Chapter 215
Chapter 215
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: High-Class Party
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Evening arrived.
The Heavenly Palace had been steeped in a profoundly dark and solemn atmosphere while the Emperor lay in a coma.
The corridors, painted in platinum, always kept their lighting dim, and the retainers were forbidden from laughing carelessly as they walked the hallways.
But.
Today, the Heavenly Palace had finally regained its vibrant colors.
With the Emperor's awakening and the Empire's Greatest Sword Selection Tournament concluding in grand success.
Thanks to that, dazzlingly beautiful lights filled the corridors for the first time in ages.
Not to mention the clear marble tiles that rang out with every step.
Proving that the Leon Empire stood at the continent's center, the central palace shone with splendor everywhere.
Following the tiles inward led to the grand entrance of the banquet hall.
And standing guard there were two men in uniform.
Batsu and Allen.
"Oh my... Isn't that Vice-Captain Allen?"
"I didn't expect to see you here too, Batsu..."
The eyes of the young noble ladies who spotted the next captain candidates dripped with honey.
They gazed up adoringly at the two knights who had volunteered as escorts for this banquet.
"We'll escort you inside, miladies."
"Please follow us."
The men showed none of their former arrogance or smugness.
True to their status as future captains, they guided the ladies inside with the humble demeanor of escorts.
The girls followed their broad backs into the banquet hall.
There, on either side, stood an orchestra of seasoned musicians.
「―――――」
They played magnificent music befitting the occasion, elevating the banquet's elegance.
The attendees, holding fine wines, chatted amiably as they enjoyed the event.
Yet even among such distinguished guests, certain figures shone brightest.
The imperial princesses, bearers of the Empire's most noble bloodlines.
"Princess... may I really sit here with you...?"
A bob-haired woman at the same round table asked in a shy voice.
As a fallen noble seated among royals, she drew every eye in the room.
"Of course. Lady Miya more than deserves a seat here."
"Yes, sit comfortably. Make yourself at ease."
Irina and Lydia, seated on either side, soothed her with kind smiles.
Miya sipped her wine cautiously, glancing around.
Then, her eyes caught sight of her senior palace guards seated farther away.
"Senior, look at Miya over there. Was she always acquainted with the princesses?"
"Rumor has it the princesses themselves visited her family home recently."
The junior knight jumped in surprise at his senior's words.
"Huh?! Really?! What on earth happened...?"
"They're probably trying to scout her, each in their own way."
The senior palace guard smirked with haughty eyes.
He gazed fondly at Miya alongside his junior.
"Miya aced both the first- and second-half evaluations. And that hand-axe performance at the tournament was insane."
"Sigh... I'm so jealous."
Miya, dressed in a deep green silk gown.
Her profile from the chair was quite striking.
Not as delicate and elegant as Irina's, but she had a healthy, voluptuous figure.
"Even sitting with the princesses, Miya doesn't look out of place at all, does she?"
"Miya...?"
The senior scowled at his junior's offhand remark.
"Yeah, like... more realistically pretty, I guess."
"Are you drunk? Comparing her to the princesses?"
Miya's seniors chuckled and waved him off.
Then, they turned their attention to the lavish feast before them.
Only after their eyes moved away did Miya finally exhale.
'Haaah...'
Her lips itched, craving the cigarettes she'd quit.
Irina noticed and smiled brightly, patting the knight's bare shoulder.
"Lady Miya."
"Y-Yes...?"
Miya looked up at the Second Princess like a weary cat.
The silver-haired Irina gave a mature, knowing smile.
"Quitting smoking must be tough, right?"
"Huh... How did you know...?"
The Empire's Second Princess's lips curved up in amusement at the knight's reaction.
She tapped her nose lightly and replied.
"You smell even sweeter than usual."
Irina, sensitive to scents like a wolf.
She pulled a small balm tin from her bosom and handed it to Miya.
"Here, apply it to your lips. I hear they get dry when you quit smoking."
"Th-Thank you..."
Miya accepted the dainty case politely with both hands.
She had expected them to dislike her, given their veiled rivalry.
Yet the three princesses facing her were even kinder than before.
As if they had become friends sharing secrets.
"You're using it well, Your Highness..."
"Hehe... You keep it, Lady Miya. I brought an extra one."
Moreover, Irina seemed even more mature since last they'd met, as if something had happened with Veil beneath the veil.
As if she'd resolved the worries that had constricted her heart, letting their bond grow deeper.
'Somehow, it feels like I'm more of a pet to them than a rival!!'
Miya watched the princesses converse with the relaxed gaze of queens before her.
The first to speak was the Empire's First Princess, Lea.
"Ah, Lydia."
Her hourglass figure was wrapped in a sheer mesh dress.
She elegantly grasped her wine glass, gloved in white silk.
"About that onsen your side just opened."
The First Princess swirled her glass lightly, letting it kiss the air.
She looked across at Lydia, dressed in stark contrast in a black silk gown, and asked.
"I'd like to borrow the VIP bath in two days."
"The bath...? Since when were you interested in our Eastern onsen?"
As Lydia tilted her head, her twin tails swung to one side.
Lea tapped her soft cheek with a finger and replied.
"After Veil came back from his onsen dispatch, his skin looked even tauter."
"What? When did you even check that?"
The youngest princess pouted at Lea, who tracked even the skin condition of the man she fancied.
In response, Lea smiled like a goddess piercing all creation.
"Well, I know everything about that boy."
"Pfft."
Irina snorted at Lea's words.
As if her sister's claim was laughable.
Lea's eyes flickered briefly, but she focused on Lydia's reply for now.
"If you want the onsen, go reserve it yourself. Don't come to me—"
Lydia shrugged.
She pinched the thin silk clinging to her smooth belly.
"I can't exactly go ask in person. I want you to make the arrangements directly."
"Why is the great Lea nagging like this? You don't plan on mixed bathing with Veil, do you?"
The red-eyed Third Princess asked with a leopard's sharp gaze.
Lea replied leisurely, like the matriarch lioness.
"Oh, of course. Who else would I share it with but him?"
The First Princess placed a hand on her large, beautiful bosom.
A deep valley came into view through the transparent mesh.
"This body that's soon to become 'one family' with his."
"Absolutely not lending it to you!"
Lydia shouted like a snarling leopard.
Her twin tails shook fiercely, mirroring her heart.
"But you have no choice, do you—?"
Lea countered her sister's outburst with a goddess-like, leisurely smile.
As if she held the youngest's weakness.
"You took watermelon seedlings from our Western territories last time."
The Empire's eldest pointed at Lydia with her finger.
"To force some ridiculous watermelon farm and lure out Veil—"
Hearing of Lydia's scheming, Miya and Irina both looked up.
They stared pointedly at the youngest sister.
"But you didn't send those 250 watering cans along with them."
Like her father the Conqueror King and mother the Desert Princess Vanessa, Lydia shot back defiantly at Lea's interrogation.
"You acted all generous when I bought them, saying they'd throw them in, then claimed you forgot?"
"Trifles like that, make them yourselves. Your Eastern knights have plenty of free time, don't they?"
Lea, versed in all the Empire's intelligence, replied smoothly.
"We slaved away making them ourselves. Do you know how annoying it is to get clay stuck between your nails?"
"Oh my. The ever-haughty Third Princess molding clay herself? How commendable."
Lea clapped lightly alone, as if the matter were settled.
"Anyway, it's resolved. So make the reservation directly now. Or sell it to me if it's a hassle."
The princess elegantly sipped her wine.
"Mixed onsen bathing..."
Irina, listening beside them, showed interest.
She adjusted her stunning white dress, precariously draped over her shoulders, and asked Lydia.
"Lydia, reserve one for me too. Sounds intriguing."
Irina, who had fantasized about bathing together countless times back in their poor palace days.
Now with nothing holding her back, she demanded boldly.
"Go reserve it yourselves, you oversized bitches!!"
In the lofty Heavenly Palace's banquet hall.
Even at its most noble table, the refined conversation continued.
"I'm absolutely not reserving for you. It's just for Veil and me!"
Lydia huffed and sipped her wine.
She was finally of age to drink freely.
And after being tamed by Bale's touches, her figure had grown remarkably supple.
Grape juice dripped messily onto her petite, cute breasts as she gulped it down roughly.
"..."
Irina stared intently at her sister's curves.
A fun idea struck her, and she asked slyly, like a familiar fox of a man.
"Come on, Lydia. That's why I sent you that masseuse."
"...!!"
Massage.
At the word, Lydia slammed her glass down like she'd been caught red-handed.
"You said you wanted to improve your figure..."
"You... you...!! Just try saying one more word!!"
Lydia grabbed Irina's shoulders with her dainty hands.
Her shark-like sharp teeth were moments from biting her sister's shoulder.
"Really...? That's adorable, our little youngest?"
Even Lea burst into unusual laughter.
However, the eldest's laughter soon halted like the youngest's.
"Lea, you're no different."
Irina's assault showed no signs of stopping.
"I heard you've started 'working out' at our Northern gym lately?"
Irina placed her hands proudly on her hips.
Her sleek abs and full, sturdy thighs stood out beneath the thin dress.
"And you're even using one of our people as a coach, right?"
"What's wrong with working out...?"
Lea crossed her arms defiantly alone.
Her underbust propped up by her arms accentuated her voluptuous curves.
"They say you're focusing mostly on transparent chair pose? To lift your hip line."
"Ahem..."
Lea cleared her throat dryly at her sister knowing her workout routine precisely.
She then crossed her soft, ample thighs and held back her reply.
"My workouts are an essential duty as the Empire's Commander."
Moreover, she hadn't showered right after, drenched in sweat and radiating heat.
Instead, she'd slipped into Bale's dress shirt in that sticky state, feeling as if cradled in his arms.
Of course, that was Lea's little secret.
"Anyway, tit for tat. Right, Irina?"
The Empire's First Princess changed the subject to bury her own shady hobby.
She knew her sisters' weaknesses, just as they knew hers.
"You... recently met the imperial tailor living in our Western region, didn't you?"
Lea didn't want to stoop to her sisters' level either.
But whenever Bale came up, she couldn't help turning girlish like them.
"Huh...?"
Irina, who had only shown mature gazes until now.
Her chin, resting leisurely on her hand, twitched at her half-sister's ambush.
"And that tailor is famous for lingerie designs, wasn't she...?"
"Oh, the pioneer of lace designs and strap underwear?"
Exactly, Lydia chimed in.
At that, Irina's face, pale as her silver locks, began flushing red.
"S-Stop!! That's far enough!!"
The Empire's Second Princess frantically waved her hands as her carefully hidden plan was exposed to the other princesses.
She desperately tried to defuse the situation.
'Miyaaa...!'
Miya, overhearing, swallowed hard amid the fearsome beasts' glare-down.
She grew tense watching her rivals' lavish spending and meticulous self-care.
However, the escalating rivalry soon hit a temporary truce.
Because...
「――――――」
Far away, at the banquet hall entrance.
A familiar man and a woman appeared.
"His Majesty awaits on the second floor. I'll escort you there."
"Do as you will."
The Empire's First Imperial Consort, Rosanna, whipped her head away from my offered hand.
But her hand touched mine softly all the same.
"Hmm..."
The princesses all stared fixedly at the properly executed escort procedure.
Then, they pouted at Rosanna, who looked their age despite being over forty.
"For some reason, that sight pisses me off."
"Yeah."
"Tell me about it."
'Miyaaa...'