Chapter 94
Chapter 94
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Knight Evaluation Match (2)
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The Second Imperial Princess's words about having met Vail.
Hearing that, Lydia and Lea finally looked up, as if they were taking an interest.
And they gazed at Irina, who stood alone with her arms crossed and a smug smile.
"You two are finally interested, huh?"
Back in the day, she always insisted on wearing those long, flowing dresses.
But today, for some reason, she had shown up in tight black leggings that accentuated her thighs.
On top of that, unlike her usual prim image, she stretched her legs out straight and crossed them.
Lydia stared blatantly at those thighs of hers.
They were certainly large and beautifully shaped enough to draw the eye.
"What did you do with Vail to make you so confident?"
The Third Imperial Princess responded in kind by crossing her own arms.
She raised the corner of her mouth and asked.
"Well..."
Irina walked past Lydia and looked toward Lea, who remained utterly impassive.
Then, with a leisurely smile, she replied.
"A horseback riding date, I suppose—"
Horseback riding.
The moment she heard that, the leisurely smile on Lydia's face froze stiff.
Lea was the same.
Unlike her usual blank expression, she spoke with eyes full of intrigue.
"For once, you actually used your brain, Irina."
The two princesses focused on Irina's leggings and the shirt that clung tightly to her body.
Riding horseback in front of a man dressed like that.
Moreover, both knew full well that the Second Imperial Princess was skilled at riding.
In other words, the intent behind her horseback riding date was blatantly obvious.
"You made good use of the weapons you have? That brutish horse-like body of yours."
The Third Imperial Princess snorted with a displeased look.
However, the Second Imperial Princess had been waiting for her little sister's reaction.
"You're right. And when I fell off the horse, Vail personally..."
Irina.
Now fully a woman rather than the innocent girl she once was, she gently bent at the waist.
"...gave me a massage."
And as she softly stroked her own leg...
She flashed a playful smile at her sister, as if toying with her.
"From here— to here."
The princess's hand trailed from her calf to a dizzyingly intimate spot midway up her thigh.
The thought that Vail's hands had touched such a private place.
At the sight, Lydia's eyes twitched.
"Heh heh..."
Irina savored her sister's reaction as she gracefully straightened up.
She tossed her ponytail over her shoulder and looked at Lea.
'She's good at keeping a straight face.'
Lea's outward composure showed no sign of disturbance.
Truly befitting the iron-willed charisma of the First Imperial Consort's daughter.
However, Irina had instinctively sensed it when she bent over.
That Lea had been staring intently at her body.
"Ah— my knotted legs feel completely loosened up now."
The Second Imperial Princess sat down in her chair with a light heart.
Her ponytail, tied back, swayed like a horse's tail.
"I might ask him again next time—"
Irina glanced back and forth between the two.
Then, her eyes suddenly lingered on Lea's chest.
'So voluptuous...'
Even beneath the thick uniform jacket, the volume was impossible to miss.
Irina forced her gaze away from those curves.
"Anyway, I've already progressed this far with him. It means we're seriously looking at each other."
The Second Imperial Princess intended to drive the point home to her two blood sisters.
Don't even think about eyeing the man she's staked her claim on.
"So don't bother with pointless efforts. Focus on the talented people you already have."
After all, both of them had plenty of men with heroic qualities.
It was a signal to please leave her precious one alone.
But...
"Hmm—. Well?"
This time, Lydia stood from her seat.
She clasped her hands behind her back and tilted her head toward Irina.
"Well, I was expecting something impressive, but it was just a massage?"
Her signature seductive smile.
At just nineteen, she exuded a dangerous allure.
"I, on the other hand... Vail recently came to see me personally in the capital's eastern sector."
The two princesses already knew that much.
They silently watched as she spun around, her short skirt swishing.
"And we went on a date."
It was a rather plain statement.
Just a date.
In response, Irina—who had even gotten a massage—scoffed.
"Ha, just a plain old date? Doesn't that just mean you ate pizza together again?"
The Second Imperial Princess eyed her brazen little sister with displeasure, even after asserting dominance.
"Isn't eating together too weak? He might have just thought you were tagging along."
Lydia nodded leisurely, agreeing with Irina's words.
Her twin pigtails danced at her sides.
"Hmm— well. But Vail told me directly."
Lydia elegantly placed her hand on her chest.
And declared confidently.
"He said it was a date 'as lovers'—"
Lydia brought her pinky finger to her lips.
A subtle pink hue on those alluring lips.
The youngest imperial princess rubbed the smooth texture softly and said.
"And to prove it, he personally fed me grapes with his fingers."
Fed grapes by hand.
The two princesses froze for a moment upon hearing that.
Anyone could see that was something only lovers or family would do.
"He ate them so deliciously that my teeth even grazed his finger."
Lydia parted her lips slightly.
She showed off her sharp little canine and continued.
He even licked her fingers.
Irina's lips parted slightly without her realizing it.
But that was just the beginning.
It hadn't been just Vail feeding grapes to Lydia.
"Impressed by that, I fed him some myself."
The princess displayed her slender, graceful fingers.
"He ate them so eagerly that he licked my fingers clean—"
Lydia covered her lips with that hand.
"If that's not interest in me, then what is—?"
She smiled like a little devil, narrowing her eyes.
"Aren't you the one overdeluding yourself from just one leg cramp massage?"
The youngest princess giggled.
She placed a hand on her slim waist and said.
"If you wanted to tease me, you should have come prepared—"
Lydia sauntered back to her chair.
She sat lightly and wore a satisfied expression.
"Besides, since he beat Captain Hamus, shouldn't he take the new eastern captain position?"
She looked happy, reminiscing about that memory.
It was why the once brash girl had become remarkably more womanly lately.
"So I'll give him points myself in this knight evaluation."
Eastern Knight Order Captain.
One of the highest positions among the empire's knights.
Ascending to it naturally meant becoming nobility.
It would even give grounds to connect with imperial blood.
Knowing this, Irina's eyes filled with anxiety.
She had thought only she wanted to make Vail a noble.
Lydia had been thinking the same.
"Next time, we'll try drinking together—"
The Third Imperial Princess rested her chin on the back of her hand.
Her eyes sparkled with newfound curiosity about men, unlike before.
"My mother said that when men and women drink, amazing things happen."
Irina stared blankly at her sister who said that.
What on earth is she saying?
Just what kind of time had she spent with Vail to spark such curiosity...
Her unguarded demeanor was infuriating.
"..."
Soon, the Third Imperial Princess averted her gaze, apparently done bragging.
Irina followed her line of sight and turned her head as well.
"Nothing much happened with you, right?"
"Yeah— you must have been busy, as expected from our diligent Chief of Staff."
The two focused on the First Imperial Princess, Lea, who was reading a picture book despite not seeming the type.
"It's kind of pitiful sometimes, having such a high position. How barren must her life be for her face to always look so sour."
Lydia pointed at the stoic Lea's expression.
"Yes, I've been quite busy lately."
Lea closed her book.
The cover came fully into view.
*The Fox Who Ate Books.*
It looked like an ordinary picture book.
But in one corner of the cover was someone's signature.
*Vail. To Lea. Be happy—*
Lea casually placed the book on the table.
And in her eyes, which had always been cold and analytical like a soldier's...
A beautiful, seductive glint emerged, like a woman awakening to new emotions.
"I was worn out from looking after that guy Vail."
The First Imperial Princess deliberately parted her white uniform jacket.
Revealing a broad dress shirt underneath.
Just the collar made it clear it was men's wear.
Her two younger princess sisters stared at it intently.
Lydia, still oblivious, asked indifferently.
"What, showing off your figure?"
Hearing her sister's question, the First Imperial Princess smiled faintly.
Then, she began asking them a peculiar question.
"I've heard all about your dates. You had some nice times..."
Lea gripped the collar of her shirt.
She sniffed it lightly, her face shifting from soldier to woman.
"But do you remember what Vail smelled like during your dates?"
Body scent.
The two princesses tilted their heads.
They had met Vail outdoors, so they had no idea what he smelled like.
Nor had they ever been close enough to find out.
"Hmm..."
Lea took a deep breath.
Her ample chest swelled noticeably.
"Then you wouldn't know the feel of his skin or the shape of his shoulder blades either."
Hearing that, Irina's face gradually paled.
Even her excited ponytail stopped bouncing.
Lydia, freshly nineteen, was no different.
The mature conversation clashed with her image, leaving her speechless.
"Ah... as I thought, you don't know. I figured when you were bragging about those trivial stories."
Lea rose gracefully from her seat.
She straightened her back, perhaps preparing for the upcoming knight evaluation.
In that moment.
Her sensual figure burst into the two princesses' view.
Hips and curves that even the stiff uniform couldn't hide.
They began to feel a sense of crisis seeing her flaunt her body for the first time, unlike her usual soldierly demeanor.
"What? Don't tell me you know, Lea?"
Buoyed by that crisis, Irina asked.
Lea smiled and told her sisters.
"Yes. A few days ago, I went to his house."
The words of going alone to a man's house.
Irina and Lydia's faces went white as stone.
"Ah, don't worry. Unlike you two with your impure intentions, I just went to pick up a borrowed book."
The First Imperial Princess raised the corner of her mouth.
"But he pinned me down on the bed, you see?"
Pinned down on the bed without warning.
The two princesses' eyes twitched at the words.
"I happened to be soaking wet too, so our sweat mingled—it was no joke."
Lea slipped her hand inside her jacket.
She pulled out her monocle and said.
"I figured it'd smell awful, but it was surprisingly intriguing?"
The princess donned her monocle.
With eyes that had evolved from cub lion to full lioness, she said.
"Thanks to that, I get why you two are so fixated on him. I really want him now."
Irina's face turned bluish, doubting if what she was hearing was real.
However, Lydia was the opposite.
Her face flushed at this first taste of adult conversation.
"W-what?! How did you... first...! You barely even interacted with Vail!"
"Yeah, did he invite you to his place first?"
The princesses' intense reactions.
In response, Lea brushed her side-swept hair aside and replied.
"If you're curious, ask him yourself."
Then, she drew her wand from within her robes.
She opened the door and said.
"I need to go evaluate the knights now. Goodbye."
Bang!
The door closed.
Silence descended upon the parlor.
"Vail pinned her down first...?"
Irina blankly pondered why the man she had chosen had advanced so far with the once-icy First Imperial Princess.
"No way..."
The princess desperately denied it.
But Lea's newly feminine appearance nagged at her.
Especially that men's shirt that stood out.
Could it be she changed into his clothes because hers got wet...
Heat rose to Irina's pale face.
Even as a fellow woman, she knew Lea in just a shirt would be overwhelmingly alluring.
'No... no way...'
Irina shook her head vigorously to dispel the fantasy.
Then, a fortune teller's prophecy suddenly came to mind.
And the sensual upper body and hips inherited from the First Imperial Consort who seduced the Emperor.
"Men really go for that stuff..."
Irina covered her face with a gloomy expression.
Lydia watched her with displeasure.
She wore a deeply frustrated look as well.
But...
Unlike the despairing Irina, Lydia's mood was different.
Those seductive words from Lea just moments ago.
"Bed, huh... interesting..."
Hearing that, her heart began to race unbidden.
Now, it wasn't just Irina...
The other two once-cold women had awakened to their beastly sides as well.