Chapter 196
Chapter 196
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: The Emperor's Benefactor (1)
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A cozy sofa in the VIP guest room.
I lay back on it, stretching my legs out fully.
No pillow was needed.
Something far softer and even warmer was there...
"You're acting like a child, Veil?"
Leah's thigh.
"When you're fighting, you're like a ferocious beast..."
Leah cradled the nape of my neck in her palm.
She held me close, making me look up at her.
"But right now, you're just too adorable."
Honestly, I couldn't look up at her properly.
Her ample flesh blocked her face from view.
Only when she leaned down did I catch a glimpse of her blue eyes.
"Um... how long do I have to stay like this?"
I wanted to get up, worried about her thigh going numb beneath me.
But each time, Leah replied with a gentle smile.
"You must be exhausted from dealing with my mother. You need to rest."
As if she'd never met my mother before.
"..."
Her unfamiliar kindness felt strange to me.
Catching the look in my eyes, Leah gazed at me with pity.
"No one's ever faced my mother while stone-cold sober."
Having experienced her power multiple times already, the First Imperial Princess's eyes held a subtle emptiness.
Come to think of it, she was in the same boat—opposed to Rozanna.
She'd survived only because she was her daughter; if she'd been a man, she'd have fought in the shadows like me.
"I suppose... any ordinary knight would have been helpless."
You needed mana to light up the surroundings just to block her weapons flying from the darkness.
That required at least a swordmaster who could emit golden aura.
In other words, Rozanna herself was near swordmaster level.
'No wonder she's a woman only the emperor can handle.'
Was that why she'd taken a liking to me—the second man who could handle her dark desires?
The thought made my lips curl up involuntarily.
At that moment.
The ample flesh blocking the space between Leah and me drew closer.
Dizzingly close, brushing the tip of my nose.
"You were thinking about my mother again, weren't you?"
"N-No, I wasn't."
I waved my hands frantically.
But the empire's First Imperial Princess bent over me like a mother nursing her child.
"Uh..."
Close enough that my nose sank between the twin peaks.
"My mother became strong by joining with Father, a grand master like her."
Leah, marked with a mole on her breast like Rozanna.
Her skin's scent made my head foggy.
"If you're so anxious and worried..."
Leah's cheeks seemed to flush subtly.
Even though she hadn't drunk any alcohol.
She always showed the cool composure of a ruler when sober.
Was it because of the feminine dress she wore?
Or because, for the first time in her life, she felt the sting of jealousy?
With a frustrated expression, she stared down at me intently.
"I'm the one who'll cross the line first."
Leah gently grasped my chin.
She leaned in to imprint her lips on mine.
At that moment.
"..."
I stared up blankly at the First Imperial Princess's face.
Then, with a stoic expression, I spoke.
"The one who's anxious isn't me—it's you, Leah."
"What...?"
Her delicate brows furrowed at the idea that she was the anxious one.
"You're afraid I'll get devoured by Consort Rozanna, aren't you?"
That's why she wanted to mark me with her scent so badly today.
Like an instinctive alpha lioness.
"Don't worry."
I lifted my face for her sake.
My eyes fixed on the pool of holy water gathered between the princess's ample breasts.
"I'll make sure you have nothing to fear anymore."
The holy water she'd spilled earlier while feeding it to me lip-to-lip.
Warmed in her mouth.
Or heated by her hot breasts.
It looked deliciously warm.
Like a parched fox seeking water, I buried my face in.
I began lapping up the water pooled in her cleavage.
"Hoo..."
――――――.
Nose pressed tight, as deep as possible.
"Hngh...!"
Leah let out an involuntary, needy moan at the sucking sensation.
But she didn't hate it—she bit her finger to stifle the sound.
"Good... just as I thought..."
Rather, seeing a man forget Rozanna and explore her embrace instead.
It lifted the corners of her mouth, as if fulfilling her as a woman.
"Haaa..."
Even just the suction on her upper breasts was this intense.
Leah's soft, ample flesh felt increasingly hot and firm.
At the same time, she imagined it.
How good it would feel if he explored all the way to the tips.
Unknowingly, the princess was gradually succumbing to possessiveness and pleasure.
"Hooo...!"
Leah wrapped her arms around my nape.
She squeezed her thighs, pressing my face tighter into her breasts.
But soon, she had to stop.
Because I'd drunk the pooled holy water far too quickly.
"..."
She looked down at me like a baby.
As if wanting to let me drink longer.
"Well then, time to get up."
But I rose first.
I prepared to head out and watch the next match, the third round.
"The next match is starting soon."
"Eh..."
Leah's slipped dress.
She slowly covered the pale, pink tips peeking out.
I buttoned my soaked dress shirt tightly.
Then, as I grasped the VIP room doorknob.
I easily broke the locking spell with force.
'So she had locked it.'
I chuckled inwardly and glanced back at Leah.
In the time I hadn't seen her, she'd transcended mere ruthless ruler to embody queenly qualities.
Her sharp eyes now held a seductive allure.
Her stiff movements softened, as if yearning to embrace a man.
And that feminine gaze whenever she looked at me.
It was enchantingly dizzying.
"Then, I'll see you at the evening banquet."
"Very well. You are dismissed."
Leah chuckled.
She regained her poise and gestured graciously.
――――――.
I quietly closed the VIP room door.
Then, I leaned against it with a deep sigh.
"Hoo..."
'That was really dangerous.'
I'd begged them to wait until this tournament ended.
But the princesses couldn't hold back and came to mark their territory.
My mind spun so wildly I could barely endure it.
Especially lying with my face on her thigh, gazing up at that ample flesh.
Some inexplicable sensual lewdness was too much to bear.
'But not yet.'
I was still just a baron.
If I took the princesses like this and someone sharp like Rozanna found out.
Who knows what weakness they'd exploit.
So, I needed to reach a position where I could stand proudly before them soon.
A perfect title where I could work moderately and earn recognition moderately.
With that thought, I calmed my heart against the VIP room door.
Meanwhile.
Leah, still seated on the sofa.
Her lips refused to stop smiling.
"Veil must have forgotten."
The grand aura of the man behind the door.
She realized that the moment he parted from her, his strength drained, leaving him slumped against the door.
"No matter where you are, I can sense you."
Leah smiled maturely at his shadow visible under the door.
And the moment his shadow vanished completely.
Her smile turned seductive.
"..."
Then, Leah looked down at her own breasts.
She rubbed the sticky traces of his saliva with her palm.
She inhaled the scent deeply through her nose.
Only after absorbing that musky, lewd aroma did her heart settle, and she exhaled slowly.
"Haaa..."
The princess hurriedly placed her hand on her breasts.
Soon, blue mana swirled from her fingertips.
――――――.
The scent on her breasts rose like smoke into the air.
Leah captured it in a small glass vial she'd prepared in advance.
As if to preserve it.
"Just a little longer..."
She cast her self-developed permanent preservation spell on his scent.
Then, she planned to open the lid bit by bit, inhaling it as she waited.
"Yes, it won't be long now."
Until the tournament's closing ceremony.
「―――――」
Having finally steadied my heart, I walked the corridor alone.
I headed to the stands to watch Batsch's third-round match.
His opponent was the Black Knight, I think.
The bracket listed him as from the Imperial Knight Order.
But thanks to Ekina's intel, I'd learned beforehand that he was disguising his identity as the Black Knight.
That's why I headed to the referee stand again, like before, to gauge his level and strategy.
But when I reached the stands' entrance.
I ran into Prime Minister Mosian, waiting for me.
"Baron Veil."
"Prime Minister...?"
Instinctively, I tugged at my dress shirt, still damp with the princess's saliva.
I brushed it off casually and asked him.
"Surely you didn't come looking for me?"
"Indeed. But it seems something happened? Your shirt is wet."
I waved it off shamelessly.
"I was drinking water, and a friend playfully shoved me—what else?"
"I see. As expected, the baron has friends everywhere."
He chuckled, stroking his chin.
Then, he dropped his smile and spoke gravely.
"You should tidy your clothes first."
His serious gaze made me tilt my head.
Mosian then brought up something I hadn't expected.
"His Majesty has summoned you."
A summons from the emperor.
Even after a few times, it never got any less daunting.
"Right now...?"
"Yes. He's waiting in the state guest room at the arena's center."
I hurriedly donned the uniform jacket at my waist.
I buttoned it fully to hide the heated, damp shirt.
'Trouble's brewing today...'
From Princess Christina onward.
Then Rozanna and Leah, and now His Majesty the Emperor.
It felt like something ominous was afoot at this tournament.
"This way."
The prime minister pointed not to the wide corridor, but a dim, narrow passage.
The kind where janitors lean to smoke and rest.
"..."
But following him deep inside revealed an emergency staircase.
Mosian led the way silently, clearly familiar with it.
Soon, a pitch-dark passage appeared, lit only by faint lanterns.
The old prime minister stopped and pressed one brick firmly.
At that moment.
――――――.
What looked like a plain wall turned into a curtain.
'A concealment spell...?'
The prime minister brushed the curtain aside indifferently.
He gestured elegantly for me to enter.
"..."
I stepped forward accordingly.
At that instant.
"...!"
The state guest room at the arena's top level appeared, bathed in brilliant sunlight.
There stood a great man by the window, hands clasped behind his back.
The empire's emperor and alpha lion, Leonhardt.
"I greet Your Imperial Majesty."
His overwhelming grand aura made my body react instinctively.
I knelt and paid my respects.
「Baron Veil. Forgive me for summoning you through such a humble path.」
The emperor, dressed in resplendent white uniform.
In the past, he could barely stand and clung to loose robes.
Now, quite recovered, he maintained a sharp silhouette.
「But with so many eyes watching, I hope you understand.」
He glanced down at me.
His blue eyes, like Leah's, shimmered like ocean ripples.
"Not at all. The honor of a private audience alone is immense."
I replied with utmost courtesy.
The emperor turned his massive frame.
「I called you because I have a few questions.」
He stared straight at me and asked.
"Ask anything, Your Majesty. I shall answer with all sincerity."
I raised my head.
The moment I looked up at the emperor.
「Indeed, you applied for withdrawal from this tournament in advance.」
I met his puzzled expression.
「Why would a talent like you forfeit such an opportunity?」
The emperor unclasped his hands and sat slowly on the sofa.
He propped his chin on his hand, like a god lost in contemplation.
「You blocked my lightning and showed grand master prowess, yet you didn't. You could easily surpass those old knight captains.」
'The time has finally come.'
I thought the moment to answer him had arrived.
Memories of a lifetime guarding royalty until death.
Moments when comrades fell beside me.
"May I speak frankly...?"
「Go ahead.」
I swallowed deeply.
Then, like a resolute hero, I answered gravely.
"I don't want to rise to a high position and work my whole life."
I don't want to work.
Daring to say such a thing to the emperor who pierced all things.
"Ba-Baron Veil...?"
The prime minister listening beside us looked flustered.
He knew well I was lazy.
But he never dreamed I'd declare it so boldly before the emperor.
For his sake, I added one more line.
"The empire already overflows with talent without me, achieving this era of peace."
I pulled out the speech I'd prepared to convince the emperor and prime minister.
"A new grand master's emergence might only bring despair to the young knights striving hard."
Only then did the prime minister close his mouth slowly, convinced by my plausible reason.
But the emperor's expression remained icy.
"So instead of flaunting my skills childishly, I'd rather pass them to promising youths and use my talents that way."
「...」
The emperor closed his eyes slowly.
He pondered for a moment.
"In fact, I'm already instructing the vice captains of the princesses' knight orders. Richard, who won this time, is my disciple."
Leonhardt had witnessed Richard's skill firsthand.
He realized the secret behind the once-reckless knight's newfound calm was me.
「I see... So you were behind Leah.」
"Yes, not just Leah, but I'm also guiding outstanding knights like Allen and Batsch. You'll soon see the results of my training."
「You do seem to think several steps ahead of others.」
The emperor's expression softened, his deep eyes opening.
'Yes...!'
Relief washed over me at his gentler face.
As I prepared to say I'd retire from knighthood after the tournament and live as an instructor.
「But tell me this.」
His follow-up question made me freeze.
「Why did you meet Rozanna today, if you're so uninterested in advancement?」
"Yes...?"
I stared blankly at his question.
Leonhardt asked coldly, expressionless.
「It's the first time that child has talked to anyone for so long.」
The First Imperial Consort, who until now operated covertly behind the crown prince.
For a young, beautiful woman to meet a young man privately.
It really was suspicious.
「What did you two discuss?」
In an instant, the emperor's gaze turned as frigid as in his conquering king days.
He glared murderously at me—the man who'd suddenly quit and secretly met his wife.
"That is..."
I hurried to answer the continent's strongest.
But what flashed in my mind wasn't her attack.
Nor her questions.
'Why do I keep thinking of that black mole!'
Only Epina's, the realm's top beauty's, sensual figure and Leah's holy water.