’s advanced sexual culture.
“But was spanking the butt really the act of a lover?”
Lea tossed in a line to deflate Lydia’s bravado.
“Maybe he was just disciplining a beast that kept rubbing against him.”
“W-what...? If you’re jealous, just say so!”
Lydia bared her teeth and snapped at Lea.
The empire’s eldest daughter smirked and turned to Miya.
“Lady Miya, didn’t you say earlier that being the closest to Veil gives you the advantage?”
Veil’s senior nodded quietly.
Lea smiled, claiming she was just as close to him.
“I’m connected to Veil through our innate aura.”
She placed her hand gracefully on her chest.
And declared regally, like a queen.
“Even when you kissed him earlier, I felt his silhouette perfectly.”
A fateful bond she couldn’t see.
Miya bit her lip at those words.
“Of course, that didn’t make me particularly jealous of your kiss.”
Lea looked at the young knight with mature eyes.
“The greater the man, the more women flock to him—it’s only natural.”
Finally, the First Princess dropped her smile.
And countered with cold eyes.
“But among those women, the top one needs something special, right?”
As the empire’s First Lady.
To Veil, she was number one.
“In that regard, the gap between you and me is vast.”
Lea brimmed with golden confidence.
“Is Your Highness planning to keep Veil in your grasp and toy with him?”
Miya worried for Veil under Lea’s intimidating presence.
As his close senior, she truly cared for her junior.
“...”
Lea didn’t like that attitude.
It felt like an inexplicable familiarity with Veil, reminiscent of Irina.
“Well...”
Regaining her composure, Lea responded.
She smiled kindly.
“I wanted to at first, but it didn’t work out.”
Lea cautiously slipped her hand inside her uniform jacket.
And then...
“Maybe I’m the one caught by him instead.”
The empire’s First Princess pinched the collar of the dress shirt hidden in her bosom.
She dangled it teasingly, like toying with a cat.
As if shaking catnip.
“...!”
Tina covered her mouth with her hand.
‘B-boyfriend’s shirt...!!’
The fantasy episode from her favorite novel about the northern duchess and slave knight—all the women had one just like this.
Seeing Lea revel in that exact vibe, Christina let out a hollow chuckle.
‘And it even has that precious preservation spell...?’
Moreover, that dress shirt bore her own developed scent-preservation magic.
She could smell his scent anytime, anywhere, to ease her anxieties.
“...”
Irina stared fixedly at the shirt.
Then, her clear eyes flashed as she spoke.
“Lea, isn’t that a bit creepy?”
With a saintly, sublime smile.
“Does Veil know you took that shirt?”
Irina, who competed with pure beauty.
Lea tilted her head and replied leisurely.
“What if he doesn’t? We’ll be sharing a room soon enough.”
“Big dreamer. I’ll be handling the wardrobe myself.”
Lea projected the image of an ambitious queen focused on state affairs.
In contrast, Irina gave off the vibe of a pure, devoted wife.
“Whether you get spanked or steal shirts, I don’t care.”
The empire’s Second Princess elegantly swept her lustrous silver hair behind her ear.
Her jewel-like long lashes sparkled.
“Fate will decide everything anyway.”
Claiming it was her turn, Irina brought up her recent achievement.
Wearing her nun’s habit.
“I’ve known Veil for a very long time, so I understand his inner self well.”
Irina placed her hand on her left breast.
And answered with a holy eye smile.
“All the way to the ‘deepest parts.’”
Was it the memory resurfacing?
Even in the cool evening, her whole body felt feverish.
“I tested it out in advance, and I seem to match him the deepest.”
Deep compatibility.
Lea’s serene face crumpled at the words.
‘She even tested their sexual compatibility?’
She had thought she’d progressed furthest with Veil.
‘With that blockhead Irina?’
Lea activated her grand aura detection ability.
And stared piercingly at Irina’s heart.
“...”
Fortunately, there was no major change in the aura within her body.
Meaning no direct relations yet.
However, speaking so confidently still implied...
They had at least pressed their intimate parts together.
“Insolent...”
Lea showed an unpleasant expression she’d never revealed before.
Pretending to be pure all this time.
A nun trying to seduce followers by smothering their faces in her skirt.
In Lea’s eyes, Irina was practically a fallen saint.
“Compatibility? What do you...”
Lydia felt the same.
She had tried too, but the carriage’s jolts had plunged her into ecstasy.
Overwhelmed by pleasure, she hadn’t regained her senses.
She couldn’t even gauge their intimate compatibility.
Yet Irina seemed utterly at ease, as if she’d handled the process masterfully.
Lydia’s cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk in frustration.
“Hah, saint my foot! You think I’d hand Veil over to a lewd harlot like you?”
The crumbs on her cheek fell to the floor.
Miya felt the same.
“Veil went that far...”
She swallowed deeply at how much further the princesses had gone.
‘S-sexual compatibility...!!’
Princess Christina’s fingers trembled faintly around her teacup.
She’d seen Irina as just a pretty-faced prude...
But behind that pure face lurked a succubus.
“...”
Overwhelmed by the grandeur of her massive rivals, Miya bowed her head.
Satisfied, the princesses curled their lips upward.
“Don’t be discouraged, Miya. You’re attractive enough to shake Veil too.”
Irina folded her arms alone.
And said confidently.
“If you want, I can introduce you to one of my knights.”
The princess thought of her vice-captain and moved to suggest it.
But at that moment.
“No.”
Miya lifted her head.
“Thanks to Your Highnesses, I’ve realized something clearly.”
She pressed her palm firmly to her chest and declared.
“How much effort it takes to become someone worthy of Veil.”
A black cat charging forward instead.
The beasts were thrown off balance.
“Yes...?”
“Clearly, my current advantages aren’t enough yet.”
Miya’s black eyes flashed.
Her bobbed hair whipped as she proclaimed.
“So, I’ll prove it at this tournament.”
The Imperial Greatest Sword Selection Tournament.
She declared she would enter boldly.
“That I’m the reliable senior for Veil.”
‘Reliable senior.’
Miya Greta.
“Fine, Miya. I’ll cheer for you instead of cursing you.”
‘Fated partner.’
Irina Andalusia.
“No matter the result, Veil will come east with me. I’ll give him freedom there.”
‘Savior of the East.’
Lydia Andalusia.
“Try your best, everyone. I’ll show it through actions, not words.”
‘Empire’s Sovereign.’
Lea Andalusia too.
Each made their declaration.
Finally, they turned to Princess Christina.
“...?”
Tina blankly met the women’s gazes.
“Uh.... I like Veil too, but...”
The situation demanded she say something.
So the princess replied on impulse.
“I just came for business today...”
‘Just for business.’
Even Christina Bakar.
The five noble women awaited the soon-to-be-held Imperial Greatest Sword Selection Tournament.
“...”
Due to the solemn atmosphere, Christina briefly excused herself.
She slipped behind the wall alone and curled her lips.
“Not so easy, huh...?”
Hiding her expression, the princess smirked as if she’d uncovered the empire’s greatest treasure.
And plotted to steal it.
“But that makes me want it more.”
Christina strolled the corridor alone quietly.
Then, she paused, recalling one memory.
A man who saved her, promising reunion at Bakal’s border.
“...”
The white-haired princess closed her eyes, envisioning his faint smile.
She placed her hand on her chest and mirrored that smile.
In the mirror, her reflection looked just as seductive as a succubus, no less than the princesses.
Soon, that image was obscured by a humid, hot breath.