The Love-Inept Married Woman and the Sinister Advice
From that day onward, the gloomy princess Shapira's days of torment began. Why Shapira and not Sadat? The reason was simple.
"Shapira! Shapira! Are you in there?!"
"What is it all of a sudden…?"
"There must have been a love potion among the techniques you learned from the Man Tribe! Even if you're a birdbrain, you couldn't have forgotten it already, could you?!"
"Y-yes… but that… I remember Lady Sadat declaring, 'I have no need for such trivial tricks!'…"
"Agh! That was then! This is now! If we're going to capture the Great Spirit, we can't afford to be picky about methods!"
"That's true, but… why are you so flustered…?"
"Enough stalling! Get to it already!"
"So I shouldn't ask unnecessary questions… Still, that requires quite a lot of ingredients…"
"I'll allow you to use my personal funds. Make it as quickly as possible! At the very least, by this evening! Understood?!"
"Eeeeh… But I have my duties as prime minister…?! And you even entrusted the negotiations with the Man Tribe to me…!!"
"You laze around most of the time anyway! Stop whining just because you'll be busy for a few days and hurry up!"
"Uuu…"
She could never defy Sadat anyway. In the end, Shapira ran around tearfully gathering materials and brewed the love potion.
──And so the next day.
"Shapira!"
"…Ngh."
Once again, Sadat stormed in and began shouting.
"What the hell is this?! It failed!"
"Eh? That's impossible~! I even finished proper testing on it~!"
"But it did fail! I mixed it into his food and he showed no reaction whatsoever!"
"U-umm… Could it be because Roman's body is resistant to curses…?"
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"Lord Roman repelled my curse on the very first day, so his curse resistance is extremely high… I don't think ordinary poisons would work on him either~? Though he himself probably doesn't realize it…"
"Mmmgh~!! Why won't anything work?!"
"E-even if you say that…"
"Then mix things together and improve it!"
"Uuuu…"
Once again, Shapira was forced to stay up all night refining the formula. Thanks to her efforts, she managed to complete an improved version of the love potion and handed it to Sadat…
──Yet the following day.
"Shapiraaaa~!!!"
"H-heh?!"
After finally managing to fall asleep following another all-nighter, she was once again subjected to shouting. Shapira had been confident in her work this time, but Sadat was clutching her thighs in distress.
"Lady Sadat? Why are you in such a state…?"
"Obviously because the potion you made failed!! Explain at once why I ended up addicted to it!!!"
"G-give me a break~?!"
"I definitely fed it to him! So why am I like this?!"
"Are you sure you fed it to Lord Roman~?!"
"I did! The moment he ate it, this happened! K-ugh, my body is burning up and I can't stand it!! Just thinking about him makes my expression melt like an idiot…! Servilia even asked why I was smiling like that during our meal…! Kgh… ngh… What kind of disaster is this…?!"
"Th-that's strange… There's no reason for you to be affected when you didn't even consume it…?!"
"Then what the hell is it?!"
"Could it be… reflected…?"
"What?!"
As a woman who had long studied curses, Shapira examined Sadat's body from various angles before breaking into a cold sweat.
"You see… curses are magic with a very clear hierarchy… It's extremely difficult for curse users to cast curses on one another… And if the target is too different, the curse can sometimes rebound…"
"So in the end, your skills were lacking!!"
"Hiiiii~?! That's not true! I used special ingredients for this curse, didn't I…?! Dragon's blood, hell whale whiskers—ingredients from incredibly powerful monsters…! To reflect something like that, the curse would have to be stronger than the poison from those materials~!"
"So it was reflected?"
"Y-yes… Lord Roman's curse surpassed it, so this isn't my fault at all~!"
"A hell whale… Even our country's heroes have to risk their lives against those things…!"
"Uuu… So it got reflected… But to have it rebound like that… He really is a genuine curse sorcerer… Hehe… I might even admire him a little……"
"Is this the time to laugh?!"
"—Heh?!"
"Hurry up and give me the antidote! My lower body is tingling and my heart won't calm down!!"
"B-but I was just about to go to sleep……"
"Then should I stay like this until you wake up?!"
"Ueeee…"
In the end, Shapira couldn't sleep until she had lifted the curse from Sadat. She thought Sadat might finally give up after this…
──But?
"Shapiraaaaaaaa!!!"
"Nhyaaaaaaa!!!"
Just as her fatigue had finally faded and she was thinking she should get some work done today, Sadat came barging in again. The treatment was complete and no new potion had been given, yet Sadat was in an uproar.
"What is it this time~?!"
"What do you mean 'what is it'?! Did you properly cure me or not?!"
"Yes? Y-yes… It took some time, but…"
"That's impossible! Absolutely, definitely impossible!!"
"…Nyeh? Th-then? What's the reason~?"
"Even though the love potion's effects have worn off, I still smile like an idiot whenever I see him! Today I got anxious just watching him talk with Servilia, and when he asked me to go out with him after the meal I was overjoyed, and when he said he might return soon because things have quieted down I even made a miserable face!! And this is me—El Sadat!!!"
"Eeeh…"
"What's more, even when I tried to seduce him by wearing that key I failed to give him last time around my neck, he completely ignored me! This is the first time my heart has been wounded so deeply! So I thought—this must be a side effect of the love potion I used back then!"
"Eeeeh… Eh…?"
Shapira was troubled. It wasn't just that Sadat kept making unreasonable demands—there was another meaning to this situation.
'That cold stepmother of mine is coming to me for love advice… How am I supposed to react to this…?'
It was even more difficult because Shapira was not her blood-related daughter. Normally, Sadat would never discuss romance with anyone, let alone seek advice. What kind of wind had blown to make her act this way?
"U-um… Lady Sadat…? No, I'll call you Mother for now… Could it be that you have no one else to talk to about romance besides me~?"
"Romance? Ah, you mean the women around me? They've all been dealt with. You know as well as I do that one woman stirring up trouble with Dodo V is more than enough."
"That's not what I meant…"
Shapira pressed a hand to her forehead. This woman was skilled at seducing men, yet she had never actually experienced falling in love herself.
'An opportunity like this is incredibly rare… As her daughter, I'd like to give her some advice, but I'm just as much of a spiderweb-in-the-hole woman…'
The situation was so shocking that she even thought, 'If it was going to be like this, I should've just gone on a normal blind date.'
"Shapira, answer honestly. It really did fail, didn't it?!"
"No… It succeeded perfectly…"
"Then why the hell…!!"
"To put it bluntly, it's because Mother harbors feelings for Lord Roman… This isn't the love potion's fault. You're simply in love. And what kind of magic do I have that could fix that…?"
"Mgh~?! Me, in love?"
"Yes… In love… To begin with, Mother taking a man out on a date is a first, isn't it~?"
"W-was it? Though I did go on several dates to seduce King Dodo…?"
"Those were at the king's invitation… I'm talking about dates you initiated yourself… This is your first time, isn't it~? Right~?"
"Th-that's true… It really was the first time I invited someone… I never even considered it because invitations always came to me no matter what I did…!!"
"Did you also decide where to go for the outing, Mother~?"
"Yes… but…?"
At those words, Shapira smacked her forehead again. Sadat had no idea what she had done.
"That's a date… Mother showed favor to Lord Roman and yet you don't even realize it…"
"Gghghgh…… Th-that can't be…!! There's no way I would do something like showing love or favor to a man…!"
"But the circumstances say otherwise… Otherwise, there'd be no reason for you to feel anxious seeing your fiancée Servilia…"
"Mmmmmgh?! Silence! Don't say whatever you please!"
"Ow, really~! That hurts~! It hurts, I said~!"
Whether because the words struck a nerve or not, Sadat raised her palm and slapped Shapira repeatedly while turning her head away, her face flushed red.
'Even my stepmother has a side like this… To think she'd fall for Lord Roman…'
Though she was still sleepy, Shapira decided this chance wouldn't come again and grinned as she teased her.
"Anyway~! That means Mother does have something to feel guilty about, right~? For example, the way you're toying with Lord Dodo right now… Unconsciously comparing him to Lord Roman in your heart and praising him…?"
"Th-that kind of thing…?! N-never! There isn't!!"
'Ah, so there is.'
Though she denied it verbally, Sadat had recently compared Roman's balls to the king's while sucking on them. She wasn't usually this clumsy at lying, yet her reaction was far too blatant.
"Then… how far would Mother be willing to allow Lord Roman to go~?"
"What… do you mean by that…?"
"Mother has strong pride, after all… You even dislike standing next to ordinary men… For example, if he suddenly kissed you, would you get angry~?"
"I don't understand the intent of your question~?! Would that Roman really do something like that to me?! He's the cold man who kicked me away after I openly suggested nightly activities!"
"Hee, then what if Lord Dodo forcibly stole Mother's lips~?"
"That senile fool—I'd kill him immediately."
"…………"
"……Ah."
She seemed to have understood the intent of the question. Once again, Sadat's face turned red and her body stiffened.
"Heee~?"
Shapira circled around her stepmother with a grin. It was the attitude of someone teasing her by asking if even someone like her could make such a face.
"Ngh…! Stop teasing me… Isn't there a proper solution…?!"
"Even if you say that, I'm just a pitiful woman who's never even dated a man… Researching curses always came first for me… The only men I've met are the rugged Man Tribe members……"
"You useless thing! To think that all you know how to do is curses would end up being a poison instead!"
"Even if you say that, Mother has zero romance experience too… No, wait… Having a daughter you're not even related to by blood already puts you out… A love-inept married woman—seriously, who would like someone like that~?"
"Y-you?!"
"Love-inept, can't take the lead as a married woman, and on top of that your nose is stuck up high… Your expiration date is looking pretty shaky too~?"
"Kghhh~?!"
Was this what it meant to stab someone with words? She wanted to tease her more, but if she didn't give proper advice she'd get scolded again, so Shapira offered what little help she could.
"But even I can tell… Lord Roman has an extremely high nose when it comes to women… Your compatibility is terrible~"
"…? Really?!"
"Yes… There's a widespread rumor that he's rough when handling women… Even the Great Spirit gets treated that way, so Mother would be no exception… I don't think he'd spare a glance for a woman who doesn't obey him or flatter him… In that sense, your compatibility with Mother, who looks down on everyone, is truly……"
"Uuuuugh~!"
Sadat lowered her head, apparently struck by the words. Sadat, who looked down on everyone except herself, and Roman, who found only masochistic women who flattered him cute—their compatibility was the worst.
"That's why there's a breakthrough there~!"
"……Breakthrough?"
"That's right… Men have always been weak to 'gaps,' after all~!"
Shapira pulled out a certain book from the corner of the room. Among the gloomy books about curses, it was the only pink one with a prettily decorated cover.
"What's this?"
"My secret daughter stash… Ahem! It's an ero novel… But I think Mother needs this right now~"
"An ero novel? And the title is 'The Submissive Neighbor's Married Woman'…?! W-what kind of explicit title is this?!"
"Well, because it's an ero novel…"
"What's more, from the very first page she's being beaten by her husband! 'Honey, you're not going to hit me today, right? I'll suck anything, so please don't do that!' —What kind of depravity is this?! Using violence as a weapon to turn his wife into a plaything?!"
"It's a novel that greatly stimulates sadistic tendencies~?"
"You're my daughter, yet you really have perverted tastes!"
"No, I'm not projecting onto the one being hit—I'm projecting onto the one doing the hitting… Hehe…"
"That's not normal either!"
"To scold me now… Even like this, I'm a pervert who loves curses… Hehehe~♪"
She squirmed, her voluptuous body jiggling. Though she was always treated like an idiot, she was properly expressing her sadistic tendencies.
"Anyway, you'd better read this… I heard Lord Roman might be leaving tomorrow evening~"
"In other words, I need to grab onto his pant leg…!"
"If you're willing to set aside that much pride, I think it'll work out somehow~"
After receiving the ero novel, Sadat immediately turned to leave. Watching her stepmother go, Shapira suddenly realized something.
'Wait… If this goes well, does that mean Lord Roman will become my father~? Hehe~♪'
If her stepmother Sadat became his woman, there was a high possibility she would become his legal wife. After all, she was the regent ruling an entire country—other princesses wouldn't be able to compete. Thanks to that realization, her remaining sleepiness vanished and her hand reached for a certain medicine bottle.
'If that happens, King Dodo will be in the way… I've heard he's been quite weakened lately… Should I prepare something during this opening~'
Glug glug glug~♪ Glorp~♪
Like a true witch, she mixed various drugs in a large cauldron and completed something. She hid the finished medicine in her bosom.
"With this, I can send him off very slowly… painfully… and yet surely…♪"
Though she was always scolded by her regent mother, at her core she was a wicked witch. Thinking of someone's life that would soon disappear, she laughed lowly without a single pang of conscience.