Chapter 613: The Arachne Clan’s Trap
Chapter 613: The Arachne Clan’s Trap
Although I managed to escape the Arachne Clan House safely, my pace didn’t slow even after I was outside the main gate.
I had overcome one crisis, but now I was facing another.
I want to do it. Desperately.
Ever since I woke up this morning, I’d been enduring one temptation after another.
I needed to get back to the mansion and relieve some of this sexual frustration, and fast.
To give you an idea of how serious my condition was, I’d gotten aroused just from Lutia pressing her chest against my back a moment ago.
Ah, on second thought, that might have made me excited on a normal day, too.
Judging by how she treated the Arachne Clan’s leader and Alicia, she was a beautiful woman with suspected lesbian tendencies. But even considering that—no, because of that, she felt even more sensual… Ahem! No. That’s not what’s important right now.
The point was, I was in a state of extreme sexual frustration.
Diana, who had spent all of last night tumbling around with me, would probably give me a dumbfounded look if she heard this, but I couldn’t help it.
Sometimes, my libido was so strong that even I couldn’t understand it.
I wasn’t always like this.
I suppose I don’t have much of a defense if someone points out I was an adult game maniac from the start, but it was true.
For some reason, my sex drive seemed to be growing stronger and stronger since I came to this world.
As a Saint who needed powerful virility, did my libido also increase in proportion to it?
It seemed like a real possibility.
After all, succubi, who I believed were blessed by the goddess just as I was, required regular sexual intercourse as the price for their powerful charm abilities.
Thinking back to how Felicia looked that one time, my slightly heightened sex drive was nothing in comparison… Huh? Wait a second. Come to think of it… have I visited the palace since I got back from the dungeon?
The thought struck me so hard that I forgot all about my own frustration and hastily started calculating the dates in my head.
It had already been six days since I returned from the dungeon. And the time I’d spent in the dungeon this time was by no means short. No, it was long.
Of course, the last time I saw Felicia, I’d made sure to go at it with her an incredible number of times to prevent her from going berserk again.
But even taking that into account, I had a feeling I’d left her alone for far too long…
No, to be fair, it wasn’t that I forgot.
It’s just that I’ve been so busy lately, right? I’m only human, so there’s a limit to how much I can do at once.
Well, since it had happened once before, I figured the palace would have sent someone if Felicia had gone berserk again.
In any case, standing here racking my brain wasn’t going to solve anything.
My plan to grab the first girl I saw back at the mansion and drag her to my room would have to wait. First, I needed to take care of Felicia.
Well, since I needed to relieve my own pent-up frustration anyway, this might have worked out for the best.
“Guwon!”
As I rushed back to the mansion with my new plan, I was greeted by Sara’s voice.
Had she been waiting at the front gate?
Come to think of it, her age regression wasn’t completely cured yet.
Well, I was only gone for a little while, so I figured nothing major would have happened.
My conversation with Alicia had been derailed by an unexpected event that took up some time, but it wasn’t even lunchtime yet.
“Yeah. Did Vanessa get back first?”
“Of course she… Tsk. What is it? You just got back. Do you need Vanessa for something again?”
I pulled the approaching Sara into a light hug as I asked about Vanessa, and she replied with a slightly sulky face.
Even though there were reasons for it, it was true that I’d been paying too much attention to Vanessa lately. From Sara’s perspective, it must have been boring.
But Sara understood the situation, so she usually didn’t show her jealousy so openly.
Was it because this was coupled with me being away, causing her true feelings to slip out?
No matter how you looked at it, seeing her like this was a reminder that she was the youngest among us.
“It’s not like that. Well, to be precise, it’s not that I don’t need her for anything. I was going to ask for the carriage.”
I gently patted Sara’s head and spoke in a placating tone.
My attitude, as if I were dealing with a child, made Sara furrow her brow slightly, but she didn’t try to push my hand away as she tilted her head.
“The carriage? Are you going out again?”
“Yeah. I just realized I haven’t been to the palace since I got back. I feel like I should probably stop by and see the princess soon.”
“…Right, there was that.”
At my words, Sara’s face scrunched up as if she’d just remembered something she’d rather have forgotten.
“Want to come with me?”
“…It’s fine. You go on your own.”
Her age regression wasn’t fully healed, and who knew how much time a visit to the palace would eat up.
That’s why I’d suggested she come along, but after frowning and thinking for a moment, Sara eventually shook her head.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay?”
“…I’m fine. I feel like I’ll just get pissed off if I see that woman’s face again.”
“No, that’s…”
“What?”
For what it’s worth, Felicia is only acting that way because she wants to get closer to you.
The words rose to the tip of my tongue, but I decided to keep them to myself.
There was no need for me to meddle in that. And I had a feeling Felicia herself wouldn’t appreciate it either.
“No, it’s nothing. I’ll be going, then. If you really can’t stand it, bring Diana and come to the palace. Someone of Diana’s stature should be able to get in without any trouble. I mean, she was able to waltz into the palace even when she was rampaging about starting a coup d’état.”
“Idiot. I’ll see you at dinner, so why would I go that far?”
I tried to make a joke to brush over our previous conversation, but all I got in return was Sara’s sharp retort, clearly meant to hide her embarrassment.
She’s never honest, is she?
“I wonder if I’ll really see you by dinner…”
“What was that?”
“Nothing, ma’am. I will be back by dinnertime.”
And so, I called for Vanessa, had her prepare the carriage, and set off for the palace.
Vanessa, who had been in a sour mood ever since I’d stopped by the Arachne Clan, looked even more displeased now that I was having her prepare the carriage to go to the palace.
Well, she knew exactly what I was going to the palace for.
“Vanessa, I’m sure you know this already, but I’m just going there out of a sense of duty.”
And so, there I was, sitting in the carriage, once again trying my best to talk to Vanessa through the small window to the driver’s seat.
I had actually tried to ride up front with her when we left, but a single cold word from Vanessa—"distraction"—had me meekly climbing into the carriage.
“I haven’t said a word.”
Despite my efforts, Vanessa didn’t even look my way. I wanted to believe it was just so she could focus on driving.
“There you go again. You think I can’t read your expression?”
Well, to be honest, I was half-guessing right now.
No, seriously. Her expression is impossible to read.
“It’s fine. With Felicia, it’s not filled with love like when I’m with you…”
“That is sexual harassment.”
“What?! Really?! Even that’s not okay?! Between us?!”
“Even if we are in a relationship, that does not mean sexual harassment cannot…”
“Oh, so you admit we’re in a relationship.”
“……”
Vanessa, who had been responding coolly while staring straight ahead, said nothing this time, as if she was slightly embarrassed by her own words.
Vanessa, clamming up when you have nothing to say is not a good habit.
“Alright, then how about we try having you call me ‘darling’ instead of ‘Guwon-nim’…”
“Guwon-nim.”
“No, I mean, not Guwon-nim, but ‘darling’…”
“You are being a distraction. Please be quiet.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
What a cheat.
I don’t think cutting off the conversation when it turns against you is a good habit, either.
“Haaah… Why doesn’t she get it? What do you think is the reason?”
Having been thoroughly shut down, I gave up and posed the question to the anti-anxiety medication sitting on my lap.
That’s right. I wasn’t riding in the carriage alone.
Silvia was with me. And as usual, she was held tightly in my arms.
I mean, Silvia had to contact her home every now and then.
So if I had business at the palace, it was only natural for Silvia to come along.
“……”
“Silvia?”
“Hyaah! Y-Yes?! W-What is it?!”
Silvia, who had been trembling nonstop, didn’t seem to realize I was talking to her at first.
Or rather, her mind wasn’t in a state where she could pay attention to such things.
She seemed to be building up a slight immunity before her Apostle Appointment, but after it was done, she was right back to square one.
No, it felt like her symptoms had actually gotten worse.
“No, I was talking about Vanessa. Why do you think she doesn’t understand how I feel?”
“Th-That’s…!”
“That’s?”
Honestly, I hadn’t expected an answer, but it seemed Silvia was about to give me a proper one.
“P-Perhaps it is because you are saying such things while holding another woman like this!”
In the end, it wasn’t a proper answer, just a desperate plea to escape my embrace.
Honestly, this girl. I wondered what she was going to say.
“I’m still not letting you go.”
“Hiiing…”
When I cut her off coolly, Silvia covered her forehead with both hands and curled up, letting out a cute whimper.
She had to know that posture would only make her press deeper into my arms.
Ah, maybe that’s why she was covering her forehead. To avoid touching my body if she could help it.
“You don’t like it?”
“Ugh… I-I liiike it! Heeng!”
Hey, now. If you like it, you like it. Why are you about to cry?
As I was enjoying my Silvia-therapy in the moving carriage, we soon arrived at the palace gates.
I stuck my head out the window, practically plastered against the glass, to check on the soldiers outside.
The last time the princess went berserk, there had been a strange atmosphere right from the gates.
But this time, perhaps because her time wasn’t up yet, the front of the palace looked no different than usual.
“Looks like we’re okay, right?”
“…It would seem so.”
I hadn’t explained what I meant by “okay,” but Vanessa seemed to understand and nodded quietly.
Looking closely, I could see that she, too, had been on high alert.
Come to think of it, she had also been affected by the princess’s aura back then. That’s what led to me having to soothe her body.
My incredible display of self-control at that time must have gone a long way in breaking down Vanessa’s walls.
Huh? If you think about it that way, couldn’t the princess’s aura be seen as Cupid’s arrow, the very thing that brought Vanessa and me together?
“Are you nervous?”
“…Not at all.”
“Really? But you seemed to know what I was talking about, so you must have been worried. Don’t worry. Even if you get hit by that aura again, I’ll take care of it. So you don’t need to put on makeup or anything this time. No, of course, I’m not saying you shouldn’t wear makeup. Your bare face is gorgeous, but makeup also suits you really well, so sometimes…”
Thump!
Hey. I was just trying to reassure her. Isn’t it a bit much to just slam the window shut?
Well, I did manage to see her ear turn slightly red just before the window closed, so it wasn’t a total loss.
And so, we passed through the palace gates without any trouble and entered the grounds.
Inside, a maid guided us to a room where we were greeted by our decadent princess, Felicia, who was radiating a seductive aura despite not being in her berserk state.