Chapter 101
Chapter 101
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: A Draining Dress Fitting and Midnight Visitor
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‘Is this what they mean by having your energy sucked dry?’
I staggered out of the room. Floretta, still beaming brightly, and Luna, with her cheeks slightly flushed, flanked me on either side. Luna had been wearing that expression ever since she started changing clothes.
I hadn’t done anything—just witnessed the popes changing right in front of me—and yet it felt like all my energy had been drained away. I’d been desperately trying not to react, staying tense the whole time, and now my strength had given out.
In the end, the one I picked last was the dress Floretta and Luna had grabbed first.
As for the ones they hadn’t chosen and left behind—no, those things that couldn’t even be called clothes—I didn’t even want to imagine them anymore.
They were outfits made to get as close to God as possible, only to be worn on very special days... which was just a polite way of saying they were the most revealing of all.
The C-strings with nipple covers they’d picked were far more exposing than a micro slingshot. At first, I genuinely thought they were just naked. But no, apparently those were meant to be worn.
There had only really been one choice.
‘And changing in front of me, too.’
When the popes started stripping off their sacred vestments right in front of me, saying they’d try them on, I’d jumped up from the sofa without exaggeration. I couldn’t get the image out of my head.
Floretta had giggled and turned around when she saw me freak out, but her hair was so lush it covered everything. Anyone else wouldn’t have stood a chance.
Luna was a case in point. Her hair was pretty voluminous too, but as she turned and changed, her butt kept peeking out, and my thoughts froze for a moment.
I couldn’t figure out their intentions at all. Did they really need to change with a man watching? There were curtains everywhere—hiding behind one would’ve made it impossible to see.
Maybe they had no qualms about exposure? But when Luna caught me staring at her protruding butt, she blushed right away, so that wasn’t it either.
‘...I give up.’
I stopped trying to figure it out. No point lingering here; I wasn’t going to guess right.
Just like when we’d entered, Floretta and Luna sandwiched me between them as we returned to the circular space. Wondering if they were done over there, I pulled back the curtain.
The knight commanders were sprawled on the sofas, wearing the exact same expressions as me.
“......”
Their faces were completely blank, like they’d lost their souls. Their eyes were unfocused, backs slumped against the sofa backs, bodies limp all over. A faint “Huuuuh” groan escaped their lips.
The dresses they’d each been showing off were neatly stacked and organized in one spot. Nearby, the nuns stood proudly at attention, hands clasped together, beaming with satisfaction.
At the sound of footsteps, the knight commanders turned their heads. Lize spoke in a voice utterly drained of energy.
“......Delta, where’d you go?”
“To help... the Pontiffs... pick dresses.”
I stuttered a bit, unable to call those things “clothes.” A puzzled look crossed Lize’s face at my answer.
“Why would you be picking dresses for the Pontiffs?”
Yeah, good question. Why was I, neither an inquisitor nor an interrogator, choosing the popes’ dresses? I wanted to answer, but I had no idea myself.
An awkward silence followed.
“Our esteemed guest was incredibly helpful. They have such an exquisite eye.”
Floretta smiled brightly and clung to my arm. Lize seemed caught off guard, never expecting the popes to answer for me, and stammered without reply.
“Indeed. We received much assistance from our guest.”
Luna, with her usual cool and aloof expression, slyly clung to my other arm. The flush on her cheeks from moments ago was completely gone.
Lize stared at the popes in a daze.
“Have you selected all the dresses?”
At Floretta’s question, Iris nodded this time.
“Yes, Your Holiness.”
“Could you tell us what you’ve chosen?”
At the pope’s request, the nuns stepped forward again. Iris, Erica, and Claudia flinched on the sofas, their pupils trembling.
Only Lize quietly watched the popes clinging to my sides.
We didn’t leave that place until quite some time had passed. Outside, Stella and Selene were waiting with the battle nuns, and we returned to our lodgings under escort once more.
After a whole day tormented by those damn banquet outfits since morning, we were dragging our exhausted bodies back to our rooms when Claudia stopped me.
“Delta. Hold on a sec.”
“Yeah?”
“Let’s talk before you rest.”
She gestured for the other knight commanders to head up first, waited until even Lize—who’d been staring intently—had gone upstairs, confirming we were alone, then finally spoke.
“Tonight. Don’t lock your door when you sleep.”
“......What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Don’t ask. Just do as I say. You never lock it anyway.”
“If you know that’s my habit, why bother asking?”
Claudia grinned at my question.
“I’ve got good instincts.”
“Good instincts? What does that—?”
“Whatever. Just do it. Don’t get sulky and do the opposite. I’m heading up now. I’m dead tired from putting on and taking off clothes all day.”
I blankly watched her pink hair sway as she waved and walked away. No clue why she’d suddenly said that.
My head was too full.
That night, I couldn’t fall asleep easily because of what Claudia had said.
‘Don’t lock the door?’
I never did anyway. As Claudia herself pointed out, the knight commanders knew that. They’d come to my room several times before. They didn’t always lock theirs either.
So why say it specifically?
‘Is there some other meaning?’
Overthinking made sleep flee even more.
I had nothing to do in the Holy Kingdom but rest, and with two days until the banquet, sleeping late and waking late was fine. But lying there awake felt weird.
Time passed, night deepened, and bright moonlight from the full moon filtered into the room.
*Click.*
How long had I been pondering Claudia’s words when I heard the click of my door opening? My nerves sharpened reflexively.
A flurry of thoughts raced through my mind in that instant. Should I open my eyes and face it? Pretend to sleep? If I opened my eyes, what reaction should I give?
“......”
In the end, I chose to pretend to sleep.
I didn’t even know why. Maybe it was habit from back when I’d sneak my smartphone at night and feign sleep at the slightest noise. Or maybe the mood just called for it.
The door closed again. Someone had entered my room. *Click*—the lock on the handle engaged. Then, very faint footsteps slowly approached me.
The intruder paused at the foot of the bed, then pressed a hand down. The mattress dipped beside my calf. Soon, the space by my knee sank too, as if another hand pressed there.
The depressions shifted. From ankle to knee, knee to thigh, thigh to waist, waist to shoulder.
Crawling up with me in the middle—the mattress on both sides sank and rose repeatedly. My body rocked side to side. Even if I’d been asleep, this would’ve woken me.
The movement stopped soon after. They seemed to be looking down at my face. Silence held, then a voice broke it.
“Delta, you asleep?”
‘......Lize?’
It was Lize.
Panicking, I kept pretending to sleep, when suddenly a finger brushed my lips. A soft touch.
“I know you’re awake. Get up.”
No choice now. I cracked my eyes open. Lize, peering down right in front of me, came into view. Our eyes met, and she grinned widely.
She’d half-straddled me, hands planted on either side of my face, one knee pressed tight against my left side, the other lightly on my stomach. She loomed over me.
On purpose or not, the strap of her left sleeveless top had slipped midway down her arm. Her upper chest was more exposed than usual.
Her breasts, heavily tilted downward, swayed left and right, or up and down, with every movement. Even just looking, their substantial weight was palpable.
My gaze locked onto the deep valley between them, then I snapped back up, realizing. Too late. Lize was beaming at me.
“......Why are you here? And this late?”
No way she didn’t notice me staring straight at her chest. I cleared my throat awkwardly, changing the subject. Lame, even to me.
Lize, giving a meaningful smile, let it slide this once and answered straightforwardly.
“Why do you think?”
“......”
“Late at night. A woman sneaking alone into a man’s room. Locked door. Our position. Obvious, right?”
“I know. Just testing. Can’t pretend not to get it in this situation. I’m not that oblivious.”
“Really? Seemed like you were.”
“Me? To what?”
“See? You don’t know.”
Lize bent her elbows. Our faces drew closer. Her breath mingled with mine. Warm exhalation grazed my lips.
Her piercing blue eyes stared straight into mine.
“I was planning to tempt you slowly, wait until you couldn’t take it and pinned me down. I’m not into being on top.”
The finger that had traced my lips moved to my bangs. *Rustle*—she brushed them aside.
“But at this rate, I’d lose you.”
“Me?”
“Who else? Obviously you.”
“To who?”
Her face pushed even closer.
“The Pontiffs.”