[No Title Provided]
Lucille thought the hero looked like a madman. "Seriously, wasn't that going too far?" I could see Lina, who had belatedly come to her senses, grumbling plaintively. I had already finished a quick shower and changed clothes, so I just smirked at Lina.
"Yeah, who told you to mess with someone else's gift?"
"No, even so... doing it until she passes out!"
I placed my hand back on Lina's pussy as she bristled. I could feel the dried cum that had leaked out, but her folds were already starting to grow slick again at my touch.
"Why? She seems pretty satisfied."
"Y-you... you must've only learned the bad stuff wherever you went."
Lina glared at me with a prim expression, but her breathing was already growing ragged bit by bit. I was tempted to taste her pussy one more time right then, but punishment had to be measured. I quickly pulled my hand away and told her, "Go wash up. I have to head out."
"...Where to?"
At Lina's question, I shrugged and gave her a rough rundown of the situation. While she was out cold, someone from the palace had come looking for me, and Lucille had walked into my room to relay the message—only to blush bright red at the sight of Lina sprawled naked on the bed.
"W-what? Another woman saw me passed out like that?"
"Yeah. Pretty much."
"Then you should've stopped her from seeing!"
"What's the big deal between girls? Besides, I didn't expect Lucille to come in either."
I said that to the fuming Lina, but it was just an excuse. Lucille wasn't some clueless kid, and she wasn't close enough to me to barge into my room uninvited. Naturally, she'd knocked right before entering, and even knowing Lina was knocked out, I'd deliberately let her in. I wanted to see Lucille's flustered face, and to show her exactly what kind of man I was.
Anyway, the ploy had worked well enough. Lucille had blushed beet red and informed me that a guest from the palace was waiting.
"Haa... how am I supposed to face that girl from now on?"
"Bet you're getting excited just thinking about it, aren't you?"
Lina whipped her head away and shot me a glare at my question. I scratched my head, making excuses as she stared daggers at me with that sulky expression.
"No, I just figured showing off our relationship like that might be good."
"W-well, sure, but... it's still embarrassing."
Fair enough. Being caught sprawled on the bed still in her armor, or with cum leaking from her pussy nonstop—that was pretty humiliating. Of course, that shame could twist into a strange pleasure depending on how you looked at it. But Lina didn't seem quite that twisted yet.
Eh, no real need to break her anyway.
I thought that as I watched Lina fluster with her flushed face. Unlike the women from my previous life who'd been tangled up with me one way or another, Lina was the one person with zero connection to any of that. Being with her made me feel not like the Hero, but just Allen, some country bumpkin—and that feeling was precious to me in its own way.
"Anyway, I'm heading out?"
"No way you're just gonna cause trouble and run off?"
"What can I do? The one who summoned me is the empire's princess, after all."
"...Ugh. You're such a jerk."
Once I dragged Princess Mary into it, Lina shot me a look like she was seriously pissed. I chuckled at her and stepped out of the room.
Down on the first floor, the man sent by the princess was already waiting, and Lucille—who had relayed his message to me—stood there with a troubled expression, waiting for me to appear.
"Sorry. Did I keep you waiting long?"
I asked the man who had been waiting for me.
"The princess is waiting for you."
He didn't hide his irritation as he snapped at me. He was a stranger, but not entirely unfamiliar. I recalled he was one of the nobles by Mary's side when I'd met the emperor, and nodded at him.
"Right. But I've got my own schedule too, you know?"
"...So you're saying you can't go?"
I slowly shook my head at the man who couldn't hide his frustration.
"Nah, that's not it. Just that if you're gonna show your displeasure so openly because I'm a little late, it kinda pisses me off too."
As I sniped back, his face twitched visibly. And sure enough, he lost control of his emotions and started yelling at me.
"H-have you ever seen such a rude bastard? Just because everyone around you fawns over you as the Hero, you think you're some big shot?"
I bared my teeth in a grin at the man oozing that classic imperial noble arrogance. Even with just a hint of killing intent, it was amusing to see him flinch at last.
I could easily guess why he'd acted like this toward me. I'd been pretty meek in front of the emperor, so he probably thought he'd finally gotten in good with the princess's faction. In his eyes, I must've looked like easy prey.
"What's your name?"
"?"
"You. What's your name?"
"Viscount Roman Lopez."
He clenched his fists tight as he answered my question. Lopez family? Even I, who knew most imperial affairs inside out from handling all the empire's dirty work in my first go-around, had never heard of them.
"Got it, Viscount Lopez. Let me ask you this: you think grabbing the princess's skirt makes you somebody?"
"W-what? Gah!"
I lightly kicked his shin as he heated up. Even a light kick was too much for a noble who probably never held a sword in his life. Naturally, Roman clutched his leg and crumpled to the floor. I looked down at him with a cruel smile.
"A mere viscount punk like you, acting all high and mighty? Huh?"
"Y-you think the princess will let this slide?"
I let out a oily chuckle at the guy instinctively throwing Mary under the bus in his panic. If all the forces she'd gathered were like this, I'd be pretty disappointed in her.
No, maybe I need to rethink my whole approach...
"Kuh. Scared now that the princess's name came up? Realizing what you've done?"
While I was lost in thought for a moment, Roman Lopez seemed to misread it completely, yelling at me with renewed vigor. Of course, clutching his shin like that robbed it of any persuasiveness.
"Yeah, shut up. I'm just thinking about what to tell your precious princess."
"W-what?"
"What the hell did she even tell you to make you come here acting like this... Never mind. Whatever."
I trailed off midway through talking to Lopez, feeling annoyed. No point explaining to some no-name viscount, and I could just hear the details from Mary herself.
"Why stop talking? Scared now?"
"Yeah. Nighty-night."
I knocked Viscount Lopez out cold with a solid chop to the head. I'd killed plenty, but precisely knocking someone out in one go? Not something I was a hundred percent sure of.
"...Huh. It worked."
At that moment, I kinda understood how Marian felt. Better to just try than hesitate—turns out it pays off.
"...Is this okay?"
Lucille asked me, staring at the slumped viscount on the floor. Coming from someone not from the empire, a viscount might seem like a big deal. And yeah, an imperial viscount commanded respect pretty much anywhere on the continent.
But as I'd said, I'd cataloged most of the empire's key nobles from my first life, and the fact that this guy wasn't in my head meant he was small fry.
"It's fine. If there's trouble, the princess'll handle it."
I told the anxious-looking Lucille to chase him off if he woke up, then headed out of the house.
I walked briskly toward the palace. I was dying to know what Mary had been thinking, sending a clown like that my way.