Chapter 69: Capital of the Prona Kingdom
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 69: Capital of the Prona Kingdom
Lorraine let out a scream of despair, horrified that her first kiss had been stolen by a mere commoner. She scrubbed furiously at her lips, then drew her sword and charged, screaming that she would kill me.
Her sword, driven by passion, had lost its sharpness.
As I easily dodged her strikes, Lorraine ground her teeth and glared at me.
“You, you... Do you really think you can get away with this?”
“With what?”
“Don't act so innocent. If I tell anyone what you just did, you're finished! Do you get the situation now? Do you understand what kind of crazy stunt you just pulled?! Of course, it's too late to get on your knees and beg for forgiveness!”
The more she spoke, the more her anger gave way to a triumphant confidence, as if she held all the cards. I didn't quite understand it.
“If you tell anyone, you'll end up having to marry a commoner. Are you okay with that?”
“What?”
Her brow furrowed, as if she didn't understand. When she realized the 'commoner' I was referring to was me, her face twisted into a scowl.
“What kind of bullshit is that!”
“Bullshit? Listen closely. Do you have a fiancé?”
“What's it to you?!”
“Just answer the question. Do you or don't you?”
Lorraine mumbled for a moment before answering in an irritated voice, “No.”
“Then that really was your first kiss.”
“Hey!”
Her anger flaring up again, Lorraine began swinging her sword wildly. I dodged her attacks with ease and continued my explanation.
“You're a royal with no fiancé. If you go around talking about what happened today, it'll only create a nasty scandal. Nothing good will come of it for you.”
“At least I'll be able to kill you!”
Politically and physically!
With that shout, Lorraine began to put more force into her swings.
“I understand how you feel, but things won't go the way you think. I guarantee you, your parents would rather marry us off than let a scandal tarnish the royal family's honor.”
“Don't be ridiculous...”
Lorraine, about to retort, bit her lip hard. It seemed that, upon reflection, she realized it was probably true.
“My brother... My brother won't let you get away with this.”
“Lorian?”
“Yes! You have no idea how much he cares for me! The moment he finds out I was harassed, he'll come to kill you!”
“I doubt it... Isn't Lorian holed up in his room, completely dejected right now?”
Lorraine's eyes wavered slightly.
What's there to be surprised about? It wasn't a difficult deduction.
Not long ago, I flaunted my friendship with Frillite right in front of Lorian. He was quite devastated at the time. And seeing as you summoned me to a duel to demand what I did to your brother, I can guess he still hasn't recovered.
“Should I make a prophecy? The moment your brother hears the story, he'll try to arrange our marriage.”
“Shut up! My brother would never do that!”
“Are you sure? If you're so confident, go tell him. That is, if you want to be wearing a wedding dress in a month.”
“...!”
Lorraine chewed on her lip. She trusted her brother, but my confidence was clearly shaking her resolve.
I let out a small laugh.
“If you want, I'm happy to accept duels like this anytime. But be prepared to be kissed again when you lose.”
I sheathed my sword and turned my back.
After saying that much, I figured she wouldn't do anything foolish. She wouldn't want to marry a lowly commoner, much less kiss one again.
I returned to my guest room and had a good night's sleep.
The next day, I found a new challenge for a duel slipped under my door.
*
Clang!
With a clear ring of metal, Lorraine's sword flew into the air.
Lorraine's defeat.
She hung her head low.
‘Why? Why can't I win?’
She just couldn't understand.
Lorraine remembered the Cloud of the past. An idiot who acted all brave and righteous on his own, only to be overwhelmingly defeated by her brother in a duel.
He was exactly what you'd expect from someone of lowly blood.
But what was this now?
No matter how many times she fought him, she couldn't imagine winning.
It didn't match the man who had dueled Lorian.
What on earth happened after that day, after the Empire's social gathering? What had he gone through to become this strong?
‘If not that... could it be that he was hiding his true strength?’
Perhaps that was it.
The Cloud of the past had been too weak to be called a Hero.
But if he was hiding his power, why?
One question led to another.
“I don't get it,” Cloud muttered.
“Didn't you hate lowly commoners? That's why you hated me. So why do you keep challenging me to duels when you know you're going to lose?”
Since that first day, Lorraine had sent a challenge every single day. Curious to see how far she would go, Cloud had accepted them all.
“It can't be because you want to kiss me...”
But this was already the twelfth time.
At this point, Cloud had to admit that Lorraine's pride was far greater than he had imagined.
“Shut up and get it over with,” Lorraine said with a frown.
Cloud looked down at her with a displeased expression before crouching down to meet her gaze.
Then, he pressed his lips against hers.
And so the kiss began.
Unlike the first time, which was more of a crash of lips, this was something that could be called a real kiss.
Their tongues mixed, wet and sticky.
To an outsider, they would have looked like lovers.
They had met for twelve nights, and the number of duels was far greater. Naturally, every time she lost a duel, Lorraine offered up her lips.
The second kiss was still unpleasant—so much so that she had to restrain herself from swinging her sword.
The third was similar.
And the fourth.
And the fifth.
The duels continued, and so did the kisses.
Lorraine herself wasn't sure exactly when it started.
But at some point, the unpleasantness began to fade, and now, she didn't feel it at all.
Lorraine couldn't understand it.
No matter how many times they kissed, the fact that Cloud was of lowly blood—a commoner—hadn't changed... yet she didn't hate it.
Cloud tried to gently stroke the back of her head, but Lorraine slapped his hand away. Smack!
“Don't get... the wrong idea... I only... allowed... the lips...”
Sure you did. Cloud gave her a look that said as much and shrugged.
Lorraine narrowed her eyes and glared at Cloud.
‘...He really is handsome.’
His skin was fair and flawless, without a single blemish.
His large eyes, sharp nose, and lips were in beautiful harmony.
His ruby-red eyes held a strange charm that drew people in.
‘How is this the face of a commoner?’
Lorraine had seen a few men who were famous for their looks among the common folk.
She couldn't understand why any of them were called handsome. Aside from being grimy, their features themselves weren't particularly attractive.
It was the same with nobles.
Among the aristocrats rumored to be handsome, none were truly good-looking.
Having grown up seeing her brother Lorian since childhood, Lorraine had incredibly high standards.
And yet, even she had to admit that Cloud's natural good looks were undeniable.
‘...Right, even if he's a commoner, he's the Hero, isn't he? Chosen by the Goddess. That means he's not just an ordinary commoner.’
He was chosen by the Goddess herself.
His standing would naturally be higher than a knight's, and probably higher than most nobles. Couldn't you call him an honorary noble?
This was rationalization.
Lorraine's self-justification to protect her pride from the fact that she felt no disgust when kissing someone of lowly blood.
The kiss, which felt both long and short, finally ended.
Even after the kiss was over, Lorraine sat there in a daze. The sensation still lingered on her lips.
Then she noticed that Cloud hadn't left and was still looking at her.
“What? What are you still doing here?”
Normally, he would have left as soon as the kiss was over. Why was he looking at her?
“Are you going to send another challenge tomorrow morning?”
“That's up to me! Why? Are you starting to lose your confidence?”
“No... it's... never mind.”
Cloud sighed and left the training grounds.
Lorraine watched him go with a dissatisfied look.
“What was that? I thought he had something to say.”
She grumbled as she got to her feet.
She returned to her room, wrote a new challenge, slipped it under Cloud's door, and went to bed. The next night, she waited for Cloud at the training grounds.
At some point, this had become a normal routine, but Lorraine pretended not to notice.
But something was strange.
No matter how long she waited today, Cloud didn't show up. Tired of waiting, Lorraine scowled and stormed to Cloud's room.
“Hey! What are you doing in there? Don't tell me someone like you is ignoring me?!”
Lorraine kicked the door open and burst into the guest room.
The room was completely empty.
“..?”
What? Did I come to the wrong room? No. This is the right one.
Confused, Lorraine didn't find out what had happened until the next morning.
“Are you referring to Sir Cloud the Hero and his party? They left early yesterday morning.”
The butler delivered the unbelievable news.
Because of the late-night duels and writing challenges, Lorraine had been going to bed late and waking up late. Cloud had left while she was asleep.
“That... that son of a bitch..!”
To leave without saying a single word to me...!
Lorraine seethed with anger.
‘Huh? Wait a minute. Why should I be angry that he's gone?’
The reason I should be angry is...
Ah, right, the duels.
I never won. I lost every time, had my first kiss stolen, and was kissed again and again after that, right?
That bastard toyed with my lips.
Yes, this is rape.
He's a rapist who raped my lips and ran away!
Having reached that conclusion, her anger boiled over even more.
Vowing to split his head open the next time they met, Lorraine headed for Lorian's room.
She planned to ask Lorian for training to improve her skills. The fact that he was wallowing in depression in the corner of his room was no longer her concern.
However...
“What? Where did my brother go now? What is this?! Are you all conspiring to mess with me?!”
Lorian wasn't in his room.
*
At the same time Lorraine was shouting in Lorian's room, Lorian himself was face to face with Gis.
Gis exhaled a puff of white smoke before grinding his cigar out on the table.
“So, you're saying you want to use our Snake Venom Society's assassination squad?”
“That is correct.”
“Why come to me? His Highness the Prince should be perfectly capable of hiring assassins without my help, no?”
“It is an undeniable fact that the Snake Venom Society's assassins are the best on the continent. And I believe going through you will grant me access to better assassins than if I were to commission them myself.”
Gis was sponsored by the Snake Venom Society, a criminal organization in the Alitia Kingdom. It was officially a secret, but it was an open one among those in the know.
“Well, you're not wrong about that. Who's the target? Cloud, I assume?”
Lorian nodded.
“There's no need to kill him. That would only incur her wrath. However... yes. I want you to instill despair in him. A despair so deep it breaks his spirit.”
“That's not difficult. Torture is one of our specialties. And you don't have to worry about him blabbing. The Snake Venom Society's assassins aren't that sloppy.”
Gis chuckled and leaned back in his chair.
“Another accomplice. This is good.”
Lorian narrowed his eyes. “Accomplice?”
“That's right, accomplice. You didn't really think I'd just sit back and do nothing after that humiliation, did you?”
Gis said with a chilling smile, “I've already sent the letter.”
“...”
Adreana, who was also in the room, fell into deep thought.
*
Shaking off the Oller Ducal Family's attempts to keep us, we returned to the capital of the Prona Kingdom.
It was because the royal family had summoned us by carrier pigeon. The king himself had called for us.
Figuring it would cause more trouble if we didn't go, we followed the summons to the capital... and saw it.
“To the guillotine with the heretic!”
“To the guillotine with the prince!”
“Down with the heretic! Down with the prince!”
The citizens filling the square in front of the royal castle.
“Prince, come out! If you are not a heretic, prove your innocence yourself!!!”
The clerics at the head of the crowd, screaming at the top of their lungs.
“...Should we go back?”
At my muttered question, my companions nodded silently.