The Pervy King and the 88 Elves
Late at night...
The moment I lay down on the bed, the cushion of the carriage had nothing on its plush comfort. It felt so soft that sleep should have come easily at any second.
But the instant I tried to close my eyes, the King of Bardolf’s lewd smile flashed before me and sleep slipped away completely.
His face had been so horrifying that it was the first time I’d ever seen it...
Even now, his laughter seemed to echo from somewhere in the room, accompanied by the ragged, panting breath of someone watching me like a predator.
Yet the presence wasn’t a fleeting dream. It lingered around me, constant and deliberate.
A chill ran down my spine as I sprang out of bed to shake off the filthy feeling.
The presence...
This wasn’t anything I’d sensed while half-asleep.
There was a human presence in this room—Kal already asleep, but someone else besides me.
[Seep]
I summoned the Wind Spirit right away to figure out whether the intruder was an assassin or one of the palace servants working this early. Seep, who had known my intention even before the summoning, flew straight into the room and began to circle.
Huiiiiiing
The wind swirled through the chamber, and Seep scouted every corner. Then it stopped at one spot, ducked inside the wall, and came back out repeatedly...
A short while later...
Seep emerged from the wall and flew back to me.
A plump man...
A golden robe...
An elf’s scent...
A disgusting smile...
Seep brought the image of a man I knew all too well.
The King of Bardolf...
Seep explained that in the picture hanging opposite the bed there was a small hole, and beyond the wall the King of Bardolf was watching us.
Why did that feeling feel so wrong...
From that moment on I struggled with how to deal with the King of Bardolf, who was lurking behind that wall and doing whatever he pleased.
Should I just smash the wall and drag him out myself...
Or should I let the spirit play a harmless prank without getting my hands dirty...
If Kal had been awake, she would have enjoyed a fiery show of flames...
A sudden thought crossed my mind: I had no idea how long the hole in the wall had been there, yet the idea that someone else had seen me sleeping in this bed made me slightly uneasy...
There was no choice. I gripped the hilt of the Rapier leaning against the wall beside the bed and shouted in a voice barely loud enough for the King of Bardolf to hear.
“[Lightning]”
Crack!
I sent the weakest current I could muster. A moment later...
“Ahhhhh!!!!”
Boom!
The King of Bardolf felt the full jolt of the current that had poured from the Rapier. With one short scream he tumbled backward so hard the bed vibrated.
I was surprised enough to laugh without meaning to when I heard the startled cry...
But the real problem had only just begun.
I couldn’t sleep here anymore.
The King of Bardolf would be unconscious for a while, so he wouldn’t be spying through the hole for the time being. But the thought that he might wake up and look again gnawed at me.
I couldn’t let Kal sleep alone. I scooped her up and carried her to Alex’s room on the floor below.
‘My lady, if anything happens, please come straight to my room on the lowest floor!’
Before we had gone to our separate rooms last night, the worried words Alex had spoken to me echoed in my head. Even though it was still the middle of the night, I had no choice but to head to his room.
I couldn’t summon the maids to prepare another room at this hour, so this was my only option.
Knock knock knock
I descended and knocked on the door of Alex’s room. The sound echoed loudly down the corridor and came right back to me.
I wonder...
Is he already asleep?
When there was no answer after the third knock, I was about to give up and go back upstairs.
Click
“Ma’am?”
Alex opened the door with a sleepy, bewildered expression and stared at me standing there in surprise.
“I’m sorry to wake you. Your Highness. It seems I’ll have to stay here for the night.”
“Y-Yes...? Four??!!”
Alex’s startled shout rang out louder than the knock. Several maids were probably waking up and heading our way.
“Come inside first...”
I stepped into his room and looked around, searching for a hole like the one in my own room. I didn’t see one.
“Ma... Ma’am... Why... why is there a hole in my room all of a sudden...”
“Ah... Kal over here a moment...”
I handed the sleeping Kal to Alex. He took her quickly and laid her gently on the bed before she could slip from his arms.
“Ma’am?”
Alex set Kal down and called out to me as I continued scanning the room.
“Just a moment.”
[Seep]
I summoned Seep once more and sent it to look for the hole I had seen earlier. Seep darted through the corners of the room on the wind.
Huiiiiiing
After a thorough search, Seep returned and shook its head side to side, showing there was no hole in this room.
“Huuu... Thank goodness. There’s none here...”
“Huh? What do you mean...”
“There was a hole in the room where we were sleeping.”
“A hole?”
Alex looked confused and asked again what I meant by hole, while I hesitated to explain in detail—I didn’t want to damage my pride.
“Seriously?! The King of Bardolf was watching through a hole in the wall?!”
“Shh...”
I pressed a finger to my lips to silence Alex’s loud outburst. He kept firing questions at me without listening.
“So? What happened? Ma’am? Did you get hurt?”
“I’m fine.”
“I’ll go up right now and deal with that bastard...”
“No need. It’s useless.”
“What?”
Alex drew his sword and made for the door as if he was ready to cut the King down on the spot. But after my next words he gave up, shoulders sagging as he dropped onto the bed.
“I knocked him out before I left.”
“Haaa... I never imagined the King of Bardolf would do this to Ma’am. I’d have him executed in an instant even if it meant using my own name.”
“Name isn’t necessary. For now, just let me stay here on this sofa. You don’t have to worry; I can sleep on the sofa.”
I tried to make my way to the sofa, Rapier still in my arms, but Alex panicked and rushed over to block me.
“Ma’am! What are you saying! You should sleep on the bed, Ma’am!”
“No. It’s fine. I’m already sorry I woke you. I’ll just sleep here.”
“No! Ma’am! Kal is on the bed too, so you should sleep there as well.”
With that, Alex lay down on the sofa first and deliberately kicked it with his foot to stop me from sitting.
“I’m sorry. I’ve disturbed you and now you can’t even sleep comfortably...”
“No. Ma’am! It’s my fault for not preventing this earlier.”
I smiled silently instead of arguing further; Alex would only feel worse if I kept talking. Then I lay down on the bed.
“But, Ma’am, what are you going to do with the King of Bardolf tomorrow? Shall I request reinforcements from the empire right away?”
“Why? You don’t have to. I’ll handle it myself...”
My answer to Alex was cut short. Whether it was the change of rooms or the lingering tension finally easing, I fell asleep mid-sentence.
*
The next morning...
We were about to head to the empire for breakfast when I used my poor health as an excuse and cancelled the trip entirely. Instead we decided to stay one more day in the palace.
When the King of Bardolf appeared at breakfast with a sickly face and said he would stay because of his condition, he suddenly perked up, flashed that same lewd smile, and recovered his spirits in no time.
I wanted nothing more than to punch that ugly face, but I had summoned Seep to begin my revenge and sent it searching for the elves hiding somewhere in the palace.
Starting with the World Tree Garden where Kal had caught the elf scent, Seep scoured every corner of the palace.
I walked through the palace myself, looking for any trace of the elves, while Seep searched until it finished.
But whether the security was too tight or the maids simply didn’t know...
Everyone only repeated the same answer.
“Your Highness, did you find out anything?”
“No. Ma’am. I asked the imperial knights to investigate, but there was nothing.”
Alex and I compared the information we had gathered in his room, confirmed there was still nothing, and slumped into our chairs.
“Ma’am, shouldn’t we just charge in with my knights? They’re the finest in the empire. This palace’s guards aren’t much...”
“There’s no need to escalate things. We still don’t even know where the elves are.”
Alex’s young blood yearned to use his knights to turn the palace upside down in diplomacy or politics, but I didn’t want to make the problem any bigger.
If it stayed a simple fight, fine, but once word spread, it would reach everywhere...
I hated being dragged around and tormented because of it.
At least once we reached the empire I’d have to face the humiliation of being investigated for being expelled from the Hero Party...
“So what do we do, Ma’am?”
“Hmm...”
While Alex and I were racking our brains, Kal, who had been dozing on the bed, spoke up.
“What if Aunt goes straight to the World Tree Garden?”
“Huh?”
“That’s the answer. Thinking of elves and the perverted king... what comes to mind?”
“Elves and... perverted?”
“Slaves.”
I had no idea why elves and the perverted king would bring up slaves, but I could guess the meaning behind Kal’s words.
“Then if she’s slacking off in the World Tree Garden...?”