Chapter 220
Chapter 220
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: The Emperor's Summons
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The most splendid imperial banquet hall in the Empire.
A massive chandelier made of crystal hung from the ceiling, emitting a light as bright as the sun.
The floor was laid with beautiful marble that rang out with a clear tone with every step.
However, the true stars shining brightest were the noble women seated around the round table.
The conversation among the women gathered around one man seemed as grave as discussing state affairs.
But.
"Long-tailed oysters, huh? Isn't the intent a bit too obvious, Lea?"
Irina, arms crossed alone.
Her fair cheeks puffed up cutely like a squirrel's.
"And you, Veil. Why were you just going to swallow it whole?"
Irina pointed at the relaxed Lea and asked.
"Do you know what she might have done to it inside?"
"Oh my, Irina. What do you mean by 'done to it'?"
Lea's mature eyes curved into crescent moons with a smile.
Wearing soft, sensitive silk gloves, she stroked my length under the table.
"This is a breed I had airlifted straight from the Bacal Strait. It's 'very' good for the body, that's all."
The Empire's First Imperial Princess fondled my length lewdly.
Unlike her naughty hand movements, her face pretended to be noble and utterly composed.
"You're not thinking something lewd in that head of yours, are you?"
She always acted with perfect dignity.
But secretly enjoying the thrill of depravity.
At that, I swallowed hard and endured the sensation.
"What...? You think I'm like you?"
Irina huffed and tried to play innocent.
However, she too had a history of thoroughly sucking on my fingers in the past, claiming she was disinfecting them, savoring every bit.
Even as princesses, their conversation was far more human than one might expect.
"Haha... Yes, it's just good cuisine, nothing more."
I smiled with narrowed eyes to smooth things over.
Then, I mischievously grabbed Lea's rear, signaling her to stop.
Her sweat-slicked skin twitched in response.
「...」
Watching us silently from the second floor was Emperor Leonhardt.
He had a moment alone while Rosanna stepped away to fix her smudged makeup from crying.
「Is it really just a coincidence...?」
In his sharpened memories, he was mentally comparing Sir Bertie and my face.
But no matter how he thought about it, those sly, fox-like eyes were too similar.
With a deep sigh, he made one resolution.
「Mosian.」
Calling his name, the imperial prime minister, who had been standing at a distance, approached.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
A conqueror king who preferred immediate action over prolonged deliberation.
With the resolute gaze of his younger days, he commanded the old man.
「Request a teleportation spell from the Magic Tower right now.」
"Teleportation, Your Majesty...?"
Hearing mention of such a rare high-difficulty spell, Mosian's eyes gleamed.
"Does Your Majesty require a grand magus immediately...?"
Teleportation typically required over ten mages to cast a large-scale spell.
Thus, a single use demanded an enormous fee from the Magic Tower.
Even the emperor found it burdensome.
Yet to request it suddenly.
It left the prime minister quite flustered.
「Yes, there's someone I need to meet and confirm with right away.」
"Understood. Whom shall I bring?"
Mosian inwardly thought of the Magic Tower Lord of the Blue Tower, a friend of the emperor, or perhaps the king of Bacal, with whom they'd recently made peace.
However, the name from the emperor's lips was utterly unexpected.
「The orphanage in Cornell. I want you to bring its director.」
Orphanage director.
At the unfamiliar name, Mosian's white eyebrows twitched.
But believing His Majesty had profound reasons, he obeyed without question.
"Understood."
The prime minister summoned the imperial knights and headed to the teleportation Magic Tower at the palace center.
――――――.
Two hours after the prime minister departed.
As night deepened, the banquet hall's atmosphere heated up.
With alcohol flowing, the princesses' expressions began to loosen.
"Veil... so, what are your plans going forward?"
"Plans?"
Lydia, her nose bridge flushed red, swirled her wine glass and asked.
"Yes. Now that you're the Empire's guardian, your duties will increase, won't they?"
"Indeed. With a marquisate rank, you'll attend imperial councils and events frequently."
"You might even have to move into the central palace."
The princesses seemed expectant of me relocating to the central palace.
It was close to all their territories, after all.
"..."
However, unlike the leisurely royals, Miya pursed her lips tightly.
She had nothing to offer against their overwhelming scale right now.
Moreover, her family home was far from the palace center.
She was at a disadvantage in every way.
"Well."
I glanced at Miya.
A feminine figure perfectly suited to her green silk dress.
It was the same outfit she'd worn to Lydia's birthday party.
Her senior focused more on building a family than on dressing up—a modest, proper woman.
"Probably keep my original affiliation with the Capital Defense Office. It's an important post, after all."
Only then did Miya's expression brighten at the words of remaining her junior.
Like a black cat inwardly delighted to have her owner stay home instead of going to work on the weekend.
"But I'll have more dispatch duties. So, to prepare for trips, maybe rent small hotels in various places..."
I secretly patted the back of her hand under the table as I replied.
The princesses looked disappointed but all focused back on the word 'hotel.'
"Hotels... No need for that."
Especially Lydia's peculiar gaze, her face flushed.
Drunk, her half-lidded red eyes looked even more devilishly alluring.
"We have the bedroom where we 'lay together.' You can use that."
Her face red.
She wiped the wine from her lips with the back of her hand and gave a suggestive smile.
"Your Highness...? Your nose is flushed..."
When I tapped my nose and pointed it out, Lydia chuckled in exasperation.
"Am I drunk or something—?"
Her drawn-out "—?" was adorably cat-like.
"I'm just a bit worried."
She'd just turned twenty perfectly after her birthday.
She was surely not yet used to alcohol.
"I'm fine. The blood of the Conqueror King wouldn't yield to mere drink—."
Lydia set down her wine glass.
Then, she leaned her face against my arm.
"Well, even if I do get drunk..."
Lydia gazed up at me with half-lidded eyes.
Soon, in a very feminine voice she'd rarely shown me, she murmured.
"You know my palace address, don't you?"
The youngest princess's suggestive words.
They were so cute and charming that my lips twitched.
"With those sturdy legs, carry me back..."
As if embarrassed by her bold words, the alluring Lydia shyly averted her gaze.
Unlike her usual authoritative tone, her honest side.
Feeling a strange attraction, I swallowed deeply.
At that moment.
"Hmm...?"
Irina, watching from the side, sharpened her gaze like a she-wolf.
As if guarding her mate.
She plucked a plump grape from the table's fruit.
Then, without warning, popped it into her little sister's mouth, mounting an ironclad defense.
"Lydia, sweets are good for hangovers."
The silver-haired princess fed grapes to the black-haired one, blocking the seductive advance however she could.
Lydia's newfound maturity as a lady during their time apart must have felt quite threatening.
"You're not used to alcohol yet, so let me teach you personally—."
"Mmph...!! Who asked you to feed me? Only Veil..."
Miya and Lea seemed satisfied with Irina's ironclad defense, their expressions relaxing.
Thanks to that, I could finally rise from my seat.
"I'll step out to the restroom for a bit."
I slipped away while the princesses checked the matured youngest's provocation.
「――――――」
While I was away.
An unexpected guest arrived at the banquet hall entrance with the prime minister.
"I wonder if it's really okay for someone like me to be in a place like this..."
Hans, the orphanage director, hastily dressed in a white shirt and blazer after washing the children late into the night.
And Mago, accompanying him in a plain black dress.
"You are here as honored guests."
They had suddenly arrived in the Empire's most luxurious space.
"So, no need to feel burdened."
The prime minister tried to lead Hans and Mago into the hall.
But subordinates approached with matters to relay, forcing him to step away.
"Please wait here a moment. I'll guide you to the one you wish to meet shortly."
"Yes, understood..."
Even Mago, a grand witch called the queen back in Cornell.
Even she felt awkward in such an ultra-luxurious banquet hall for the first time.
Hans was the same.
Even as a former noble knight, the central palace was new to him.
"Mago, what could this be about...?"
"I don't know... Could it be about Veil?"
Her childhood friend intuition sharp as ever.
For now, they waited silently at the entrance.
However, an unforeseen trial befell them.
The imperial knights who had relieved Allen and Batsu.
"What are those guys?"
"Yeah, their outfits are weird too."
Formerly proud under the crown prince, now anxious after his fall.
Already on edge guarding the entrance, the sight of Hans and Mago without an escort irked them.
"They look suspicious at first glance, don't they?"
"Yeah. Definitely not guests."
The knights with gold hair slicked back.
Eager for some achievement, they approached.
"Excuse me, you two? May we ask your business at the banquet hall?"
"If you're invited, could we have your names?"
Faced with the imperial knights' firm questions, the pair looked troubled.
"Ah... I run the orphanage in Cornell..."
Cornell and orphanage.
The knights, ignorant of development news, exchanged glances at the backward region's name and orphanage.
Then, signaling each other, they nodded.
"Noble work. But even for seeking sponsors, entry procedures are required."
"If unqualified, we'll have to escort you to the knight order."
As the two burly men closed in, Mago reached out protectively toward the director.
"Please wait. We were invited by someone."
But no matter how clearly she spoke, her petite stature in a black dress.
Her long, loose black hair didn't sway the tall knights at all.
"Then, where is your inviter?"
"Th-that... They just went inside a bit ago..."
Mago stood on tiptoe, peering into the hall.
The knights chuckled in unison.
"Sorry, but you'll have to come with us for now."
"Please wait, they said they'd be right back...!"
The desperate woman's voice.
It faintly reached inside the hall too.
"It's a bit noisy outside."
Lea, who had risen to get some air, noticed.
"Hm...? That person..."
Spotting the burly Hans from afar.
Recognizing him, the Empire's First Imperial Princess blinked her blue eyes.
Then, with an intellectual smile, she headed to the entrance.
"Yes... An old gentleman said someone was looking for us..."
As Hans politely questioned the knights.
A princess with a beautiful figure and intellectual air appeared among them.
"Oh my."
Radiating a halo of royal grace.
"Fancy meeting you here."
The imperial knights froze at the familiar voice.
Slowly turning...
"We greet Your Highness the Princess!"
"We announce the Empire's First Imperial Princess!!"
At Lea's rare close-up appearance, they hurriedly bowed.
"Everyone, these are my guests."
Her elegant hand in black lace gloves pointed to Mago and Hans.
"So, even if it's procedure, I'd appreciate a bit more 'courtesy.'"
"S-Sorry!! We had no idea they were Your Highness's guests!!"
The knights replied in trembling voices.
Lea soothed them with a sensual smile.
"It's fine. I'll take them from here."
"Understood!!"
Lea's black heels clicked.
She approached Hans closely and gave the gentlest smile in the world.
Like a modest, refined eldest daughter-in-law.
"Long time no see, Director Hans."
Hans couldn't respond for a moment.
Black silk dress accentuating her hourglass figure.
Plus her radiantly shining golden hair.
It was his first time meeting Lea as the Empire's First Imperial Princess.
"No way, you're...?"
He recognized her voice up close.
Soon, my adoptive father realized the Empire's noblest woman before him was the official who revived Cornell.
"Aren't you that Cornell official from back then...?"
Mago, already knowing she was a princess, swallowed deeply.
She averted her gaze from Lea's mature, noble aura.
"Yes. But today, I'm here as Father's daughter."
The Empire's First Imperial Princess stood naturally beside Hans.
Like one family.
"And perhaps—."
Lea glanced down at Mago too.
Then smiled leisurely, treating her not as a rival but as a sister-in-law.
"I might be here as a daughter-in-law."
Lea extended her hand, suggesting they enter the hall.
Caught off guard, Hans scratched his head and followed her in.
Mago stared sullenly at Lea linking arms lightly with Veil's adoptive father.
It looked just like a bride and father entering a wedding.
"Feels weird."
Mago pursed her lips tightly.
Then hurried into the hall after them.
――――――.
Amid beautiful orchestral music, a plain middle-aged man and a petite witch just turned twenty entered.
The guests in suits and dresses eyed them curiously.
Some even chuckled at Mago like a passing cat.
But their expressions soon hardened completely.
"This way, Director Hans."
Leading them was the Empire's First Imperial Princess.
And...
"Director Hans?!"
"What? Father is here...?"
The royal ladies rose as if greeting a father-in-law, surpassing even their own kin.
The banquet's plainest man received courtesies from the most beautiful women.
"What the hell is going on?"
"Who is that guy that even those haughty princesses...?!"
The guests' eyes widened in shock.
The Empire's entire upper crust set down their wine glasses, focusing on him.
"Aren't you the saintess and student who visited before...?"
Hans's lips parted at the goddess-like princesses in dresses before him.
Seeing him, they each smiled modestly like daughters-in-law.
Then, raising their lips, they each plotted.
"Wh-where is Veil? We should talk with him..."