Chapter 2
Chapter 2
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: First Night
-----------------------------------------------------------------
One of the Black Knights collapsed, and the remaining knights turned to look at Luna.
Six knights, excluding the fallen one.
She let out a sigh of relief as they slowly closed in, surrounding her.
Good.
As a Swordmaster, she could handle those guys with ease.
Just as she was starting to relax...
The enemies pulled glass vials from inside their armor and hurled them at her.
-Clang!
Colorful smoke billowed around her, but Luna's voice remained calm.
Or perhaps it carried a hint of mockery.
"Poison? Don't you know it has no effect on me?"
She recalled the setting: reaching Swordmaster granted immunity to poison.
Poison? But it wouldn't work anyway?
It made her uneasy that these knights didn't know something even I, a mere reader of the novel, was aware of, but as the smoke slowly cleared, Luna spoke nonchalantly.
"I wonder who the fool behind this idiotic stunt is."
She pointed her sword at them.
"Tell me, and I'll show mercy."
But the knights offered no response and charged at her instead.
-Clang!
Their swords clashed, but the knights' blades shattered like tofu...
"Kuhk!"
She sliced right through their armor.
-Clang!
The knights who had been closing in to surround her backed away, buying time.
What? Why are they doing that?
As I felt puzzled...
"Kuhk..."
She suddenly slumped down as if exhausted.
Luna, who had been so composed until now.
Her face twisted in pain.
"It's not just poison, then."
"Swordmasters are only immune to 'poison'—not other drugs."
Luna bit her red lips hard, and blood trickled from them.
"You despicable bastards."
At that moment, she began slaughtering the enemies at a speed I'd never seen before.
-Screech!
-Kwang!
-Crunch!
-Thud!
The knights couldn't withstand even a single strike from her.
Having dispatched four in the blink of an eye, she faced the last remaining knight... and collapsed with a thud.
What happens if she falls here?!
Luna dropped to one knee.
She glared at the knight with fury, but soon her body pitched forward.
The relief of survival was short-lived; the chill of death crept up my spine once more.
With my meager skills, I couldn't take down a mana user.
What do I do?
The knight stepped in front of Luna, sword raised, and spoke lowly.
"Any last words?"
Damn it, no choice.
I quietly loaded the crossbow on my back.
Luna showed no reaction, as if she'd given up entirely, so I aimed desperately.
Luckily, since I was behind him, the enemy didn't notice.
Target: the Black Knight's heart.
If I didn't pierce it with one shot, I was done for.
I held my breath and pulled the trigger at his heart.
"Gaaak!"
No!
I'd aimed for the heart, but cruelly, it hit just a bit lower.
Startled by the sudden attack, the Black Knight turned around.
"Who the hell..."
-Slice.
In that split second.
His head hit the ground.
Luna had severed it.
-Thud.
And she promptly collapsed to the floor.
I rushed to her side and supported her.
"Are you alright?"
"Haa... And you are?"
"I'm Aiden, a new recruit soldier. How's your body?"
Her flushed cheeks and moist eyes instinctively told me her condition was dire.
"I'm fine. Just... kuhk, poisoned with some drug."
Swordmasters were resistant to lethal poisons but relatively vulnerable to drugs with specific effects.
Typically, mana-sealing drugs or paralysis drugs were must-haves against Swordmasters.
Luna furrowed her delicate brow.
"Probably poison, mana-sealing drug, paralysis drug... and aphrodisiac."
I'd expected the mana-sealing and paralysis drugs since they were common against Swordmasters, but...
"Pardon? Aphrodisiac?"
The aphrodisiacs here would make your blood vessels burst and kill you if you didn't have sex.
But thinking a Swordmaster could purge it with mana, I urged her.
"Then hurry and use your mana..."
But Luna looked at me with cold eyes.
"There's a mana-sealing drug, remember?"
Only then did I realize she couldn't manipulate mana.
"Th-then."
Her flushed face closed her eyes.
"I'll die soon. So go back to the Grand Duchy and report my death."
Luna's voice was flat.
I'd always thought her voice was pleasant, but in this moment, it sounded utterly dreadful.
If I reported her death to the Grand Duchy?
Wouldn't they interrogate me for failing to protect her properly?
And if she died from burst blood vessels, they'd know it was drug-related and might execute me for not trying to save her.
This place valued chastity, but not above human life.
"Isn't there another way?"
Her eyes snapped open.
"Are you telling me to take your virginity?"
Her flushed expression made it clear she was forcibly suppressing her lust, but her fierce gaze terrified me.
"First, it's too cold here. Let me take you inside."
Leaving Luna in her nightgown out in the chilly autumn wind wasn't wise.
As I supported her body...
"Haaang..."
She let out an indecent moan.
It was the first time I'd heard such a lewd sound from her.
She always spoke so stiffly.
"Hngh..."
Embarrassed by her own noise, she hung her head.
Silence fell between us, and I pretended not to hear as I supported her to a tent that looked intact.
I stacked neatly folded blankets to make a soft bed and gently laid her on top.
"Haa... haa..."
She was flushing even deeper.
"Grand Duchess Luna. If you say no, I won't force you. Is there really no other way?"
Luna gave no reply.
If I forced myself on her against her will... she'd kill me once she recovered.
If I didn't, her retainers would kill me.
Running away wasn't an option from the start.
Most of my money was in the Grand Duchy bank. Like it or not, I had to return there.
Otherwise, starvation was the only path.
"We have to survive, right?"
Deep down, I wanted to save her by force if needed, but I had to get her permission to live.
But she remained silent for a long while.
Luna squeezed her eyes shut and panted heavily.
She must be suffering terribly, yet holding out well.
But I'd heard aphrodisiacs killed you without sex.
This world had plenty of things defying reason or logic.
Fearful she might die, I asked again.
"Grand Duchess Luna. For now..."
As I started to speak, she slowly turned her head, her voice thick with shame.
"D-do as you wish."
"Yes."
I undressed and slipped into the blankets beside her.
Before spending the night with her, I wondered if I should at least kiss her formally.
Given the situation, I wasn't sure if a kiss came first.
Women considered kisses important, apparently.
Having sex without one would feel weird.
As I caressed her lips, trying to set the mood...
Luna shook her head.
"K-kiss... no kisses."
I nodded at her words and began removing her outer clothes.
A sheer silk nightgown dress that revealed her skin underneath.
I pulled down the shoulder straps, gazing at her bare breasts.
Beautiful pink nipples.
They looked like ripe fruits adorning her pristine bosom.
Is this really okay...?
The woman shyly turning her head away with a soft moan was no ordinary lady.
The ruler of a nation and the protagonist of this novel.
Courted by the Imperial Crown Prince, the Tower Lord's Disciple, and another Swordmaster Black Knight.
As I hesitated, Luna turned her flushed face toward me shyly.
Her features worthy of this novel's heroine.
No... don't overthink it.
Focus on the moment. When would I ever hold a woman like this?
I took one of those tantalizing nipples between my lips.
-Slurp!
"Hngh!"
Startled by my sudden caress of her breast, Luna let out a loud moan.
As I ravished her breasts with tongue and lips, she grabbed the back of my head, pulling me closer.
As if begging for more.
"Haa... haa..."
Luna's ragged breaths washed over my head.
I embraced her slender waist and suckled her breast.
-Slurp! Suck!
Indecent wet sounds and her heated gasps filled the air.
As I explored her pale body, pulling her nightgown lower from her waist, her white panties came into view, and my mind grew hotter.
-Rustle...
When my hand grasped her panties, Luna subtly lifted her hips to help me slide them off.
Seeing her panties slip away so easily fueled my arousal.
-Gluck.