44. Falling Blossoms (7)

"How is it? Does it feel good?"

"··········Mhm."

Rine was being honest, and her honesty made me feel good.

Of course, just touching Rine's ears alone made me feel good.

I had already been stroking Rine's ears for a full hour.

And the more I touched Rine's ears, the deeper she buried herself into my embrace.

And the more she did that, the tighter I held her.

As expected.

Cuteness is the best.

As I fully enjoyed Mine's cuteness like that, our relationship grew so sticky and close that it felt unbelievable that we had only met an hour ago.

And finally, Rine's cat tail began to swish and gently brush against the tip of my chin.

Moreover, I overheard it.

The words Rine muttered while closing her eyes and enjoying my touch.

"··········I like you, unnie."

Thump·····!

It felt as if my heart had dropped.

It was that shocking, and that pleasant.

More than a younger sister, it felt like I had gained a truly pretty and adorable daughter.

For this child's sake, I felt like I could do any difficult task.

"·····Hmm."

Is this what maternal love feels like?

Even if it might be my misconception, I found myself wishing I had a daughter like this.

No, actually, anyone would think that way about a child like Rine.

I had no doubt about that.

"Um, excuse me, Your Highness·····."

"What is it?"

Elise was hesitating.

It seemed like she wanted something, but since she wasn't speaking up readily, it was hard for me to guess.

But I knew full well that Sir wasn't the type to hold back.

If I waited a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bit, it was certain that Sir, unable to hold it in, would confess first.

And indeed, within less than three minutes, Sir honestly confessed to me.

"I, I want to touch them too·····."

"Hmm, shouldn't you get permission from Rine for that, not from me?"

As I said that, I gently tugged on Rine's ear.

"··········?"

Only then did Rine turn just her head to look this way.

Then, after alternating her gaze between me and Elise two or three times, she gently tilted her head toward her.

"Hup···."

Elise's heart must have been quite shaken by that reaction, as her trembling hand reached out to touch Rine's ear.

But at that moment-

"-Haa, what is the meaning of this?"

When I looked toward the source of the voice, the Leader of Bistern I had seen before was there.

Moreover, it seemed he had brought all of Bistern's warriors with him, as many warriors, including the Tiger Beastman, were glaring at us.

"Ah, you're here."

Of course, I said this without letting go of Rine's ear.

Well, this fluffy softness was addicting to an unbelievable degree.

Though I answered nonchalantly like that, the reply that came back was cold.

"Release Rine."

"Hmm?"

Could it be that they can't see this scene right now?

Or is there some misunderstanding piled up?

I'm adoring Rine immensely, and Rine is fully enjoying our touch.

To exaggerate a bit, we're in a symbiotic relationship.

But their reaction remained aggressive.

The warriors behind him finally seemed unable to hold back and began drawing their swords, and seeing this, our unit members sensed the seriousness and immediately joined in.

"Rine, step away from that woman."

"··········Unnie is a good person."

Even at his words, Rine held onto me and took my side.

Seeing that, I felt an indescribable sense of reassurance.

Whether it was maternal love or a protective instinct, at this moment, I wanted to be on Rine's side.

"Rine! Are you defying the adults' words right now!"

-Flinch.

As the Tiger Beastman right behind him shouted, Rine trembled her shoulders at the loud noise and closed her eyes.

I genuinely disliked seeing that.

"Silence. Can't you see you're scaring the child?"

I am the Princess.

And the people here are knights belonging to the Imperial family.

Although we had a bitter experience in our previous mission, our combat strength was still sufficient.

Including me, the unit members here had the strength to sweep away all the beastfolk warriors before us without a single casualty.

-Shiiing.

As if matching their momentum, when my stance changed, the unit members sensed my intent and all began drawing their swords.

Among them, Elise was the first to show her imposing presence.

Though nothing was visibly different, the beastfolk warriors instinctively sensed that the knight before them was a powerful foe.

Even though Captain Evernoir had shown many clumsy moments recently, she was still the second strongest in the empire, right after the 1st Knight Order Captain.

As Elise's hand moved toward her sword hilt, the beastfolk warriors hesitated.

She seemed to know this too, as she didn't draw her sword recklessly.

But she kept her hand placed there, ready to respond at any moment.

Maru and Daruk, who had been playing in the back, had also tightly closed their mouths at some point.

They seemed to have instinctively realized how critical this situation was.

Just as that suffocating standoff was continuing-

-Squeeze.

"············No fighting."

Suddenly, Rine tightly grabbed my hand and looked up at me with a pleading gaze.

"····Huh."

At that moment, I was defeated by Rine.

When she looked at me with eyes like that, I had no choice but to concede.

"Well, if that's what you wish, then I have no choice."

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠raised my hand and made a fist.

Immediately, the unit members sheathed their swords in unison.

"Your Highness."

"Surely they wouldn't dare kill us."

I slowly set Rine down and approached the beastfolk.

The unit members followed behind me.

However, with both hands raised to show we had no intention of attacking.

"Congratulations. You have now taken the Imperial Princess hostage."

The implications of that were varied.

Since the hostage was the Princess, the treatment had to be appropriate, and if they mismanaged the hostage situation, they could incur the wrath of the entire empire.

Well, honestly, even if I were taken hostage by them, I wasn't particularly worried.

Though it deviated slightly from the original plan, we had still succeeded in entering Bistern.

####

"Haa, haa, haa!"

Somewhere between pink and red.

A very confined room in a bedroom entirely decorated in a subtly unpleasant color.

Inside, there was a woman who was almost naked.

Except for one place.

A long, hideous scar stretched across her right side.

That scar began to ache again.

She recalled the woman who had dared to leave an indelible scar on her beautiful, artistic body.

How difficult it had been all this time because of this hideous thing on her body.

She had endured insults from the skeletons telling her to be more careful, and shame from the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mosquito brats asking if she'd really been bested by mere humans.

She had absolutely refused to leave her room until the scar healed.

But then a reason to go outside had arisen.

The bat wings stretching widely behind her flapped up and down as if very pleased.

"Finally found you····, you wretched bitches····!"

The half-naked woman was none other than the Succubus Queen, Lilith.

Lilith wanted to fly there immediately.

But Lilith restrained herself.

If she went in her not fully recovered state and made even a slight mistake, she would be the one to suffer.

So for the first time in her life, Lilith experienced something called patience.

If she wanted something, she seduced to get it; if she disliked something, she seduced to eliminate it.

But this time was different.

To thoroughly send those women, whom she wanted so badly and wanted to distort their smiles immediately, straight to hell.

She had definitely engraved an indelible succubus Crotch Tattoo on both of them.

Unless the empire had a grand mage who appears once every hundred years, she was the only one who could remove that Crotch Tattoo.

So inevitably, a time would come when they would tire.

Honestly, just one of them.

If it weren't for that bitch with the strange sword, she could have easily subdued the slightly pretty bitch next to her.

Well, it seemed the Captain bitch was a bit more skilled.

But a normal sword couldn't leave a single scratch on her body.

Everything was because of that bitch's strangely heavy sword, and the bitch who wielded it·····!

"Aaah!! Annoying, annoying, so annoyiiing!!"

-Thump! Thump! Thump!

Lilith vented her anger by punching an innocent pillow.

How dare,

She absolutely could not forgive the bitch who dared to carve such a hideous scar on this beautiful body.

"Hoo, hoo-hoo. Hu-hu-hu, just wait until I catch you. I'll thoroughly break you."

Since childhood, her life ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had been one where she could have anything she wanted.

Such a life is usually happy for someone who suddenly becomes wealthy after being impoverished.

But for Lilith, the world had been hers from the beginning.

Except for liches and vampires, whom her charm didn't work on.

For Lilith, feeling such desire like this time was a first.

The more she felt that way, the more Lilith had to learn patience.

Lilith was a Demon Army Executive.

Meaning she wasn't one of those lowly rabble below.

And the reason she could rise to this position was because Lilith was clever.

In other words, if one only had strength, opportunity wouldn't come.

It was a position one could only reach by being both strong and smart.

"Ahh, should I appear before their eyes·····? No, if I ambush them from behind, I can see their despairing expressions, right?"

Lilith imagined the future and, for that future, practiced patience over and over.

And so, Lilith wore a vicious smile.