Chapter 34
Hazel de Butler had massive breasts. "Are you saying that if I want to see it, I should test it myself right now?" Crown Prince Aaron asked me with an incredulous look on his face.
The emperor wanted to witness my Immortal Body, and I'd countered by asking if he wasn't curious about my sword skills. Naturally, it was a situation that could easily be taken as a provocation: if you want to see my immortality, go ahead and wound me yourself.
I shrugged at the crown prince's words and met his gaze. Just moments ago, I'd been the picture of imperial etiquette, but now I was acting like some back-alley thug. Murmurs rippled through the audience chamber once more.
Aaron glared at me with a frustrated scowl, opening his mouth to retort, but the emperor beat him to it. "Amusing."
"I'm merely trying to provide Your Majesty with a bit of entertainment," I replied, bowing respectfully before the emperor once again. But he had already realized I wasn't just some fool who feared him blindly anymore.
The emperor glanced around the chamber at the nobles gathered to gawk at me. "Who among you will spar with the hero?"
At his words, the nobles exchanged uneasy glances, but none stepped forward. Of course—the empire's aristocrats were more obsessed with self-preservation than anyone. Facing me, a man whose true strength they couldn't gauge, was a risk they weren't willing to take.
"Not a single one?" The emperor frowned, displeased by their hesitation.
And it was Aaron who reacted to his displeasure. "Fine, I'll do it. Bring me a sword!"
Aaron strode forward boldly. Honestly, his swordsmanship was barely passable—at best, he'd scrape by at the bottom of a knight order. Of course, no knight would ever truly cross blades with the crown prince, so Aaron no doubt massively overestimated his own abilities.
"Oh, are you sure that's wise? I'm not quite at the level where I can hold back based on my opponent yet," I said. Aaron's face flushed as he caught the implication.
"No need to worry. What's the point of swinging while holding back? How else can we test true skill?" Aaron shot back, stepping forward. The emperor watched with keen interest, unconcerned even though his son and heir might get hurt.
"May I step in as well, Your Highness?" At that moment, someone slipped forward from among the nobles and addressed Aaron. A man with a gleaming bald head, his armor straining against bulging muscles.
"You are...?"
"I'm Juan Miller, knight captain of Butler Territory."
"...The knight captain of the Butler count family."
Aaron glanced past the bald knight captain, Juan, to the woman behind him. She hid her face with a fan, but no amount of fanning could conceal her voluptuous figure. She gave a slight bow toward the prince.
"Very well. Since we haven't started yet, I'll yield—for the sake of the countess's face."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
I scowled as Aaron and Juan haggled over who got to face me first, treating me like an afterthought. 'Hah, Juan Miller. Didn't expect to run into this bastard here.'
I didn't recall if Juan and his master had been present during my first timeline audience. Back then, I'd been a nervous wreck, clueless about noble names or faces. Besides, my entanglement with Juan had come later.
'And Hazel too. Talk about a perfect storm today.'
Hazel de Butler. I ground my teeth at the sight of the woman visible over Juan's shoulder as he casually stretched. She was Juan's liege—and the head of the count family ruling a border territory in the Lorraine Empire. She was also one of the people I had to get revenge on.
"Punish Countess Hazel de Butler? Why?"
Crown Prince Aaron asked me that. I was beside myself with rage, but since my opponent was none other than the crown prince, I swallowed my fury as best I could. "She had every chance but refused to let the territory's people inside the castle walls."
"But she did defend Butler Territory, didn't she?" Aaron replied, looking baffled.
"Yes, she defended the territory. And because of her, I tasted death."
"Haha. But you've got that immortal body, right? That's why you're talking to me now."
Aaron dismissed it with a casual wave. Of course—the empire's nobles couldn't care less how many commoners died.
"Well, I get it emotionally. You still feel the pain, don't you? Naturally, you'd hate her."
"..."
I hadn't begged to punish Hazel just because of my suffering, but Aaron nodded as if he understood and launched into a detailed explanation of why he couldn't.
"Lady Hazel was formally granted the count title. Plus, plenty of nobles secretly fancy her—thanks to that figure. As you know, she's a widow. Snagging her means swallowing up Butler Territory too."
As the crown prince said, Hazel de Butler held the count title legitimately. Naturally, a young woman like her had a dramatic backstory.
Hazel had been the daughter of a humble merchant family, chosen as a concubine by the original count, Geoffrey de Butler. Whether by good or bad fortune, misfortune dogged the family after she joined.
The much older Geoffrey died soon after. Then a border rebellion claimed both of his elder sons on the battlefield. Grief drove the countess to madness and suicide. In the end, only Geoffrey's infant youngest son and Hazel remained.
Someday, the title would pass to the boy, but for now, Hazel ruled Butler Territory. Anyone who claimed her would almost certainly see the child meet a "mysterious" end.
"...That has nothing to do with me."
"True enough. I haven't known you long, but I've got a rough read on you."
The crown prince gave a sly smile. "Simply put, punishing Lady Hazel is beyond even my power. Break a prize everyone covets, and the backlash hits me."
"Disappointing. I thought Your Highness might grant my request."
Fuming, I snapped at Aaron then, but he just laughed and slung an arm around my shoulder. "Hey, why not take Lady Hazel for yourself? Even without a proper title, it'd be a huge boost for a hero like you. And honestly, she's top-tier. Especially those tits—bursting out of her dress. Just looking makes your mouth water."
I scowled at Aaron's thug-like lewd joke. Not wanting to back down, I fired back. "If you want her so bad, why don't you take her, Your Highness?"
"Nah, personally, I don't touch married women—even widows."
"..."
"So ignore the politics and focus on slaying the Demon King, hero."
Back then, I could only stare at the smirking Aaron in silence.
"You said you don't die, right? No need to hold back then?" Juan Miller, Hazel’s loyal knight captain, asked as he gripped the sword the soldiers had brought. He looked like a brute, but his skills were well-regarded enough that rumors swirled he stuck with the Butlers for the countess.
The pairing of a young widow who'd lost her husband early and a muscle-bound bald knight captain was plenty to fuel imaginations. Sure, some pitied her "tragic fate," but the prevailing view of Hazel was "lustful witch."
'A young widow dripping sex appeal everywhere she goes.'
I ignored Juan's words and thought that while eyeing Hazel, whose eyes sparkled from afar. She didn't even need to try—her body drew men's gazes inexorably.
"...You bastard. Where the hell are you looking?"
Juan flushed, realizing where my eyes had wandered. His reaction confirmed it: whatever the rumors, he clearly harbored feelings for her.
"Hmph, you're like a dog in heat, panting and desperate!"
"Let's see how long you can keep yapping!"
Face beet-red at my taunt, Juan drew his sword and charged. I met his rush with a swift thrust of my own blade.