09. Ventorino Kingdom - Toward the Second Revenge (2)
The guest reception room of Ventorino Royal Castle.
Four people had been gathered there when a young man appeared. His flowing blond hair was slick with sweat, a clear sign of just how desperately he had rushed to get here.
At his arrival, the eyes of the two princesses seated across from each other on the sofa turned toward him.
"Ah, darling."
"Oho, my love, Clara!! So you were here!"
The white-haired princess among them rushed at the young man and threw her arms around him.
"……."
Watching the lovers' little farce unfold before her, the blond princess, Mercede, frowned. Her bangs fell low enough that the slight crease in her brow was all but invisible to anyone else.
Haa... I already want to go back to Ulsro.
If her opposite number had not been the royal family of a kingdom, she would have kicked over her seat and walked out on the spot.
In truth, even without that excuse, she probably still would not have been able to do it.
The reason she had come to the Ventorino Kingdom was not for some face-saving diplomatic exchange, but to help the Valdes she loved.
She had no idea when Valdes's scheme would be set in motion, so at the very least she needed to remain in the Ventorino Kingdom until then. If everything succeeded, there was a good chance she would end up staying here even longer, whether she wanted to or not.
And yet even patient, good-natured Mercede had found Princess Clara Ventorino so aggravating that she was actually thinking this way.
Her first impression had been terrible.
There was something vaguely rude and self-righteous about her, and she seemed obsessed with her own vanity. For someone who was still only part of the dynasty's second generation, she even carried herself with the air of someone chosen by heaven. If there were a villainess in a romance novel, Mercede wondered if this was exactly what she'd be like. And this was only what she had gathered from their first meeting.
Come to think of it, the Ventorino queen I saw earlier was the same. She's the spitting image of her mother.
And the resemblance was not limited to their personalities.
Like the queen, whose beauty seemed far too striking for a woman in her mid-thirties, Clara was also a considerable beauty.
Her thick white hair looked as though it would take one or two hours to tame every morning, and yet every strand was neatly cared for, not a single one out of place. Add to that her sharp eyes, the elegant bridge of her nose, and her full, strangely alluring lips.
Overall, she had the fierce, proud air of a lioness.
Still, in Mercede's opinion, her looks fell short not only of her own family's women, but even of Serenia's. Judged subjectively, Clara was on a similar level to Ethylene. Certainly a beauty, but not nearly enough to make one feel on guard.
The only troubling thing was that she had a completely different style from the women around Valdes in Ulsro. She didn't resemble the Demon Queen or Irena either, at least from what Valdes had mentioned in passing.
She was fresh, and interesting, but at the same time Mercede was worried whether Valdes would be able to tame her safely within a short time. It wasn't just the princess; he would also have to bring down the queen, who looked every bit as difficult as Clara did, and that made an unwelcome sense of concern stir in her chest.
No, if I think about it, we're not exactly easy women either. Vald is just too handsome and too capable.
Thinking about that made her feel a little better.
Then, quite suddenly, she wondered what would happen if it took longer to break the two women of Ventorino than it had taken to win over the rest of them. Not only those two, but the same would apply anywhere else he went. She could tell herself it simply meant Valdes loved her that much, but at the same time, she did not want to be an easy woman.
While Mercede was caught up in these important and utterly useless worries, Clara and the young man, still locked in each other's arms, exchanged a sticky, lingering reunion kiss.
Even after they finally parted, Clara clicked her tongue as though reluctant to let go, and the man stepped forward toward her companion.
"This is the First Princess of the Ulsro Kingdom, Lady Mercede Ulsro."
"Ah, a pleasure to meet you! Princess Mercede! I am Clara's fiancé, Lloyd of the Antipeol Ducal House, heir to House Antifeol. Might I beg for the honor of kissing the back of your hand?"
Ugh.
The man's tone was so greasy it was almost nauseating.
Still, if he belonged to the Antipeol Ducal House, that made him one of only two ducal houses in Ventorino. Considering that the other was the queen's own natal family, that made them effectively the most powerful nobles in the kingdom aside from the royal family. And with Princess Clara standing beside him, she could not show her displeasure even if she wanted to.
"...Of course."
Mercede extended her left hand with a faint tremor in her voice. She was glad she had worn gloves, just in case.
Ventorino itself was a land beset by constant conflict with demons and swarming with monsters, so both the commoners and the nobles here tended to be openly passionate and decadent in matters of love. Kissing the back of the hand was a fairly common greeting in this place.
"Thank you, Princess. ...Mwah."
Ugh!
The gloves were so fine that even through the fabric, the kiss felt as if it had landed directly on her skin.
I’m throwing these away the moment I get back.
The blond beauty who knew nothing of her inner disgust grinned brightly, clearly pleased with himself.
"Haha, the rumors really weren't exaggerated. They say you're the greatest beauty in Ulsro, and I can see why. Of course, our Clara is no less lovely."
Lloyd turned his head and gazed at Clara with eyes that practically dripped. She met his look with a radiant smile of her own.
"But in my eyes, Clara, you're still the most beautiful of all."
"Oh, Lloyd...!"
...Ugh, what a revolting display.
It was someone else's business, and Clara's first impression had been so poor that Mercede found herself swearing inwardly, which was rare for her.
But at the same time, she felt a little envious. She wanted to cuddle up with Valdes like that too. The pair in front of her were far beyond mere cuddling, but if she imagined doing that with the man she loved, it didn't seem impossible after all.
Still, she had a long way to go.
Valdes being with other women did not bother her. Three mothers and daughters had already rolled together on the same bed, so what was there to complain about? What she regretted was that she still could not openly proclaim that she was Valdes's lover.
Besides, this was foreign territory. Enemy territory.
They had to meet even more secretly than they did in Ulsro Kingdom. Because of that, even though she had been showered with love by Valdes the previous night together with her younger sister Mari, the thought that she still had to be cautious for a while made her chest itch strangely.
I should also prepare some kind of surprise event. As for massage play, I can save that for when we get back, but what would be a good situation...? Hmm. I should ask Ethylene for advice later, too.
Her thoughts about Valdes naturally flowed into the surprise she wanted to prepare for him. Ethylene had undergone fourteen days more training than Mari, so she seemed likely to be more helpful.
By the time the princess returned to reality, she had plastered on a false smile and was already chatting with the two people before her.
"Oh my, so that happened."
"Haha. What an amusing story!"
Mercede found, to her surprise, that she got along rather well with Clara and Lloyd.
Mercede was two years older than Clara, but they were close enough in age, and both were children of high nobility who had received an excellent education, so their conversation flowed smoothly enough.
Perhaps because her fiancé was sitting beside her, Clara also remained at the level of a slightly eccentric noble lady. Of course, it also helped that her counterpart was another royal, Mercede. Unless someone was truly arrogant beyond belief, nobles like that could be endlessly courteous and almost ordinary when faced with someone of equal standing.
"If things go well, we'll be family someday!"
"Heh-heh, how wonderful it is for noble bloodlines to be joined together."
As the conversation continued, it naturally drifted toward the marriage between Mari and Alfonso.
Mercede gave an awkward laugh and casually turned her head to look at her younger sister beside her.
"Mm-hmm, that's right."
"Yes! And then my tutor started telling me..."
Mari was speaking with Alfonso, Clara's younger brother and the kingdom's only prince.
To be precise, it was less conversation than Alfonso excitedly blurting out one thing after another while Mari tossed back an appropriate response now and then.
The smile painted across Mari's face was obviously just as false as Mercede's own. A smile put on entirely for hospitality's sake. As expected of the Ulsro royal family's public face, she looked far more natural at it than Mercede herself did.
Anyone who isn't family, or Vald, would never notice.
By contrast, Alfonso looked genuinely delighted.
Apparently he had truly fallen for her, unlike Mari. Given how stunning Mari was, that was more than possible. For a fourteen-year-old boy, a beautiful older sister who smiled warmly every time he spoke and reacted to everything he said with delight was a devastating weapon.
What Mercede did not know was that, before the envoys had even arrived, Alfonso had already heard from his mother, the queen, over and over again that Mari was his betrothed. Because of that, deep in his heart, he had already accepted the idea as a good thing.
"Oho, the atmosphere is excellent. You're as well matched as the two of us."
Lloyd, who had been looking at the pair just as Mercede had, declared with obvious delight.
"Oh, you're such a darling."
"Heh-heh, don't be shy. Where in this continent could there be a couple with chemistry as fantastic as ours?"
"Stuff like that... save it for when it's just the two of us...♡"
"Haha. My mistake!"
"……."
Even when Clara and Lloyd seemed to be discussing something else, the next moment they were back to cooing sweetly in their own little world. Their conversations always, somehow, wound up circling back to love, and by now Mercede couldn't even be bothered to swear at them anymore.
If this was some scheme to mock her for appearing to be alone, then it was a highly successful one. She was not really alone, but it still made her envious of them. Considering how painful it was to have a lover and still be unable to show it openly, she almost thought this side was better off.
"Princess Mercede, are you not interested in men?"
"Yes, huh?"
Mercede had just been thinking of Valdes when Lloyd's sudden question caught her off guard, and she stammered.
"Hmm? Your reaction seems a little strange. Could it be...?"
"Ah, n-no. It was just such a sudden question... I don't yet plan to meet any men."
"Why not? At your age, you should be enjoying a beautiful love!"
"That's right, Princess Mercede. Should I introduce you to some of Ventorino's young men?"
"No, thank you. I still prefer swords to men, after all...."
"Is that so? What a pity. Our kingdom has many good men, you know...."
At Clara's words, Mercede forced an awkward smile and shot her a sidelong glance.
Those were rather loaded words. They sounded almost as though she were saying there were no good men in Ulsro Kingdom. What's more, the faint expressions Clara let slip were not those of a princess whose only quality was self-righteous arrogance.
Is she wary of me? Or testing me? ...No. She's genuinely disappointed. Rather than that...
A glint of insight flickered in her eyes.
Clara turned out to be more cunning than Mercede had first assumed. If Clara introduced her to some man and things went well, then noble blood from Ventorino Kingdom would be mixed into the Ulsro royal family.
Ulsro already possessed the powerful royal authority forged by Queen Beatris, but if something happened to Mercede, then Ulsro would be in danger. And if Mari married Alfonso, just as Ventorino wanted, then they would gain a powerful pretext to interfere directly in Ulsro's affairs.
Still, she's inexperienced. And besides...
we already have the man we love, you know.
Thanks to the irritating lovers in front of her, Mercede found her thoughts drifting back to Valdes again and again.
What is Vald doing right now, I wonder?