Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Ulstro Kingdom - Princess Knight (2)
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"What, that could happen. Love's a funny thing anyway."
Before long, even Serennia's face turned bitter.
"…Ah! S-Sorry."
Mercedes belatedly remembered her family situation and apologized in a fluster.
"Hey, hey, it's weirder if that kind of talk doesn't come up here."
"Y-Yes…."
But Serennia brushed it off with a smile like it was no big deal. It might seem like the poise of an elder, but the reality was different.
It wasn't a small issue, but she didn't want pity or sympathy from others over something like this. She'd just heard rumors about the couple circulating quietly lately. Her head throbbed with irritation, but she desperately held it back.
"Haha, it's our couple's problem anyway. Don't worry about it. More importantly, tell me about you."
She said the words she'd wanted to throw at the gossipy noble ladies of high society.
Feeling a slight pang of conscience, but the innocent Mercedes was slow on the uptake in these matters. Thanks to that, Serennia's mood lightened a bit.
"W-Well…."
Mercedes hesitated for a moment before starting her story.
Her first spar with Valdes, their promise to restore the Hero's swordsmanship together, meeting alone to move their bodies in practice, and finally, what happened in Baron Planks' territory.
For someone speaking with such shy embarrassment, the contents were surprisingly mundane.
"Heh…."
To Serennia, who was already married, the sweetness of getting excited over such trivial things was almost too much to handle.
"Mercy, you really…."
"Yes?"
"…No, it's nothing."
No matter that it was first love, wasn't this a bit much? She wondered what had gotten into her, but nothing specific came to mind.
'Still….'
Even as she marveled at Mercedes' youthful innocence, a thread of unease stirred in her chest.
It wasn't because Valdes was half-demon. As someone who'd been through war herself, she disliked demons. But she wasn't so narrow-minded as to lump in half-breeds without reason.
The problem was that he was a former mercenary.
Though Hero Pedro had been a mercenary, and many mercenaries had become knights through the martial tournament, perceptions of mercenaries still weren't great.
And the mercenaries themselves were largely to blame for that.
'I can't help but worry.'
She's like a daughter to me, and the next queen of this country.
Her particular concern was on the sexual side.
Mercedes' knowledge of sex was purely theoretical. In contrast, a boy from a mercenary background likely had experience with prostitutes.
Most mercenaries relieved stress through violence, alcohol, gambling, and whoring.
An orphan with no proper education, plus the rough life of a mercenary? They ranked third among criminals caught by the guard.
She worried Mercedes might be led astray by Valdes.
'…I should approach him once.'
In truth, she hadn't paid Valdes much attention.
Sure, she'd said he showed promise as a good recruit, but that was just ceremonial encouragement. The bit about his swordsmanship being influenced by Hero Pedro was intriguing, but that was it.
He probably wouldn't become her right hand anyway, but since it was Mercedes' first love, she wanted it to remain a good memory.
"Um… what should I do?"
Having sorted her thoughts, Serennia smiled again and cheered her on.
"Don't push too hard—just keep approaching him gradually like now. And have some confidence. You're the daughter of our queen, called Ulstro's greatest beauty. Looks, figure, personality, swordsmanship, status—nothing's lacking. And from what happened in Planks' territory… that boy is interested in you too."
"Really?"
Just a bit of encouragement and hope lit up Mercedes' face.
"Hehe, good luck. It should be about time for the other reports… go rest now."
"Yes! I'll head back then."
Switching instantly to formal speech, she gave a crisp salute and left the room.
As she returned to the office, she replayed the knight commander's advice.
"Gradually… gradually… approach him…."
She'd thanked her properly, but she still didn't quite grasp what "gradually" meant.
Just act like normal?
Lost in thought, she nearly bumped into someone.
"Ah, sorry… Valdes?"
"Ah, Lady Mercedes!"
Her eyes widened.
It was Valdes.
Having just been thinking about how to approach him, her cheeks flushed for no reason.
"Y-Yeah. What's up?"
"I was just looking for you, Lady Mercedes."
"…Me?"
Her heart skipped a beat.
"Wh-What for?"
"Do you have time by any chance?"
"Time…?!"
Could it be a date invitation? Her pounding heart grew louder.
"Yes. Um, during training this time, I think I had a realization about restoring the swordsmanship."
"Ah."
Her suddenly sinking heartbeat startled her.
It was the restoration of the Hero's swordsmanship she'd longed for. A chance to take a step closer. And yet this feeling.
Turmoil and excitement clashed in her heart.
"Yeah… Ah, I have time. Let's go to the training grounds."
"Yes."
Valdes headed with her to the private training grounds. Everyone knew she was restoring the Hero's swordsmanship, so it was fine if they saw.
But something unexpected happened.
"Huh?"
For some reason, the private training grounds were empty. Amy was handling office work, but the other two were surprisingly absent.
"Elza and Glet went for physical training."
"I see…."
Valdes, wooden sword in hand, moved to the center of the grounds.
"Actually, I was thinking the Pedro sword forms aren't exactly the Hero's swordsmanship—more like his combat techniques."
"Combat techniques?"
"Yes. The name 'Pedro sword forms' wasn't even given by the Hero, right? Treating it as pure swordsmanship from the start might be why we're stuck."
The maiden in the throes of first love had switched back to her knightly face.
"Hmm…."
It was an intriguing hypothesis.
As he said, the foundation of Hero Pedro's swordsmanship came from his mercenary days.
And mercenaries wouldn't have rigid, standardized sword forms. At first, they swung weapons to survive; later, to kill foes.
"Interesting. So?"
"Even as combat techniques, swordsmanship is probably the core, with the rest as supplements. But without them, it'll stay incomplete. Actually, thinking back, my master taught me how to move my body too."
Valdes said that and moved. Specifically, his feet.
His feet traced flashy yet simple patterns.
Mercedes immediately grasped what it meant.
"This is…."
The answer.
Her instincts told her so.
She recalled the countless people who'd learned from the Hero. Their swordsmanship. A common thread emerged.
"Th-That's amazing."
It really was. A fact she'd never uncover even after years—this boy had figured it out in less than a month.
"Ahaha. I got lucky. I spent a long time with my master, and…."
The boy's face flushed red.
"…I wanted to help you, Lady Mercedes."
"……."
Her breath caught.
A boy with such talent, discriminated against just for being half-demon.
And she truly realized it.
I like this boy. No, I love him.
"…Thank you."
She expressed her heartfelt gratitude. She wanted to hug him tight and show it with actions, but she lacked the courage.
"Then let's try it!"
"Yeah, sure."
Mercedes steadied her fluttering heart. Restoration came first. With that thought, she exchanged ideas with Valdes, fleshing out the Pedro sword forms.
Fired up, the two spent a long time in the training grounds.
Usually wrapping up in 1-2 hours, this time was different.
It ended only when the sun had set and Amy came looking for Mercedes.
"Hoo, hoo, good work."
"Lady Merce, haa, Mercedes, you too, haa, worked hard."
Not just swinging swords, but intensely moving to find answers—they'd sweated buckets. Plus hours past dinner. Not tiring would be weirder.
"Knight! I'll prepare the bath!"
"Got it."
Amy left to prepare for Mercedes' care, leaving the two alone again.
"Hoo, then I'll head out. Rest well."
"Uh… L-Lady, Mercedes…?"
"Yeah?"
Valdes suddenly grabbed the departing her.
Having focused on restoration, Mercedes' mind was replaying only today's events.
"By any chance, did I…."
He interrupted her reverie.
"May I give you a massage?"
"…Massage?"
In her mind, practicing Pedro sword forms shifted to receiving a massage from Valdes.
"M-Massage?"
"Actually, I'm, uh, good at massages. I practiced daily on my master, and even mercenaries liked it."
"I-Is that so?"
Massage.
A bit exciting, but still repulsive. Massages required bare skin, and her heart couldn't handle that yet.
As Mercedes hesitated, Valdes followed up.
"I-I figured it might be weird. Elza and Glet loved it, though. I was going to offer to you too…."
"Huh? The other girls got one?"
A massage? From a guy?
"Y-Yeah. Amy said it hurt a little but felt great."
"Hmm…."
The other squires had received it. It couldn't help but stir her pride.
"I-I wasn't planning a full-body thing. Just simple—shoulders and legs…."
"Huh?"
Her cheeks turned bright red.
He was right, actually.
A massage just loosened muscles and aided circulation. No need to knead every inch—just the parts used heavily in training.
"Ah, y-yeah. Then… after my bath, please."
She considered now, but Amy and Elza were preparing the bath. And she didn't want him touching her sweat-soaked body. Right now sweat masked sweat, but soon it'd smell.
"Yes! Hehe, I'll come in about an hour and a half!"
"…Sure."
Cooling her flushed face, Mercedes headed to her room.
Valdes returned to his, grabbed clothes, and went to the bath. He wanted to magic it away, but appearing occasionally avoided suspicion.
And time was plenty. 90 minutes was enough for a leisurely bath and prep.
"Let's see…."
Back in his room, he pondered how to approach Mercedes.
Massage hadn't even crossed his mind.
Then Elza's massage gave him the idea. Massages meant alone time, easy contact.
Perfect for charm magic.
"Can't conquer her in one go anyway… but I need to make her crave my massages regularly."
He flopped onto the bed.
Finishing bath in 30 minutes left an hour.
"…Ah, just in case…."
Valdes sprang up and went to Glet's room.
She'd returned from physical training as ordered.
He told her to signal if anyone seemed headed to Mercedes' room in an hour, buying time. She was startled but nodded obediently, impressed.
"Got it… that's all?"
"Think so?"
"Haa… Um!"
The boy wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her.
His second reason for coming.
To avoid failing to get erect mid-massage with Mercedes. Her room already had soundproofing since returning from Planks.
Soon, her room filled with moans of pleasure.