Chapter 176: Mirror(1)
Chapter 176: Mirror(1)
It is rare for royalty to be truly loved by their people.
Not only do they have few opportunities to interact, but the vast difference in status inspires fear or respect rather than love.
However, there was one member of the royal family in Astria who was genuinely loved by the people.
The princess of Astria.
When the people were hungry, she was the first to insist that the nation’s storehouses be opened.
When bandits plagued the country, she was the first to lead the charge to subjugate them.
There was not a single citizen who wasn't moved by the sight of their princess standing at the forefront against injustice.
To top it all off, the princess was a peerless beauty, so the kingdom of Astria was filled with endless praise and songs from bards in her honor.
That princess was Lina.
The soldiers, seemingly moved by her mere presence, knelt and spoke.
"We greet Your Highness, Lina Knightly, princess of the royal family who watches over Astria, saint who helps the sick and the weak, and hero of the Goddess Elpis. This is the greatest honor of our lives!"
"...."
Lina wore a troubled expression at the soldier's earnest greeting.
The party, who had never heard that Lina was a princess, stared with wide, surprised eyes.
She had so many secrets.
Seeing the party's bewildered faces, Lina spoke as if making an excuse.
"....I am a hero now, not a princess. I've given up being a princess."
"Even so, you will forever be our princess."
"Haa...."
It was then, as Lina turned to her companions to explain, that Natasha spoke with a pout.
"Lady Lina. Last time, you said you were the hero of Astria... and now you're a princess? You really have a lot of secrets."
The usually considerate party member was acting unusually sulky. Flustered, Lina replied.
"Um... Lady Natasha? It's not that I didn't want to tell you..."
Just then, Victoria cut Lina off and interjected.
For a moment, Lina thought Victoria was coming to her aid, but she was mistaken.
"Natasha, it can't be helped. It's our fault for not earning enough of Lina's trust."
"Ah, is that what it was? If we weren't trustworthy enough, then I guess there's nothing to be done."
Lina stammered in a panic.
"What do you mean, I don't trust you! Th-That's absurd. It's just that I was embarrassed to reveal I was a princess with my own mouth... and as I just said, I've given up being a princess. I'm a hero now, not a princess!"
Princess was a formal title. Lina had renounced that title to become a hero.
Right now, Lina was not a princess, but a king's daughter.
Lina looked around, as if pleading for help.
She sent a desperate glance to Arwen, who was closest.
"I... I don't know!"
"...."
Arwen turned her head, avoiding Lina's gaze.
Now, the only ones who could help Lina were the Saintess and Kerry.
But there was no way the Saintess would be of any help in this situation.
That meant the only one who could save Lina from this crisis was Kerry.
Kerry can definitely resolve this situation. Lina believed it without a doubt.
But then, the unbelievable happened. Kerry turned his back on her.
With his back still turned, Kerry spoke.
"I'm so sorry we couldn't earn your trust, Lady Lina. From now on, we will work harder to be more trustworthy."
"!"
"See? Even my husband says he's disappointed. And it's really rare for him to get sulky!"
"Tsk. Kerry must be deeply hurt."
"Gasp. Sir Kerry is hurt...? Are you okay, Sir Kerry?"
Lina's emerald eyes trembled uncontrollably.
It was true that Kerry rarely sulked.
Was he really that hurt that I didn't tell him I was a princess?
Looking at Kerry's turned back, Lina's heart sank for no reason.
"Um... Sir Kerry?"
"Why are you calling for such an inadequate companion, one you can't even trust? Lady Lina. No. Princess Lina."
"!"
He was seriously sulking. This was the first time she had ever seen Kerry this upset.
Lina was so flustered she began to break out in a cold sweat.
All sorts of thoughts raced through her mind. How should she apologize to him and make him feel better?
What if he didn't accept her apology? She even began to regret not telling at least Kerry the truth.
Just then, she saw Kerry's shoulders shake slightly.
'No way! Is he so hurt that I kept a secret from him that he's... crying?'
Seeing his trembling shoulders, Lina grew restless. She fumbled anxiously, quickly pulling a handkerchief from her pocket.
She was cautiously approaching Kerry to offer him the handkerchief when she spoke.
"Sir Kerry, are you all righ—?"
"Pfft."
"?"
Lina walked around to face Kerry.
Only then did she see him smiling, his face full of mischief.
"You caught me. I was just messing with you, Lady Lina. I wasn't actually upset."
"Sir Kerry!"
Lina clutched her chest in relief, but at the same time, she felt a surge of irritation.
Seeing Kerry's playful expression only made it worse.
Thoroughly annoyed, Lina said, "Ugh... Since I was also in the wrong this time, I'll let it slide."
At that, the rest of the party, who had been holding it in from behind, burst into laughter.
They were all in on it.
"You all are unbelievable!"
Natasha, who had instigated the prank, said, "Sorry, Lady Lina. It was just so obvious how sorry you felt that I had to tease you a little. Haha."
"I just didn't expect Kerry to join in," Victoria added.
Only Arwen muttered to herself, "Oh, so it was a joke."
Lina spoke with a slightly grumpy expression.
"Well, since it's come to this, I suppose we have no choice. We'll have to impose on the castle for a while."
At her words, the soldiers' faces brightened. Her popularity was no joke.
"Yes! We will serve you to the best of our ability, Princess."
"I told you, I'm a hero!"
*
Night fell, dark and deep. Lina's party entered the Astrian castle.
I thought we'd be sleeping outdoors tonight, but now we get to sleep comfortably in a magnificent castle. Lucky us.
Because Lina had requested a quiet entrance, there was no grand welcome.
But just by seeing the guards on duty sneaking glances, I could feel the extent of her popularity.
The commander of this place guided us personally, his praise for Lina never ceasing, which said it all.
"Truly. When we saw that giant ghoul approaching from a distance, we thought a war with the Empire had finally broken out. But then, a golden light erupted, like the judgment of Elpis herself had descended. Seeing that, everyone here was certain it was you, Hero."
"This incident was by no means the work of the Empire. I swear it on my name as a hero."
Lina worked tirelessly to resolve the mutual hatred between the Empire and Astria.
As a hero, Lina naturally received a great deal of attention, but there was someone else who was getting an unexpected amount of it.
Me.
The eyes of the soldiers were filled with envy as they looked at the only man in the hero's party.
'I only had to suffer through two years in the military, but... I get how they feel.'
It must be like an idol visiting the barracks.
The commander continued to chatter about the divine light he had witnessed, claiming to be a faithful follower of Elpis himself. He said the sight of that light had brought tears of joy to his eyes, or something.
It reached a point where even the kind-hearted Lina had to politely ask him to tone it down, which said it all.
'Can't blame him. The power of light Lina used was truly incredible.'
It was a power that had astonished even the Saintess. I think it was called 'Awakening of Divine Power'.
It was frustrating that even the Goddess's Eye couldn't give me more details.
'If there's anyone to ask about divine power, it would be the Saintess.'
I wasn't getting my hopes up, but there was no harm in asking.
Besides, if I don't drain her breast milk soon, the Saintess might be in trouble.
She's probably already at her limit, but her damn pride is making her hold it in.
'Ego. Tonight, when the others are asleep, bring the Saintess to my room.'
[Yes. Understood, Master.]
Did she feel me looking at her?
Just then, my eyes met the Saintess's. Nowadays, just looking at her makes my mouth water. Once you taste this breast milk, you can't stop.
Kerry licked his lips with a slurp. The Saintess, startled by the sight, fled up to her room as if running for her life.
Tonight is a breast milk feast.
*
Lina's party was assigned to the largest and finest room in the castle.
Washing my body with warm water for the first time in a while and lying down on the bed... this was heaven.
Among the group, two women were already lying in bed.
Natasha and Victoria.
"Victoria, sleep a little further away. There are plenty of other beds, so why are you sleeping next to me!"
Victoria, hugging Natasha from behind, replied, "It's lonely sleeping in that big bed all by myself. I'm a woman who gets very lonely."
"Lonely my ass! You think I don't know you're just trying to grope my breasts in your sleep again?"
"That's just a sleeping habit of mine. I can't help it."
"Honestly!"
Natasha whined verbally, but she didn't push Victoria away, not truly minding her clinginess.
After bickering with Victoria for a while, Natasha asked, "I wonder if Grandmother is okay."
"Didn't they say the knights would bring her here personally early tomorrow morning? All we have to do is wait."
In truth, there was a reason Victoria was sticking so close to Natasha right now.
To achieve her own ambitions, Victoria was looking for an opportunity to win Natasha over.
And in Victoria's eyes, today was the perfect day to do it.
"Natasha, is this really the time to be worrying about others?"
"?"
"Why are you looking at me like you don't understand? I'm talking about Kerry."
"What about my husband?"
The moment Kerry's name was mentioned, she made eye contact, focusing intently on the conversation.
A smirk spread across Victoria's lips. As expected, Natasha was completely weak when it came to Kerry.
"Didn't you see it this afternoon? Princess Arwen seems to have taken an interest in Kerry."
"!"
It was true. Arwen had been blatantly hitting on Kerry today.
And she'd done it even with Natasha standing right there.
"Hmm. And from what I can see, Lina also seems to have a great deal of interest in Kerry... What do you think?"
"...."
An image of Kerry and Lina sharing an intimate moment flickered in Natasha's mind.
Lately, there had been many memories of the two of them looking at each other and smiling suspiciously.
"Natasha, you must have noticed it yourself, however faintly."
"....My husband is mine. He's my man."
"Of course."
"...."
"But look at reality. Aren't there so many beautiful women around Kerry?"
Natasha looked at the reflection of the party in the mirror across from them.
A group of women, beautiful even to another woman's eyes, were gathered in one room.
Natasha had never considered herself lacking in the looks department, but her confidence was starting to waver.
On top of that, Arwen and Lina were both princesses of their respective nations.
For some reason, she couldn't help but feel small and insignificant.
'She's conflicted. Maybe I should provoke her a little more.'
"Honestly, Kerry is a man, is he not? Surrounded by women of such beauty, it wouldn't be strange for his heart to stray to someone else."
"My husband would never do that."
"But there's always a chance, isn't there?"
"...."
Natasha's shoulders slumped, a rare sight.
There's a reaction. This is my chance. Victoria played her trump card.
"Natasha. Should I tell you a way to make Kerry yours for certain?"
"!"
At Victoria's sweet temptation, Natasha's expression filled with conflict.
But soon, she shook her head.
"No. I... I trust my husband."
"...."
That was a little unexpected. I thought she would take the bait right away.
It was then.
Natasha heard a knocking sound. Knock, knock. It wasn't coming from the door.
The room was large, and the door was far away. The window, then?
She looked at the window, but no one was there. As Natasha stood there, puzzled...
[Over here.]
"?"
[I said, over here. The mirror!]
Natasha looked at the mirror. Inside the mirror, her own reflection was knocking.
[You finally noticed. Hehe.]
Another Natasha was speaking from within the mirror.
"What is this... Victoria... do you see that? Is-is it magic?"
"See what?"
"You don't see that, Victoria?"
[She can't see me at all. Hehe.]
"...."
[Anyway, there's a reason I came out in such a hurry.]
"...."
The Natasha in the mirror shouted with a serious expression.
[Hurry up and ask her for the way to make Kerry our man, you idiot!]