The Princess's First Time (Philia the Blood) (1)
Some call banquets the flower of society. That may have been true once, but the social arenas now displayed before the public had long since transformed into arenas of combat. Or perhaps they had always been that way. They were places where the balance of power was disguised for the masses, where countless lies and truths intertwined into stories far removed from reality. A venue where pre-agreed talking points were parroted like parrots to draw crowds. The more people gathered, the clearer the lies became, and the more potent the truth. Hyenas scavenging for scraps always circled the perimeter, instinctively knowing exactly where the crumbs would fall. In short, this place where the empire’s key figures converged was inextricably linked to the number of people gathered and the shifting superiority of power.
“Your Highness, I have come from Elvenheim to offer my congratulations.”
The ambassador dispatched from Elvenheim, a half-elf with human blood, bowed toward Philia. With her face strangely flushed, Philia barely managed to unclench her white hands that had been gripping the hem of her dress and removed her glove, extending her hand.
“I appreciate the congratulations, but wouldn’t it be proper to greet His Highness the Prince first?”
The half-elf carefully kissed the back of Philia’s hand. Despite her questioning words and actions, Philia was smiling.
“Haha. My apologies. I am still not fully accustomed to the empire’s customs. Elves always greet their closest friends first. I hope you can understand, Your Highness?”
At the same time, this was also a place where both sides revealed cards prepared to disrupt the balance of power. Therefore, the hand shown now was extremely direct, insulting, and at the same time a provocative move.
The expression of the Prince— the man called Asmos the Blood—hardened like stone. Philia puffed out her chest proudly and looked at her father. Well, she no longer even thought of him as a father.
“...I understand, Ambassador of the Great Forest. Our principality and the Great Forest have been close allies since the empire was still a kingdom. I will not take offense at a mistake born from personal familiarity.”
His stiff face lasted only a moment before he welcomed the Elvenheim ambassador with a benevolent smile. He then naturally continued with the words he had prepared.
“Having guests from the Great Forest visit is also a joyous occasion for our principality. I am delighted that such exchanges with elves are happening during my time as Prince. It seems my efforts in educating the princess have borne fruit. Hahaha!”
Asmos was laughing, but he did not forget to glare at Philia. Philia simply smiled brightly in return.
That bastard.
She wanted to spit out the curse hidden behind her smile at once. To Philia, it had been utter nonsense about keeping her head down until she gathered strength. She should have crushed that concubine bitch the moment she entered while clutching the hand of Asmos’s son. The mercy she had shown then had become her own guillotine.
“On such a joyful day, where might the son that Father cherishes so much have gone?”
That trash was probably fooling around somewhere, or busy, or perhaps molesting a maid in the palace. Since he would undoubtedly cause offense to the invited guests, he must have been sent away on some trip. Of course, Philia knew exactly where that bastard was.
“Did you not hear that he was sent to recuperate because he was unwell? He is still your brother. No matter how little interest you have in others, you should at least show some concern for family. Tsk tsk...”
“That young child is unwell, so I understand sending him to the festival in Alhambra for recuperation. But shouldn’t he at least attend the founding anniversary? I must say I am a little envious that all his attendants are women.”
“There is a fine sanatorium in Kirke, so I sent him there. I attached escorts so he could see various things on the way. How can you be so cold toward a sick child?”
“Cold, you say? I merely asked because I do not know how far it is from the principality to Kirke that it has already been a full year. It was not even on foot; even though you sent him in that precious carriage, it is taking far too long, so I was simply inquiring.”
“You always find fault with your brother over the smallest things. I wish you would fix that personality of yours.”
“Brother? I have only one brother. Must I acknowledge a child who is not even the official successor, whose blood is half unknown, as my kin?”
Philia pressed her lips tightly together. Even under her father’s glaring eyes, she stood tall in her place. She should have responded to Asmos’s gaze with a sneer and casually looked around, but the sticky fluid wriggling inside her womb made simply standing there her limit.
“Your face is flushed. You may return to your palace and rest, Philia.”
“It is merely the joy of returning to the principality after so long, Father.”
Every time she moved, she could feel the clumps of semen sloshing inside her belly. The crisis that even the slightest relaxation of tension would cause her to collapse and shamelessly reach climax made Philia grit her teeth and remain rooted in place. Her legs hidden beneath the hem of her dress—or more precisely, her thighs—were trembling violently, but fortunately no one noticed.
Even though they had done such things all night, even though she had screamed loud enough to shake the hotel room, twisting her whole body and suffering such intense abuse that it felt like oblivion, her body was strangely normal. No, her condition was better than ever. Even upon seeing the static Asmos after so long, she felt almost no tension. To think this man could look so small. It was ridiculous.
Thanks to that, she was able to greet people at the banquet and engage in moderately beneficial conversations while filled with semen. If not for the occasional mini-climaxes caused by the clumps of semen wriggling and twisting inside her flesh, it was actually quite pleasant.
“Rather than me, it is Father whose complexion looks poor. How about resting in the inner chambers?”
The Prince no longer seemed to want even to converse. He ignored Philia and walked past. Philia scoffed at Asmos as he brushed by her. Bowing her head would only result in being trampled. She had to threaten Asmos at every moment with a sharply honed blade. There was nothing more to lose, and all that remained was a dirty, ugly fight.
She looked around the banquet hall. Half of the principality were enemies. And a third of them—or perhaps another set of enemies.
“Will you be alright, Your Highness?”
“I am fine. Starting next year I will fight in earnest. This is merely the opening skirmish. Please convey my thanks to Lady Neria for granting my request.”
Philia handed the half-elf ambassador a letter written in her own hand. More than half the people in the banquet hall were not from the principality. There were many people. Was it truly necessary to resolve everything within the principality? The question arose. Drawing in foreign powers would bring no good, but if she could not have it, seeing it destroyed was not so bad either.
“Our immature princess has received much stimulation after seeing Your Highness. It was only that the High Priest persuaded Lady Neria after witnessing her recent diligent training.”
There were not many places that could directly or indirectly influence the principality. The Pahu Duchy, Valter’s Governor-General, the empire, and the Great Forest. Though called a duchy, the Pahu territory was in reality a direct territory of the empire. The reason it was still called a duchy was because a portion of the taxes sent to the empire was allocated to them. That alone allowed them to amass enormous wealth and exert tremendous influence over their surroundings, yet the old general Pahu was an upright man who faithfully fulfilled his role in commanding the family. The current head of house, mad for power, was the problem, but as long as General Pahu lived, no movement was possible.
The green dragon was a being who extremely loathed scavenging scraps from human fights. Therefore, Valter’s Governor-General did not involve himself in such dirty struggles. The emperor was an extremely busy man, and having promised the principality autonomy, he simply told both Philia and Asmos to handle things well on their own.
“Ah, by any chance did you obtain perfume from Elvenheim?”
“...?!”
At the half-elf’s question, Philia shrank back in extreme surprise. Could it be that she smelled of semen? Was this mockery? Or was it a genuine question? The same thoughts repeated endlessly.
“I asked because you carry the sweet scent that comes from high elves.”
“Ahaha, I am not sure.”
Even though she was a half-elf, when it came to matters concerning high elves, she was sincere. Philia swallowed a sigh of relief inwardly. So this was considered a good scent. She had thought about it, but when she had tasted it, she remembered it as a scent like unripe night-blooming flowers—strangely addictive.
“His Majesty the Emperor of the empire is finally arriving. Would you accompany me, Your Highness?”
The elf ambassador extended her hand. Philia smiled faintly and took it.
“Of course.”
Since the Great Forest only had a pipeline connected to the female emperor, the principality’s fight remained an internal affair. Still, Philia did not know what method she had used to draw in the Great Forest—moreover, the core of Elvenheim itself—but the result was one and the same. Asmos would now have to be nervous as well.
“His Majesty Mareiberi Wilhelm enters~!!”
A massive trumpet subdued the atmosphere of the banquet hall, and today’s main figure was finally about to appear. Philia took a long breath in, then let it out slowly. She calmed her body so as not to react to the sensation of the semen gurgling and moving inside her belly. Her thoughts needed to be sharpened more than her physical senses.
When Philia was younger than Marei, Asmos had brought a woman and a boy around her age into the palace. Philia had known that Asmos was having an affair. Because she already knew her father was trash, she had not paid it much mind. She did not think of them as new family. Though she disliked it, there was no need to openly oppose her father. So Philia had lowered her head, and before long she was trampled.
She had not officially lost the position of successor, but those close to her were driven out of the palace one by one. First was Demeter. Next was Knight Commander Furke, then Administrator Norman. This is war, Philia realized. Not the sword fights in front, but the vicious schemes carried out from behind—she had learned them far too late.
Bowing your head gets you trampled. Once trampled, it was normal to be unable to rise again, but fortunately the times had given Philia a chance to stand. The fact that she was the official successor recognized by the emperor had kept her alive. No, it had allowed her to fight. Therefore, Philia would never lower her head again. If there was a fight, she had to fight to the end.
When she had lowered her head once, she had been trampled so thoroughly she could not rise, so she clearly recognized that next time it would be her death. Or rather, death might be better. Every time that illegitimate bastard looked at her as if licking her body, she wanted to gouge out those two eyes and feed them to the dogs. What was even more unbearable was that bastard’s behavior as he tried to engage in sticky skinship while looking at her younger sister.
Her innocent younger sister, unlike herself, probably thought of it as her older brother’s burdensome affection, but it was clearly molestation. At first she had tried to understand, thinking he simply lacked affection. But while wandering outside the palace, unaware that she was there, that illegitimate bastard had mingled with delinquents and spouted nonsense about how once he became king he would rape the princess sisters, pass them around, make both sisters get on all fours and violate them together. After that, Philia no longer saw him as human.
A beast cub who took after his mother and father—frivolous, dirty, and filthy. Unable to endure the sight of him touching her sister’s breasts, she had stabbed the back of his hand with a knife, and Philia had been forcibly sent to Valter. The Prince thought he had bought three years, but she was not soft enough to stay quiet.
The elves’ support was the greatest card among those she could show openly. She had to compare how many of those pig bastards still wavering between the illegitimate’s child and herself she had drawn to her own side. She could now confidently say there were no longer any neutrals left inside the principality. Though called studying abroad, she had in fact been confined in Valter so she could not use political maneuvers. She had to let everyone know she was still standing strong. She had to clearly show that this side held the advantage.
Loyalty was not voluntary; there had to be a target worthy of receiving it. More precisely, she had to give them the conviction that she could bring them benefits. Even if the promises were smaller, the fact that she could keep them was more important than anything. The words “I will give you the bills in my pocket now” would sound far more seductive than empty promises of gold bars.
When judged that way, what Philia promised had to be words mixed with a little falsehood and promises that cleverly blended with reality. Promises that, while smaller than what Asmos could give them right now, would grant slightly more in the future. It had taken a year to adapt to Valter and stretch her legs in various directions. During that year, watching countless nobles of the principality turn their backs, Philia had realized that truth.
Last year she had held good talks with the northwest federation and drawn them into the social arena. As a result of three years of effort, she had drawn Elvenheim here—elves who had not appeared under the name of the Great Forest before. There were still a few months left until her return to the principality. This time she had obtained a good hand. She had not intended to mix her body with that child from the Pawen family, but somehow it had happened. But it was not bad.