Chapter 404: The 4th Floor
Chapter 404: The 4th Floor
“Hmm? Something happened to the princess?”
And so, evening came.
When I explained why Silvia was absent, Diana tilted her head in confusion.
“Vanessa. Did you happen to hear anything while we were in the dungeon?”
“No way Vanessa would have heard anything.”
“Hmm? Why are you so certain? You know as well as I do. Vanessa is quite capable.”
“Thank you.”
“But come on, she hardly ever leaves the house. I doubt she’d know.”
“I say. That’s… a butler, is it not? It is only natural for her to stay home and manage things. In any case, Vanessa. Did you hear anything?”
Diana shot Vanessa a slightly troubled look before turning a sharp gaze on me.
What was that reaction? I was just trying to tease Vanessa a little.
Could there be some other reason she doesn’t go out much that I don’t know about?
If so, I’d feel bad, even if I didn’t know the circumstances.
“I have not. My apologies.”
“Not at all. Do not blame yourself. The knight who gave you the information seemed to be hiding something, so it is likely a matter known only to a select few in the palace.”
Diana spoke as if to comfort Vanessa, then sent a scolding look my way.
Hey, I’m telling you, I didn’t know. Whatever it is.
“At any rate, if it were a grave matter of state, some rumors would have spread, no matter how secret. There were no such rumors on the streets on our way here, were there? It is likely nothing important. At most, the princess probably caused some trouble again and got a scolding.”
“If that’s all it is, they wouldn’t need Silvia’s help or anything, would they?”
“Even a princess like that would be disheartened after a scolding. And what one needs most at a time like that is a friend to offer comfort, is it not?”
I see. So that’s it. If that’s the case, it all adds up.
The knight who told me did say it wasn’t an urgent matter.
But Diana, calling her “a princess like that”… Well, I agree with the sentiment, but you really don’t pull any punches.
“I doubt a woman who lives for her own ego would get discouraged by a little scolding.”
Sara, on the other hand, took it a step further.
It seemed her opinion of the princess was still at rock bottom.
“Really? She’s certainly free-spirited, but I never got the impression that she lived for her own ego.”
If anything, wasn’t she incredibly down-to-earth for a princess?
I figured a typical princess would never act all cute and affectionate toward someone so far beneath her in status.
The moment I said that, Sara shot me a glare.
“You’re being deceived, Guwon. The way she acts, she’s a total fox. That tone. That attitude. Her whole body just screams with the baseless confidence that there’s no man she can’t seduce.”
Ah… now that she mentions it, maybe.
Thinking about it that way, I guess you could say she lives for her own ego.
But I don’t think that confidence is baseless.
More than anything, she’s the kind of woman whose charm seems to be a passive skill.
Frankly, if you all weren’t here, I would have fallen for her in a heartbeat.
I gently stroked the back of Leia, who was sitting next to me, offering a silent rebuttal in my mind.
For the record, I wasn’t just touching her for no reason.
For some reason, when Sara was bad-mouthing the princess just now, my angel flinched.
Did she react to the word “fox”? A Gumiho is a type of fox, after all.
Well, even so, my angel never does anything you’d typically call “foxy.”
In fact, she’s the exact opposite.
Purity and genuineness. Those are the words that truly describe my angel.
Honestly, my angel is just so cute.
“Well, at any rate, there is no need for me to go out of my way to investigate. We can hear all about it when Miss Silvia returns tomorrow.”
With that, Diana took a sip of her tea as if to say the conversation was over.
Sara, who clearly didn’t want to keep talking about the princess, never brought her up again. And Leia, who had never even met the princess, hadn’t joined the conversation in the first place.
Come to think of it, since Matilda is a high-ranking Cardinal, she’s probably met the princess a time or two, right?
But she didn’t join in, and she’s been strangely quiet today.
When I glanced over at Matilda, she was, for some reason, glaring at me slightly.
One hand was clutching her smooth stomach, while the other was just picking at the food in front of her.
What’s with her now? I could understand if she wanted to thank me, but I haven’t done anything to deserve a glare.
You should check your own wrist. I lifted a huge amount of your curse today.
In any case, after a slightly lonely dinner without Silvia, who was usually staring at me from a corner, I immediately went to find Vanessa.
“Vanessa.”
“Yes. Is there something you need?”
“Uh, sorry about earlier.”
“…What about, sir?”
“You know, what I said about you not leaving the house much. I was just trying to tease you, but thinking back, it seemed like there might be a reason for it.”
“……”
After I apologized, Vanessa just stared into my eyes, standing perfectly still for a long moment.
Wh-what’s this? Why the heavy atmosphere? I apologized. Are you going to hit me?
“…It is fine. If it is you, Sir Guwon, it is alright.”
But with those words, Vanessa whirled around and continued on her way.
“H-huh? Hey. Wait. What do you mean, ‘if it’s me, it’s alright’?”
I tried to stop her, but she didn’t even turn her face back toward me.
What was that? Now I’m curious.
They say a woman is more beautiful with a few secrets, but our super-butler has way too many.
Well, if she’s not going to tell me, then fine.
She accepted my apology, and right now, I have something more important to do than dig into the true meaning of her words.
A very important task: spending a happy night with my dear Diana!
“Ughhhhhh…”
Unlike my own giddy excitement, however, Diana was making a troubled face.
She’d been wearing that expression ever since she came back from her shower.
She just sat on the edge of the bed with her arms crossed, staring at me.
“Diana, what’s wrong?”
“I am contemplating how I should treat you tonight.”
“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“What?! Have you forgotten already! Today is the day I am not being nice to you!”
Ah, right. We’re still doing that.
Sorry. I completely forgot.
Come to think of it, I hadn’t seen Sara, Diana, or Leia at all since this morning.
I spent the whole day playing with Matilda and Silvia… which makes me feel a little guilty.
No, wait, it wasn’t just playing. I was taking care of things that needed to be done and having a good time while I was at it, so there’s nothing to feel guilty about.
“Diana, it’s just the two of us now. You don’t really need to…”
“Not need to?! On the contrary, it is because we are alone that I must! You need to be taught a lesson! Why did you let Sara find out! Do you have any idea how embarrassed I was! I could hardly look Sara in the face!”
“But if you trace it back to the cause, it was Sara fiddling with my things in the dungeon. You don’t have to be that embarrassed. You’re not the only one who’s done things like that with me in the dungeon.”
“By what logic does that follow?! That is even more embarrassing!”
“Oh, Diana. You’re impossible. So, what are you going to do in the end?”
“You are the impossible one! This is a punishment! A punishment!”
“What? A punishment? I got plenty of punishment from Sara yesterday.”
Well, it was a bit too enjoyable for me to call it a punishment.
And I won in the end, too.
“That was that! This is this! In the first place, I say! You haven’t forgotten what you did to this body last time, calling it a punishment, have you!”
Ah, right. That did happen.
Don’t tell me she’s just been waiting for a chance to punish me. This could be dangerous.
Though, to be honest, I wasn’t scared at all.
I was confident that no matter what kind of punishment I received in bed, I would never lose.
Hooray for the Saint. All hail the Goddess.
“I see. So, should I get naked and take a walk around the mansion today?”
“N-n-n-no, we are not doing that! You idioooot!”
Whatever she imagined, Diana’s face turned bright red as she shouted.
As expected of the great Archmage. She seems to have a very good idea of what would unfold if we did that.
“What then? You’re not going to make me feel good today or something?”
“Of course not! That is the bare minimum!”
“And you’ll make a displeased face even if I make you feel good?”
“O-of course!”
Diana’s voice trembled slightly as she answered.
It seemed she knew herself that it wouldn’t be easy.
Of course it wouldn’t. I don’t think I’d have the confidence to do it either.
It’s the same as being told to look displeased while Sara, Diana, or Leia are devotedly pleasuring you.
Hmm. Thinking about it that way, it’s not just that I lack confidence; it’s completely impossible.
How could any human do that?
But right now, Diana was declaring she would do just that. In that case…
“And absolutely no kissing all day today?”
“O-o-o-of course not! Hngh!”
Hey. Don’t answer and then look like you’re about to cry.
I admit, that was a slightly mean question.
Well, since I feel bad, I guess I’ll give her the reaction she wants.
“Whaaat! That’s… too cruel!”
I said, putting on my most shocked expression.
For the record, if Diana was actually going to follow through on her words, it wouldn’t be an act. I’d be genuinely shocked.
But no matter how I thought about it, there was no way she could keep it up until the end.
Sure, Diana would try her best at first, but still.
“H-hmph! It is a punishment, so this much is to be expected!”
Wiping away the tears welling in her eyes, Diana shouted as if to say, “whatever happens, happens.”
“I see… it’s to be expected… So, besides those expected things, what specific punishment are you going to give me?”
“……I will do nothing.”
“Huh?”
“You are a pervert who will enjoy whatever this body does to you! Therefore, I will do nothing! I will not react no matter what you do! You can take care of yourself!”
“Are you serious?”
“Heh, heh. It seems even you did not anticipate such a response. You had best regret your actions and reflect on them.”
“Are you seriously saying I can do whatever I want?”
“Why! Why are your eyes sparkling! No! This is a punishment! Think about it! I will not forgive you if you try to take me outside!”
“Tch.”
“Tch?! T-tch?! Were you planning to take me outside?!”
“N-no, I wasn’t thinking that.”
“Lies! Do not! Lie! You pervert!”
Diana started patting me on the chest as she spoke.
Diana, weren’t you not being nice today?
Ah, right. This isn’t a massage, it’s an attack.
“Whoa, whoa. Calm down. Let’s lie down first.”
I stopped her pat-pat attack before a smile could break out on my face and guided her to the bed.
No matter what, I couldn’t smile in this situation. I had to at least play along.
“Let me confirm one more time. I just do it by myself? And you won’t play along at all?”
“Mm. You will reflect on what you have done while having the most boring sex in history. For a pervert like you, this will be the most effective medicine.”
Diana nodded as she spoke, as if she thought it was a brilliant idea.
Logically, she was right.
If we had the most boring sex in history, as Diana put it, then of course I would do my best to make sure it never happened again.
There was just one flaw in her plan.
It was obvious. There was no way sex with Diana could ever be boring.
Isn’t she underestimating herself a little too much?
No, that can’t be it. Diana is well aware of her own beauty.
In that case, does she think sex without love is no fun?
That might certainly be true, but I was certain.
Certain that Diana would not be able to maintain an attitude of loveless sex until the end.
If you were to ask if I was confident in my technique, well, I couldn’t deny that.
But that wasn’t all.
Technique is one thing, but before all that, it’s because Diana likes me far too much.