Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: The Saint's Inner Thoughts
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At first, she wanted to believe it was a dream.
It might seem strange that Bellamora Rictis, the Queen of Succubi, would think such a thing, but it was because she didn't want to believe the current reality.
'Lord Astal... with that vulgar, chesty girl...?'
Bellamora chewed her lower lip as she watched Victoria clinging tightly to Astal's arm, pressing it against her chest.
How on earth could he possibly be dating the Saint, whom he insulted daily and made his dislike for so blatantly obvious?
To her, it was a situation she couldn't even begin to imagine. Based on the memories she had read from the Hero's party before, the relationship between Victoria and Astal could be described as the absolute worst.
"Ha, haha... You certainly have a funny way of joking. I'll admit you succeeded in surprising me, if that was your intention."
Bellamora forced a smile, putting on a mask and pretending not to be shaken as she decided to observe the situation.
Perhaps they were lying to mock her or to create an opening.
"So, could you stop with these jokes now? Even if you were lying to avoid my proposal, I think this is going a bit too far."
Frankly, she was feeling extremely unpleasant.
Who in the world could see the person they like clinging to another woman and not feel uncomfortable?
"Do you really think it's a joke, Bellamora?"
Then, a voice that felt like needles pricking Bellamora's chest reached her. Its owner was Victoria, who wore a satisfied smile as if mocking her.
"Then if it's not a joke, what is it? I thought Lord Astal truly disliked you."
"...Oh my, perhaps he was just acting because he didn't want someone like you, a harlot, to see his true feelings?"
Victoria taunted her while looking at Bellamora with cold eyes. She could see her opponent clenching her fists and biting her lip, unable to contain her anger.
After all, the Succubus Queen standing before her was the primary contributor who had made it possible for her and Astal to date, even if by contract.
She felt like she should even thank Bellamora.
"That can't be. What a succubus sees is a memory itself, clearly free from exaggeration or falsehood."
"Then... perhaps my beloved's heart changed while you were hesitating."
Squeeze.
The sight of Victoria wrapping Astal's arm around her own chest was like watching a seasoned serpent.
The sharp look she gave, as if warning not to covet what was hers, was as piercing as a dagger.
"No matter what anyone says now, he is my beloved. Right, darling?"
"Right."
"......"
Hearing the terms Victoria and Astal used for each other, Bellamora's jaw naturally dropped. A pinkish energy flow she had never seen before was emanating between the two.
This was unmistakably the feeling of innocent first love.
Even if she tried reading their emotions from their expressions again, there was none of the previous disgust or contempt.
"So this lewd, chesty Saint... in the end, the only thing she knows is such vulgar gestures? If that's how you seduced Lord Astal, I can only think it's truly pathetic."
Out of envy, Bellamora spat out sharp words, trying to attack Victoria.
I should be in that position.
Even if I didn't like him first, I thought my feelings of love were at least more sincere than that lewd harlot's.
'I liked you too...'
It hurt as if a cold blade had pierced her heart. She thought it would be better to die than to have her heart rejected so miserably.
Why had things come to this? Could it be that he, like ordinary men, succumbed to lust and made an irreversible choice?
Dozens of suspicions and assumptions began to bloom in Bellamora's mind.
It was the first time she, a Succubus Queen specialized in captivating and seducing men's hearts, had ever worried like this.
"How pathetic, Bellamora. Have you been so busy sucking the vitality of men who like you that you can't face reality?"
As if sensing Bellamora's agitation, Victoria's retorts were becoming increasingly extreme.
Unlike ordinary succubi, Bellamora, being of a higher class, had never in her life directly touched a man's vitality.
"I'm a virgin, top and bottom, you know?"
Bellamora pushed her chest forward as much as possible, emphasizing her appeal. She hated the thought that most people assumed succubi were a race that sold their bodies.
"Do you think the Queen of Succubi would shake her hips recklessly on top of a man like some low-class commoner? Well, I guess the lowly ones just don't get it."
This was precisely why she wore clothes as tightly as possible and had created her domain this way.
"Ah, so that's why your mouth smelled like a rotten rag? My apologies for not knowing better, Bellamora."
"Hah, and aren't you just a slut who wants to show off her naked body? What kind of Saint in this world wears rags instead of clothes like you do?"
The daughter of a Heavenly God, the Flower Saint.
The Queen of Succubi, the Succubus Queen.
As their exchange suggested, Victoria and Bellamora were women at opposite poles.
One wore clothes that exposed her skin to an almost embarrassing degree, while the other was covered in a thick coat.
Their personalities, values, views on romance, and ways of loving had nothing in common. If there was one similarity...
'I liked him too...'
'Sorry, but I liked him first.'
It was that the person they both had a crush on was the same man: Astal.
"My beloved doesn't respond well unless I'm dressed like this. Last night, he punished me so severely and magnificently with a man's splendid tool..."
Victoria lightly traced her fingers along Astal's inner side and breathed hot breath near his ear.
The tool that was strong, large, firm, and powerful enough to slightly lift her body. And the prominent veins that pulsed as if a heart were beating. The moment she thought of it again.
"Just thinking about it again makes my lower abdomen feel hot."
Victoria felt a warm, tingling sensation rising from her lower abdomen, as if her body were heating up.
Her gaze and breath began to exude a sticky, lustful desire, giving off a sweet, cloying feeling.
"...Are you insane? Lord Astal, tell me right now it's not true! There's no way what this perverted, chesty Saint says is real!!"
Bellamora cried out in shock, looking at Astal with eyes pleading for an explanation. From her perspective, it didn't seem like he had had his vitality taken yet.
But,
"It's a bit embarrassing to say... but it's not a lie, Bellamora..."
Seeing Astal cover his face with his hand, bow his head deeply, and not push away Victoria's hand caressing his thigh, it certainly seemed something was up.
Astal even had his legs awkwardly crossed, as if trying to block the blood flow heading downward.
"You two are still a virgin and a virgin, aren't you...!!"
Bellamora shouted, unable to believe what she was seeing with her own eyes and hearing with her own ears. If they had truly crossed the line, the level of emotion wouldn't be this innocent.
Throughout her life, Bellamora had turned countless lovers' lives into movies and watched them, always yearning for such an ideal love herself.
Right now, those two seemed most similar to a relationship where they hid their mutual affection as much as possible, pretending to be friends.
The kind where if people around asked, 'Are you two dating?' they'd absolutely deny it, but behind the scenes, they'd do everything while denying it.
"Where is the lie? You haven't mingled bodies yet, nor are you married...!!"
Bellamora felt as if steam were rising from her head. She thought she had to maintain composure and set an example as a lord.
The spectacle of everyone around watching her disgrace was, by anyone's measure, not a pleasant situation.
"Are you jealous now, Bellamora? No matter how disgracefully you act, in this world, I'll be the only woman who has felt Lord Astal's tool first, won't I?"
Looking at Bellamora, Victoria chuckled. Her expression was annoyingly smug, like a typical victor's smile.
"...Right. Even if we're not married or haven't shared intimacy, isn't that reason enough to decline your proposal?"
Astal also looked at Victoria with a gentle gaze. It seemed as if they were telling her not to interfere in their relationship.
"No. I won't give up. Using this movie, I'll make you like me within the next week."
Instead, Bellamora became defiant. She had seen this kind of story many times in other movies.
In romantic comedies, in the end, only one heroine is chosen.
"...It's a chance to see your parents again. I don't think you'll refuse this."
If she couldn't take him now, she could slowly coax him.
Snap—. With a snap of Bellamora's fingers, heaven and earth flipped, and the surrounding scenery began to change.
"The life of Astal Kaisaros, now showing in theaters...! Putting it that way, I think the explanation is sufficient."
Before them appeared the bright form of a movie theater, with trailers for upcoming films displayed.
"You, don't tell me..."
"Yes, that's right. I extracted your childhood memories and made them into a movie. I wanted to know everything about the man I like."
Bellamora's lips curled wildly as she watched a man and woman resembling Astal, and his younger self crying.
"This is my way of loving you."
"......"
"What are you doing? Come on in. Weren't you curious about Lord Astal's childhood too, you chesty Saint?"
Bellamora was the first to run toward the theater, opening the door and beckoning as if urging them.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 'What should I do...?'
Looking at the signboard, I felt as if my heart had plummeted to the ground in an instant. That was unmistakably my parents.
Killed by the Demon King's Army's Four Heavenly Kings, Durahan and his troops, their bodies not even left behind.
All the items or pictures to remember them by had been burned, and I thought I would never see them again.
I never dreamed such an opportunity would arise, especially in the Demon Realm teeming with demons and monsters.
"Why not go see it, Astal."
"...Kyle."
"It should be fine if you're with Victoria. Earlier, you showed such an incredible side that no one could intervene during your argument."
The one persuading me was the red-haired Hero, Kyle. He had just listened quietly during the argument between Victoria and Bellamora.
"Bellamora! In a week, once there are no civilians, we'll be able to fight you, right...!"
"Yes, of course. I always keep my promises."
"...While you watch the movie, we'll figure out a way to kill her or uncover the secrets of this domain."
In response to Kyle's question, Bellamora smiled brightly and answered. He seemed to have judged that she was hiding something.
"But, fighting right now is also..."
"Let's go see it together, Astal. Haven't you suffered your whole life? This is a chance to leave no regrets."
Victoria tugged strongly on my arm as she spoke. The reason was that if I missed this chance, I felt I'd live the rest of my life in regret.
"...Besides, as a fiancée promised in marriage, I can't not meet the parents, can I?"
- I've always wanted to meet your parents someday as your lover. Plus, we need to find out what that succubus is scheming!
Victoria's inner thoughts seemed to show she had no confidence in losing to Bellamora.
"No matter what anyone says, your partner right now is me."
- My chest is much bigger too...!
With that, Victoria wore a victor's smile, pressing her chest against my arm to display her confidence.