60. The Duchess was purely, fucking turned on.
60. The Duchess was purely, fucking turned on.
Ordinary knights are tied to their families, whether guarding the territory, heading to war, or doing escort duty—they have to perform grueling labor and undergo bone-grinding training every day.
So what about the "Honorary Knight" with that hollow word "honor" attached?
Exempt from military service and conscription.
No restrictions on residence.
Free to use the Duchy's name at will.
The moment you get it, even if you slap the cheeks of those groveling low-ranking nobles below, they'd smile pleasantly and say thank you.
And this isn't just any Honorary Knight—it's the Duchy's Honorary Knight... that says it all.
Do you know how tremendous a privilege this is, or not... Jang Ryu-o blinking his big eyes.
Soon after, sighs erupted from the nobles.
-Honorary Knight! The Duchy's!
-Twenty-two...
The murmuring nobles burst into thunderous applause, starting to lick their lips with eyes full of greed.
No matter how great the benefits he's received, he's a young man who doesn't know much about noble society.
Under the Duchy's protection, he can't do anything stupid, but if you somehow forge a connection?
If you cleverly entangle him with your house's daughter?
If you introduce him to the taste of luxury?
No, even just building a small friendship is a huge gain.
The nobles began sizing up their own hands.
High-ranking noble families glanced at their children, while lower ones pondered ransacking their homes.
Seeing the nobles' reactions, the Gongnyeo smirked.
Exactly the response she wanted.
Wherever Jang Ryu-o goes from now on, he'll be treated well, and every one of his actions will elevate the Duchy's prestige.
But even though things were going according to plan, a tiny flicker of displeasure rose in one corner of her heart.
'?'
She still didn't know what emotion it was...
Today, the Gongnyeo just didn't like the young ladies with their lecherous expressions.
She just, very, extremely didn't like them.
But she couldn't ruin the mood on this fine day.
The Gongnyeo reached out her hand and declared.
"Blessing the birth of a new hero! Everyone, enjoy the banquet to your heart's content!"
-Clapclapclapclapclap!!!
As the banquet kicked off in earnest, the nobles stared at Jang Ryu-o with blazing eyes.
The flustered Jang Ryu-o heard the Gongnyeo whisper in his ear.
'Build some light connections. With the intent to use them all.'
'I-Is that okay?'
'Ha, your softness is a problem too. As long as you don't kill anyone, you can handle it somehow—go on.'
As Jang Ryu-o looked at her with sparkling eyes, a warm glow spread in one corner of the Gongnyeo's chest.
'...?'
'Then I'll be off.'
'...Yeah.'
An incomprehensible emotion. Her plan was proceeding steadily?
"Hmm... have a drink here."
"Yes."
Seated in the place of honor, the Gongnyeo sipped champagne while looking down at the nobles.
A gesture saying she had no intention of mingling yet.
The young heirs who'd been aiming to approach her bit their nails.
The seated Gongnyeo watched Jang Ryu-o.
But...
"Jang Ryu-o! Do you know what an Honorary Knight is? Huh? It's amazing!!!"
"G-Gongnyeo-nim... your arm..."
"What's wrong~ between us! You don't know nobles well, right? I can introduce you to everyone!"
"Haha, then I'll leave it to you, Gongnyeo-nim?"
"Hehehe~♥"
Her wild little sister clung shamelessly to Jang Ryu-o, rubbing against him.
"...Too close."
The Gongnyeo downed her champagne in one go, soothing her burning insides.
Her sister clearly needed etiquette training again.
Approaching a gentleman so brazenly. Vulgar.
"One more."
The Gongnyeo chugged champagne at a rapid pace.
Jang Ryu-o wore a troubled expression amid the nobles, accepting and drinking the alcohol.
Seeing Jang Ryu-o's awkward smile, the Gongnyeo's pace slowed again.
-Sip
"... ?? Did they switch the champagne type?"
The champagne should cleanly fizz and sweetly coat the mouth.
Of course, it was top-shelf stuff worth dozens of gold coins per bottle, a brand personally selected by the Gongnyeo.
But today...
"No, Gongnyeo-nim. We prepared it as ordered. Is there a problem...?"
"...No."
It just tasted sweeter today.
She brushed it off as being a while since she'd had it.
As the Gongnyeo admired that artistically valuable face, her brow furrowed.
"Jang Ryu-o~ Isn't it too crowded here? Wanna go somewhere just the two of us~? Yeah?"
-Crack!
The Gongnyeo stood right then and descended to the base of the platform.
The nobles who'd been waiting for a chance to talk to her.
Those approaching the Gongnyeo turned back at her ominous expression.
The Gongnyeo headed to her sister with strangely quick steps.
-Clack! Clack! Clack!
"Whew, everyone! Jang Ryu-o is with me..."
"Selana Ain Velatus."
At the rarely used full name, the Second Gongnyeo's head jerked up.
"Eek! S-Sis..."
"Vice. House. Head."
"Vice House Head-nim...? W-Why..."
This is for Jang Ryu-o, who needs to build connections, the Gongnyeo repeated to herself.
"Come here."
"Y-Yes!"
Having retrieved her sister, the Gongnyeo sat back down and started sipping champagne again.
The Second Gongnyeo exuded a gloomy aura.
"Hiiing..."
Feeling a pang of guilt, the Gongnyeo offered champagne to her sister.
"...Here, you drink too."
"Vice House Head-nim is weird today..."
"Tut!"
"O-Okay... sure..."
For some reason, the Gongnyeo started feeling better again.
Jang Ryu-o was conversing well with the high nobles, and the banquet brimmed with lively vibes and beautiful melodies.
From the host's perspective, it couldn't get any better.
But...
"Hello, sir?"
"Yes, might I have your name..."
"The eldest daughter of the Florinen Viscount family, Daisy Florinen. Would you take my glass?"
"Yes? Th-Thank you, cheers."
"!!!! Have you not done the first dance yet..."
"Sir! W-Would you take my glass too! I'm the eldest daughter of the Merdin Count family..."
"Huh? Huh?"
The Gongnyeo was slightly annoyed seeing Jang Ryu-o eagerly down every drink offered.
He could politely refuse... tsk.
Worried that Jang Ryu-o, with his face flushing redder, might make a 'mistake,' the Gongnyeo approached.
Purely out of goodwill. Without any ulterior motives.
'A perfectly reasonable and obvious judgment that Jang Ryu-o shouldn't be touched by the young ladies' filthy hands yet, so I'm just saving him.'
Amid the noisy crowd, the Gongnyeo called out to Jang Ryu-o.
"Jang Ryu-o."
A charismatic voice that instantly quelled the clamor.
The people surrounding Jang Ryu-o parted a path to the Gongnyeo.
Naturally, the two stood at the center of the crowd.
The Gongnyeo extended her hand and proposed.
"Shall I give you the chance for the first dance?"
The surrounding nobles' jaws dropped, blinking in shock.
The Gongnyeo dancing?
The Gongnyeo who hadn't shown even a hint of interest to the empire's top hunks?
Was this consideration for her partner, the banquet's protagonist?
Or could the Gongnyeo possibly...
Mocking the crowd's silence, Jang Ryu-o nodded with flushed cheeks.
"Yes, Gongnyeo-nim."
As the two faced each other, the banquet's melody naturally shifted.
The nobles took positions with their partners, and those eyeing the Gongnyeo and Jang Ryu-o ended up like dogs chasing chickens.
The Gongnyeo's body trembled slightly at the thrilling sensation from gazes she usually ignored.
-Shiver...
'...?'
Unaware it was a sense of superiority, the Gongnyeo just furrowed her brow.
Then Jang Ryu-o whispered in the Gongnyeo's ear.
'Gongnyeo-nim.'
"Eek..."
'?? Are you alright?'
'Speak...'
Hot breath mixed with champagne scent drew out the Gongnyeo's buzz more and more.
'I've never danced before...'
'Just match my feet...'
'Yes, thank you, Gongnyeo-nim.'
"Hoo... haa, hoo!"
'Gongnyeo-nim?'
The Gongnyeo clenched her teeth and opened her eyes wide at a thrill even greater than her first business success.
"Begin."
"Ex-Expression?"
"Grab my waist. Extend your hand too."
"Yup."
The Gongnyeo slowly approached and gripped Jang Ryu-o's rough hand.
A hand so bony it seemed it could pin her down immobile.
Jang Ryu-o's thumb brushed her side, firmly gripping her obliques.
In that instant, goosebumps raced from deep in her butt crack up to her scalp.
"Keuk!"
"G-Gongnyeo-nim?!?"
The Gongnyeo's expression turned terrifying from grinding her teeth.
More flustered than the panicking Jang Ryu-o was the Gongnyeo herself.
What the hell was this sensation?
It nearly made her body, which had never bowed in her life, shrink back.
But it wasn't unpleasant—it was a feeling she wanted to feel again...
-Grind!
"F-Follow... my... f-feet!"
"Yup!"
The Gongnyeo barely straightened her pathetically curling tongue.
The two stepped to the melody.
Awkward steps at first, but Jang Ryu-o adapted quickly.
"Kuhuk!"
"...Hup."
Because the Gongnyeo's eyes were so terrifying.
Meanwhile, the Gongnyeo was going mad from Jang Ryu-o's rigidly tense body.
His hand was so brutish it covered her entire upper waist.
Their clasped hands twitched oddly, sending faint pain tingling through her fingers.
Why were his abs so chunky, brushing annoyingly every time.
The good smell from Jang Ryu-o's body. The scent she'd caught when he burst out naked.
That scent kept reminding her brain of Jang Ryu-o's body.
Amid the unidentified weird feeling, the Gongnyeo ground her teeth and continued the dance.
She'd just gotten purely fucking horny, but you have to have felt it before to know...
High noble families teach emotion control from the start.
Puberty with the healthy crown princess and solid workouts.
The Gongnyeo, indifferent to everything, was just late to the party—normal female lust.
She'd vented that lust through work till now, so the result...
-Grind! Crack!
"Kuk! Hoo... haa..."
"Gongnyeo-nim, are you having a hard time..."
"The alcohol. It's the alcohol's fault."
"Yes..."
Her thighs clenched tighter between, and for the first time in her life, the Gongnyeo's steps faltered.
-Stumble
"?????"
In that split second, the Gongnyeo's mind went blank at her own mistake.
'Me, making such a pathetic error?'
Everyone slips up sometimes... but she was arrogant as hell.
Jang Ryu-o firmly caught the Gongnyeo and spun her around once.
-Grip!
"Hueuk...!"
Jang Ryu-o's embrace squeezed her whole body tight...
"Are you okay?"
"..."
The song cut off abruptly, and thunderous applause erupted.
-Clapclapclapclapclapclap!
"Gongnyeo-nim?"
For the first time since birth, the Gongnyeo went into heat.
The Gongnyeo was unaware of the fact.
