Chapter 92
Chapter 92
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: Absolute Banquet (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Eri remained standing there for a while after taking all my measurements.
She stayed crouched down, her face buried low.
"Are you alright?"
I remarked that her figure wasn't the type that would make tailoring clothes particularly tricky.
As I looked down at her impassively, her face flushed red, and she let out a deep breath.
"Yes, it's just a bit hot in here."
"You're not embarrassed just because you measured a man's sizes, are you?"
Still, a noble lady was a noble lady.
Seeing her get so flustered over something like this made her seem endearing.
"We only measured your circumferences."
"...Ah, right. Circumferences. Haha..."
Eri stood up slowly, wiping the sweat from the nape of her neck.
Then, she casually rubbed it off on her wide hips, pretending nothing had happened.
"You measured so seriously, I thought there might be something wrong with my figure."
She froze, as if she thought her actions would come across as natural.
Her pale face stiffened, her crimson eyes darting around anxiously.
"Did it really take that long...?"
"Yes. Just the thigh measurement took about five minutes? I thought you were tending to some wound I didn't know about."
"I tend to get deeply absorbed when I focus on something."
"That makes sense for a writer. I can relate."
Perhaps because of her hot touch, my pants were sticking to my thighs.
I pinched and peeled them away as I spoke.
"Now that you've got all the measurements, shall we call in the designer?"
"Yes, let's do that."
Eri carefully folded the measurement sheet she'd written down.
But what I thought was one sheet turned out to be two.
She slipped a suspicious one—covered in even denser notes—into her pocket, the one meant for the designer still in hand.
She did it like she was smuggling out a top-secret document.
'She wrote an extra measurement sheet.'
Having spent one life as a shadowy broker, I couldn't miss that.
Still, it was just a measurement sheet—what harm could it do?
In fact, I'd done a little discreet background check on her, and she didn't belong to any shady organizations.
'Maybe she's planning a secret gift of clothes.'
I chuckled at the cute scheme of this pure young lady and took a sip of coffee.
Right on cue, the designer returned, and from there, everything flowed smoothly like water.
"..."
A white dress shirt paired with black slacks connected by suspenders.
"By omitting the vest, we highlight the suspenders to emphasize a youthful, bright image."
A beige jacket draped over the shoulders, along with a scarf-style necktie.
"Instead of a standard tie, we went with a scarf for a sophisticated, androgynous touch. Your features are quite sharp, after all."
The Ruton designer positioned me front and center, explaining enthusiastically.
Even as a middle-aged man, his passion for his work was palpable.
"Finally, the monocle neutralizes those dark circles under your eyes. Anyone who sees you now will think you're a proper young gentleman."
"How is it...? Will it pass with the Grand Elder and the young lady?"
Honestly, I'd worn plenty of top-tailored suits back in my days as Imperial Prime Minister.
I asked casually, but their reactions were surprisingly varied.
"Now you finally look like a modern young man. At first glance, I thought you were some shadowy rebel from the frontier plotting treason."
The elderly gentleman in his pristine white suit stroked his chin.
It was all good, but something still felt off to him.
"But it's too stylish. Like a handsome thug come to steal away someone's daughter."
"I like it."
Eri cut in with a single, defiant, almost taboo declaration.
Her words drew stares from everyone, including her escort knight Keira.
"He looks like he'd rule the underworld with effortless swagger, but he'd bring flowers for his woman."
"..."
Midway through her soliloquy, she noticed everyone staring.
"That's the vibe, anyway."
She brazened it out, and everyone nodded along, letting it slide.
The oldest among them, the Grand Elder, wrapped up the mood.
"Well, if the young lady says so, it must be a success."
"Exactly. I'm satisfied knowing I'm still keeping up with trends."
The designer nodded vigorously in agreement.
"Then, I should head out. I've got friends to see since I'm already out and about."
"Of course. Thank you so much for your help today."
As I bowed in thanks, Dark reached for the desk.
He pocketed an apple, sending a contented smile that said this was payment enough.
"No need for thanks. I just invested in my merchandise."
The Grand Elder turned to leave without further ado.
But he paused, reconsidered, and leaned in to whisper.
"So do your best. Merchandise loses value and gets discarded, doesn't it?"
For a moment, the political titan reverted to his cold gaze.
I matched his era's tone in response.
"On the flip side, it could rise even higher. Too good for early investors to let slip away."
The old nobleman bit into his apple, pleased with my answer.
The flesh he chose was the ripest, a true 'jackpot'.
"Indeed. Prove it, then."
With hands clasped behind his back, the Grand Elder departed with his escort knight.
Eri, too, was right on time to leave.
"I hope your important appointment goes well."
"Yes, thank you so much today, Miss Eri. Next time, I'll repay the favor."
She paused at my parting words.
Turning back with a bright smile, she wore a faint grin.
"It's a promise."
Once everyone was gone, the hospital room fell utterly quiet.
Standing alone before the full-length mirror, I straightened my new outfit.
'A thug, huh...'
Still, it wasn't like I was robbing vaults like some newspaper bandit.
I'd even been gentlemanly in my post-match interview—must be my face.
I examined my monocled reflection carefully.
"I thought I was pretty handsome myself, tsk..."
The corridor of the Northern Imperial Palace infirmary.
The old nobleman and Keira strolled along the neatly tiled floor.
"So, Princess Her Highness is heading here now?"
"Yes, scheduled to arrive in ten minutes."
The blonde knight with the wristwatch replied politely.
"Odd. I know her schedule—she should still be in a meeting."
"A colleague reported she wrapped up unusually early today."
Even in seclusion at the prison, the Grand Elder had eyes everywhere in the Empire.
He deftly arranged a route to avoid his precious niece.
"Hm. Then we'll exit through the back. Camillia loves her principles and protocols."
"Yes, she'd surely lecture us if we crossed paths."
As the two detoured through a dim corridor,
they suddenly halted at the sense of someone's formidable presence.
The Empire's mightiest lioness, due in ten minutes, was already palpable.
"Shall we hurry?"
"...No, her arriving even earlier than expected piques my curiosity."
His niece, who always stuck rigidly to her timetable, was showing anomalies.
Sensing something amiss, the old nobleman stood at a distance, peering down the opposite corridor.
Princess Camillia and Lady Eri facing off in the main entrance hall.
"Well, well... they've run into their natural predator."
"Those two?"
Keira had figured the Princess's only rival was Prince Ivan at worst.
She was puzzled that the ordinary lady she'd just met was her match.
"Yes, a clash between Princess and Saintess... a once-in-a-century spectacle."
"You mean that pink-haired woman is the Saintess? The infamous Red Saintess from the rumors?"
Keira instinctively gripped her sword hilt.
She knew the woman's notoriety all too well.
She'd long topped the Black Knights Order's assassination list.
"I thought she was just an ordinary adult novelist—such a terrifyingly meticulous disguise."
"...Hm. She seems genuine about that work too, but yeah, that's the vibe."
The old nobleman fiddled with the apple core as he spoke.
"Probably using disguise magic. Nearly perfect—I almost missed it."
He'd played chess with her often at the prison.
He could gauge the Saintess's holy power growing in real time.
"Impressive. I didn't sense any holy power at all."
"How many assassins slipped past me using disguise magic to get close? I can't miss that sly glint in her eye."
The Grand Elder recalled her gaze during the measurements.
The queenly aura brimming with dominance unique to a Saintess.
'Our Warden's remarkable in that regard. How he survives among such women unscathed.'
"But if she's truly the Saintess, isn't she a threat to your niece? Are we just leaving this be?"
Escort knight Keira posed the sharp question.
Dark smiled his politician's bold grin, saying she'd hit the mark.
"It's fun."
A short, weighty declaration.
The blonde knight tilted her head like the one beast that takes well to human handling—a cheetah.
"Pardon...?"
"The Empire's strongest woman versus its most dangerous. What could be more entertaining?"
The ruthless politician chuckled, savoring the pair.
"You have a mischievous side sometimes, Grand Elder."
"This is mild. Back when you were born, I was far worse."
He was the king of nobles who'd once pitted talents against each other.
The survivors were now his closest allies: the Imperial Tax Agency head and former Imperial Knight Commander.
"Though it's not just for my amusement."
"There's more to it, then."
The Grand Elder pointed to the Princess glaring coldly at Eri.
The pride lion spotting a massive flower snake in her territory.
"Truth be told, I wanted to give Camillia a sense of crisis."
"A sense of crisis?"
"Yes. Her caution and composure are strengths, but sometimes too much—she misses opportunities."
"I get the feeling. Her Highness's meticulous strategies and prudence are legendary among knights."
The Princess who'd once pondered days to minimize allied losses when toppling a castle.
Her feat of conquering a kingdom bloodlessly was infamous.
Thus, knights like Keira respected her, regardless of faction.
"Hatchlings always draw predators. The rewards of a full dragon are immense."
"No power would let such talent sit idle."
"Precisely. So she needs to feel the urgency and claim him quickly."
"But this seems too risky. Dangerous rivals should be eliminated early."
Keira knew the Grand Elder doted on his niece.
"If she fails the competition, she loses him. That's the measure of her vessel."
The king of nobles was cold on such matters.
He flicked his lighter on and off, anticipating how she'd defend her man.
"A girl who can't claim one man—how could she hold this vast Empire?"
"That's fair."
Keira agreed.
As a Black Knights alumna with clear public-private lines, she meshed well with him.
"And above all, it's hilarious. I thought my sixty years held no more thrills—look at those eyes."
"..."
Keira glanced at the Princess's chilling glare.
It matched the face she'd worn slaughtering 100 elite foreign troops alone.
Having witnessed the massacre firsthand, it chilled her.
"It's just scary."
"Tsk tsk... Kids these days have no guts."
The Grand Elder handed his pilfered apple to his escort.
The sharp-eyed blonde knight stared blankly at the fruit, watching the scene.
"..."
In the main entrance hall, as the old nobleman said, the two women stood frozen.
Princess Camillia and Lady Anje Renault.
Though officially their first meeting, an intense déjà vu hung thick.
"Anje Renault."
Camillia, at the pinnacle among master Swordmasters.
She instantly detected the Saintess's magic.
"You've leveled up again? I might've missed it back then."
"That's my line. Since when could you breach the prison barriers?"
They praised each other's growth while staying wary.
Well aware of their powers' influence.
Like whales clashing would shatter the sea, they respected each other—for now.
"For a while now."
"Does Warden Derek know?"
"No, he has no idea. And I don't plan to tell him yet."
Camillia furrowed her fine brows sharply.
One word in the Saintess's reply grated immensely.
"'He'? What gives you the right to call the Warden that? A mere 'prisoner'."
"Not for long."
The ruby gleam in Anje's crimson eyes dulled.
Like a deep blood sea she'd kept hidden now roiling.
"Why? Planning to brainwash him like the others?"
Camillia tossed it out queenly and aloof; Anje countered deftly.
"No, that's for someone as charmless as you. Crushing with wealth."
"And what's different about you?"
At the Princess's question, Anje grinned darkly, as if she'd waited.
Her voice lewdly sultry, unbelievable for a Saintess.
"Totally different. Unlike you, I've already advanced quite far with him."
The Saintess's eyes narrowed like a vast, pale silver serpent.
Camillia sensed something off.
But it swiftly turned to towering rage.
"You... know the Warden's body measurements?"
Information she didn't have.
The kind only deep intimacy reveals.
Her rival already possessed it.
"Impressive, right? You don't, do you?"
The Saintess covered her lips, chuckling.
Recalling something striking enough to choke her just thinking of it.
"You don't even know how his skin tastes."
Anje flicked her long, slick tongue between her fingers.
Camillia's eyes lost focus instantly.
Veins bulged on her smooth skin.
"What did you just say?"
She rose from her throne, primed to hunt prey personally.
The Saintess slithered away from those talon-sharp eyes with python grace.
"What? Just that you're too late—give up."
Princess Camillia, who'd held the advantage with her ring-proposed marriage vow.
For the first time, urgency gripped her fiercely.
More than with Prince Ivan.
And that anxiety soon fueled tremendous 'action'.
At tomorrow's family banquet.