[No Title Provided]
Aaron was visibly anxious. “Talion!”
Marian reached out toward the horse charging straight at her. After all, Talion had always been fond of her, and they'd grown quite close while wandering around Butler Territory. Talion seemed thrilled to see Marian after so long, wagging its tail furiously.
Did she seriously not notice? I thought, chuckling as I watched her stroke Talion's neck. I'd figured Marian would realize her virginity was intact the moment she saw Talion's reaction. But maybe that was just me thinking from my perspective. People weren't as obsessed with that stuff as I'd assumed.
“Puhiiing!!”
“H-hey, stop that! Not again?”
The problem was that damn crazy unicorn, Talion. As Marian petted its neck, the beast got all worked up and shoved its face right into her breasts—with a downright lecherous expression for a horse. Marian shoved its head away like it was no big deal, but that seemed to plant the first seed of doubt in her mind. Talion's behavior stood out from a normal horse, reminding her once again that it was a unicorn. And that made her start questioning her own virginity.
Her gaze shifted from Talion—which she'd been staring at with a puzzled look—naturally toward me. I tried to keep a straight face, but my cheeks were twitching like they'd short-circuited.
Shit... busted.
I swallowed hard as Marian's expression darkened rapidly. Her fingertips trembled now that the truth had dawned on her, and her eyes stared into empty space, hollow and lifeless.
“Saintess?”
Even Mary, who knew nothing of the situation, noticed the change in her.
“Marian...”
I called her name cautiously and stepped closer, but she backed away with every step I took. Shame and resentment burned in her eyes as she glared at me. I bit my lip hard.
Honestly, if you thought about it, it wasn't my fault—it was hers for passing out drunk.
“Marian, let's just talk—”
“S-sorry! I have something urgent... I forgot and came here...”
She spat out that lame excuse in a panic. People always came up with the dumbest bullshit when flustered, and Marian was a textbook case right now.
“No, it'll only take a second.”
“S-sorry!”
With that, Marian spun on her heel and bolted. Talion tried to chase after her, but I shot out my hand and grabbed its tail.
“Puhiiing!”
“If you've got any brains, stay the fuck out of it!”
I yelled at the whining unicorn, and it finally got the message, stopping its struggles.
“Um... what the hell just happened?”
I scratched my head, staring at Mary's utterly baffled expression.
After bullshitting some vague explanation to Mary, I tried to slip out of the palace quick. The odds of anything happening to the saintess inside the capital were slim, but Marian fleeing like that gnawed at me.
But I hadn't even made it out of the palace before I had to stop. A few soldiers brazenly blocked my path. What was even more ridiculous was their stance—like they were ready to draw swords any second.
“Pardon the interruption, Hero.”
The soldiers parted, and some sleazy-looking bastard stepped forward. I scowled at his face. He was one of the nobles who'd been hanging around Mary— no reason for him to block me.
“What the fuck?”
“Ah, His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince wishes to meet with you.”
I let out a disbelieving snort at the guy name-dropping Aaron so boldly. He'd been glued to Mary just moments ago, and now he was openly admitting he was Aaron's man.
“Weren't you one of the princess's guys?”
“Heh heh. Surely you've pieced it together by now?”
I sighed at his evasive question-for-a-question bullshit. Him revealing himself like this was basically a flex. A warning that even the faction clinging to Princess Mary was under Aaron's thumb—pick a side properly.
It was childish as hell, laughably so, but totally on-brand for Aaron.
“Could you spare a moment?”
I nodded despite myself at the noble twerp's polite request, even with soldiers blocking the way. Marian was still bugging me, but if I didn't deal with Aaron now, he'd keep hounding me.
“Fine. Lead the way.”
“As expected, you're reasonable.”
The noble grinned like he'd won something, and the tense soldiers sighed in relief. I followed him deeper into the palace's hidden corners.
“A heads-up: don't freak out too much.”
He smirked slyly as he said it. But I knew better than anyone what kind of place he was taking me to.
“Shut up and guide me.”
I snapped at the noble, who curled his lip like he was daring me to keep that expression.
“Welcome, Hero.”
I grimaced at the tacky-ass room that hardly seemed part of the palace. It was decked out with expensive crap, but the mismatched luxury only screamed the owner's vulgarity. A nauseating aphrodisiac stench—like from some brothel—hit my nose, and scantily clad women roamed around to match.
“Have a seat?”
Aaron, sprawled on the long central sofa, gestured at me. I sat across from him, still scowling.
“What do you think? Never imagined a place like this in the palace, huh?”
One hand groped the tits of the woman on his left, the other fingered another's pussy as he asked. A woman behind the sofa licked his ear nonstop, and something slurping under the table assaulted my ears.
Aaron thought this was my first time here, but I'd been in my past life. This was his secret spot, built behind the emperor's back—for bribery or blackmail. He flaunted his power by having it, and exploited guests getting distracted by the naked sluts. The subtle aphrodisiac was meant to break minds, but that low-rent trick didn't faze me.
“Eh, your taste is... kinda low-class?”
“...Hah, amusing.”
Aaron's face said he found it anything but funny.
“Look, Hero. There might be some misunderstanding between us...”
“Misunderstanding? What misunderstanding?”
I cut him off. The noble who'd led me here tried to butt in, but Aaron waved him silent.
“Well, various things. Like me trying to kill you.”
I smirked at Aaron casually mentioning the assassination he'd ordered. The prick had no luck or talent, but he excelled at this slimy shit.
“Wasn't that you?”
“Ah, to be clear—it was a misunderstanding. Strictly speaking, my father ordered it.”
I watched silently as he poured himself a drink and pinned all the blame on the emperor. Gauging my reaction, he beckoned the nearby women. A few slinked over, their fingers, lips, and tongues teasing my sensitive spots.
“If you're pissed, I apologize. The old man's just a greedy mess. Forget the past misunderstandings—let's get along, yeah? I'll protect you from him.”
When I didn't react, Aaron grinned sleazily, figuring I'd half-fallen for it already. I snorted at his efforts to drag me to his side, even badmouthing his own dad.
“Bullshit. A half-assed puppet spying for his old man thinks he can pull that off?”