Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Hehe, Oppa’s Too Cute
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Once every year, twice.
The empire's flowers gather in the Palace of Life garden.
"Why is this girl so late?"
A dress as red as a rose.
Blonde hair sparkling like gold.
The woman's name, exuding the typical air of nobility, was Hereta von Roseguard.
"My time is valuable."
As the eldest daughter of the Roseguard family, she had a knack for business and had been running over ten ventures since childhood.
Just as she said, her time was expensive.
Even now, as she leisurely sipped tea here, losses were piling up.
But as a citizen of the empire, building connections with the imperial family was more important than any other task.
A privilege no one else could enjoy.
Connections only a ducal house could obtain.
She made good use of them in many ways.
That was why she had come all the way here on purpose.
"By the way, have you all heard about that?"
The woman in the dandelion-yellow dress, who had been smirking restlessly, leaned forward over the table.
Her name was Chera von Lizvera.
"I heard the princess was cursed."
Chera, who loved gossip, knew every rumor in the world.
She had heard a particularly amusing story recently.
"They say the curse turned her into a man."
Chera's lips curved up almost to her ears.
"Isn't that a good thing?"
Hereta chuckled softly.
"For that stoic girl, becoming a man might actually suit her better."
"You think so?"
"And whether man or woman, it's not like it'll bring any big changes to her boring life."
The princess's nicknames were the Empire's Mad Dog.
And one more.
The emperor's attachment doll.
He might look like a doting dad on the surface, but after his wife died in an accident, he feared losing his daughter—who looked just like her—and locked her away in the gilded cage called the Palace of Life.
She had to report every time she went out and get permission.
Freedom had never existed for the princess since childhood.
She was always under the surveillance of the emperor's subordinates.
So it was only natural that she might go mad.
Turning the Alchemy Academy into a bloodbath was a prime example of the princess's madness.
"Ah, so that's why. No wonder His Majesty looked so worn out when I saw him earlier."
"Anyway."
Chera's playful eye smile turned sideways.
"Why is our little fairy so angry~?"
"Don't call me that."
Ilia von Snowbelt, who had arrived with a face full of displeasure.
"Did you see something shocking while wandering around?"
"Quiet."
"I said it softly?"
"Tch."
Ilia was in a very foul mood.
'That pink-haired woman...!'
Not only did she have beauty comparable to Ilia, the most beautiful in the empire, but she also had that voluptuousness Ilia lacked. Just thinking about it made irritation surge.
'Her areolas must be ugly and huge! And her nipples are probably inverted!'
She mentally pinned the worst traits on the pink-haired woman.
That way, she could degrade her in her mind as ugly.
It was then.
"Sorry I'm late."
A low voice that pressed on the ears rang out.
A man in a crisp uniform entered the garden.
The three women's gazes naturally turned to him.
An intruder in the garden where only the empire's flowers could enter.
But the intruder was strikingly handsome.
Long, lean legs.
A sturdy build visible even over the uniform.
He looked like a well-trained knight.
But more than his body, their eyes went to his face.
A somewhat arrogant expression hinted at a sadism that made women's hearts race.
The marriageable noble ladies ran their fingers through their hair and straightened their clothes.
They were daughters of ducal houses with exceptional status and personalities, but in the end, they were women too.
"I was held up by some urgent business."
Halfway through, the women felt a sense of incongruity.
Black hair.
Golden eyes like those of a bird of prey.
This combination was the hallmark of the imperial family.
Was there a prince like that among the two princes?
The three thought the same thing at once.
"Ah, I haven't told you all."
The fat first prince.
Even getting close made one gag from his stench.
It was impossible for him to change like this overnight.
The second prince was handsome too, but his mother's blood ran stronger, so he had blond hair.
Then who?
The question was answered immediately.
"It's me. Vera von Bluefield."
The moment the mystery was solved, the women's eyes widened, and they screamed.
"That rumor was true?!"
Chera gasped.
She loved hearing rumors.
She loved spreading them.
She didn't care about truth or falsehood.
As long as it was gossip fodder.
But the most unbelievable rumor turning out true was utterly shocking.
"Ahem... Vera, what happened to make you like this?"
Hereta, whose cheeks heated at the sight of her ideal type, fanned herself gently with her hand.
"Didn't Chera tell you?"
"Me?"
"Your reaction suggests you knew."
"I heard the news. But who would believe it was real? More importantly, are you really Vera?"
"That's right."
Vera sent a light smile Chera's way.
"Hmph, hehe."
Chera covered her mouth and averted her gaze slightly.
Even knowing who was inside, she couldn't deny he was ridiculously handsome.
If she hadn't known his identity, she would've flirted shamelessly.
"Long time no see, Ilia."
Vera smiled and greeted Ilia, who was staring intently at his profile.
"Uh... y-yeah... long time no see."
Among the three women here, Ilia von Snowbelt loved men the most.
Especially handsome ones—she couldn't get enough.
She insisted beautiful women needed beautiful men beside them and filled her mansion with handsome servants from various regions.
"Princess Vera, how have you been?"
Ilia subtly lifted her long lashes, tilting her round eyes upward.
She spent three hours a day in front of the mirror, so she knew exactly how to make the cutest expression.
'Who cares if the soul's a woman—as long as it tastes good.'
With such lewd intentions, she cast flirtatious glances at Vera.
"I'm healthy."
"That's a relief. If Princess Vera were ill, it would've hurt my heart as your friend."
She placed both hands on her flat chest and gave a soft eye smile.
The two women watching cringed.
Here she goes again.
Tsk tsk.
"Were we that close?"
"How disappointing. I thought we were really good friends."
For reference, the two weren't on good terms.
They talked when they met like this, but not close enough to introduce each other as friends to others.
Everyone here gathered strictly for business.
For personal desires.
For family ambitions.
Above all, Vera unilaterally treated Ilia with hostility.
No one knew why, but from their first meeting, Vera had looked at Ilia with open disdain.
'Of course.'
Vera recalled—she couldn't remember how many times anymore—the world she had left behind.
'Withbel orabuni~'
'Oppa, are you free this weekend?'
'Hehe, Oppa’s too cute.'
She had forgotten much as worlds changed, but some things she could never forget.
Ilia fawning over Esther was one of them.
Because of that, in every worldline, Vera ended up hostile toward Ilia.
She might try to wag her tail at my Sir Withbel too.
It had actually happened more than once.
She ignored all warnings and stole other women's men.
A woman who probably smelled like squid from her crotch.
Well, in this world, Sir Withbel had become a woman, so maybe it was a relief.
With so many headaches coming, having this bitch interfere would make it worse.
"Can't you lift the curse?"
"Wouldn't you prefer if I couldn't?"
"Of course not."
I hope you can't lift it.
Please stay like this forever.
Ilia sincerely wished Vera would live as a man.
With looks like that, he'd make the perfect marriage partner.
Ilia lost herself in her delusions.
"It's tough right now. It's been over a month, and I'm still like this."
"Oh nooo."
Ilia furrowed her brow, making a genuinely sympathetic face.
By staying by her—or his—side during this anxious time with the curse, chatting and spending time together, she could open the door to their heart.
Then slip right in.
The mind might still be the princess's.
But biologically male now, unless special circumstances, hormones would draw interest to women.
"Fortunately, a brilliant mage from the Green Magic Tower is focusing their research on my condition."
"The Green Magic Tower is trustworthy."
Hereta, who had been making a fed-up face at Ilia, nodded.
"Exactly."
"Is the Magic Tower Master researching it personally?"
"No. An even more brilliant mage is handling it."
"Even more brilliant?"
"Ah, could it be that person? The commoner who topped the academy's magic department for four years straight. I heard they were appointed heir to the Green Magic Tower last year."
As expected, gossip-loving Chera knew.
"You know them well. The respectable one who's been immersed in research day and night to lift my curse."
Though they had done other research in between.
"So, I was thinking of inviting that person here briefly."
"Huh?"
Chera tilted her head.
"That person's a man, right?"
This was a women's gathering.
No place for men.
"What's wrong with that? I'm a man right now too."
"You're a special case."
Ilia perked up her ears like a rabbit at the word "man."
'Is he handsome?'
That was all she wondered.
"Don't worry. They might fit in here better than me."
Vera turned his head toward the garden entrance.
"Come in."
At his words, the heir to the Magic Tower, who had been hiding at the entrance, shyly stepped out.
A slow but elegant gait.
Mysterious pink hair and flushed cheeks.
Every movement oozed femininity.
Above all.
Her breasts were the most feminine.
More than anyone here.
The three women fell silent.
Hereta and Chera were shocked that the Green Magic Tower's heir was a woman, not a man.
Ilia thought,
'Why is that woman here...?!'
The milk cow she had bumped into in the corridor.
That milk cow approached, shyly clutching her jiggling breasts.
With a dress that fully exposed her cleavage and curvaceous figure, her timid behavior made her the epitome of female allure.
"H-Hello."
Esther greeted shyly.
Having hidden behind the wall and overheard the praise, she was thoroughly embarrassed.
A brilliant mage.
A respectable mage.
That was part of it, but wearing this dress was the most mortifying.
"Esther Withbel."
"My fiancée."
"Eek!"
Vera suddenly wrapped an arm around Esther's waist and pulled her close.
"Wh-what...! Not fiancée! I'm the magic tutor teaching Princess Vera!"
"Tutor, huh?"
"Huh...?"
"Well, you are a teacher."
Vera gave a meaningful smile and gently caressed Esther's lower abdomen.
"D-don't...!!"
Understanding what Vera meant by "teacher," Esther's face turned beet red.
Esther shook off Vera's hand from her lower abdomen.
At the same time, she felt an intense gaze stabbing her profile.
"Grrrrr..."
Ilia's smiling face.
But deep in that smile, a sinister hostility began to creep up.
A woman's enemy is another woman.
The hostility prickled her skin.