Ch.231Side Story: Crown Prince Laura

“When are you planning to tell them you’re a woman?”

In response to my question, Laura leaned back on the sofa with her characteristic smile intact. Watching her sip from the teacup in her hand, I thought she wasn’t going to answer, but surprisingly, a reply came.

“I’ll reveal it eventually. I believe I’ve mentioned this before, but why do you suddenly ask?”

“Look at all this. Don’t you feel sorry for her?”

I poked at the appetizing strawberry chocolate cake on the saucer with my fork.

There was an impressive variety of desserts. Mont Blanc, mille-feuille, macarons, and dozens of other sweet treats whose names I didn’t even know.

All of them were sent by Eisenhardt to demonstrate what a domestic woman she was.

“You don’t understand. Being able to exchange personal gifts with the Crown Prince like this is a tremendous honor. How many people in the Empire do you think can send gifts directly to me without any screening?”

She wasn’t wrong. It’s just that when I’m around them, I don’t feel it, but in this world, Laura is undeniably the person reserved for the next Emperor’s position.

Being able to send gifts to such a person anytime is an extraordinary privilege. Even if one is a member of the Empire’s three great ducal families.

“Besides, it worked out well since it helped the Crown Prince, didn’t it?”

Laura gave me a pleased smile. She still seemed happy that I had found the dessert she made herself among this mountain of plates.

That’s why she brought them all here in the first place.

“That’s true, but when she eventually finds out you’re a woman, won’t she still be shocked?”

I asked while stroking Priscilla, who was munching on a strawberry she’d plucked from the cake. Beside us, Rosaria was happily emptying dessert plates. Thanks to all this, Rosaria was the only one putting on weight.

She normally loves these things so much that she’d eat only desserts instead of proper meals if we weren’t around, but there’s a subtle difference between store-bought premium goods and homemade ones.

Especially when the homemade items, like Eisenhardt’s, are no less quality than premium store-bought ones. That’s why comparing the tastes is quite enjoyable, she says.

In reality, she’s just eating everything.

“It’ll be fine. That woman has her own intended fiancé. By my estimation, at most… yes, it should take about two months for her to forget about me.”

“…What? I’m sorry, what did you say?”

The words came from Rosaria’s mouth, not mine. She was so shocked that she asked again with her mouth still full of cake.

“Is that true? She was flirting with you even though she has a fiancé?”

“I said ‘intended fiancé.’ Meaning she’s planning to promise to be engaged. He’s the second son of a fairly prominent viscount family. That’s why her father said it was fine not to reveal the truth. He needed a reason to wait until the viscount’s second son matured as a man.”

“Still, it ultimately depends on Eisenhardt liking him.”

“Don’t worry. What do you think made her like me in the first place?”

“Hmm. Money? Honor? Status?”

“All wrong.”

Laura shook her head and tapped her cheek with her finger.

“It’s because of this. Duke Lenitus personally acknowledged it to me. The male version of me has an androgynously handsome face. The viscount’s second son is said to have a similarly androgynous, handsome appearance, so they should be a perfect match.”

“Wait. Are you saying she’s just a face-con? After all those words and actions?”

“She’s quite devoted to a man she’s fallen for, but she’s also a calculating woman. She’s not the type to maintain her love if she found out I was a woman. If that happened, she would quickly let go of her feelings and naturally be drawn to the man who’s working hard to please her.”

“Uh, hmm.”

Priscilla swallowed the strawberry she’d been rolling around in her mouth. She seemed conflicted.

“Judging by how she’s been clinging to me from the moment she first saw me until now, she’s not the type to change her mind easily. It’s just that this,” she touched her cheek again, “takes up a considerable portion of what she looks for in a man.”

“Now do you understand why I said it’s fine to leave it be? There’s already a man who’s fallen for her and is trying hard to match her tastes, and she’s the type who would quickly recover if we broke up simply because I’m a woman.”

If none other than Lady Eisenhardt’s own father judged it so, it couldn’t be completely unfounded speculation. If that was the case, I had nothing more to say.

Rosaria continued munching on a piece of cake, her expression changing from pure bliss to slight disappointment. Still, the desserts must have been delicious, as the corners of her mouth kept twitching upward.

“Going back to the original question about when I’ll reveal my true gender…”

Laura crossed her legs seductively, rested her elbow on her raised knee, and cupped her chin as she looked at me intently.

“I’ll answer with ‘soon.'”

“Mira, you’re a blockhead. Not even human.”

“Me? I’m what?”

While I was examining whether the divine spear could still manipulate time, Latina suddenly spoke up. Nika, who was running errands nearby, nodded in agreement.

“That’s right. It doesn’t make sense as a human being to share your energy like that and never make a move. And with a succubus… no, not just any succubus, but a Succubus Queen!”

“Hey…”

I gave her an incredulous look, wondering why she was suddenly bringing this up.

“When I heard Priscilla had succeeded, I thought everything would be smooth sailing from then on. I even gave you motivation in front of everyone. But nothing has changed, and you’re still the same. It’s unbelievable.”

“Exactly. Do you know how hard it is for those of us waiting in line?”

“And you even regularly milk Erestica’s breasts, yet nothing happens. I was truly shocked. Mira, you’re not human, you’re a blockhead.”

“…It’s to prevent her chest from getting bigger or painful by regularly relieving the pressure.”

“Saying it differently doesn’t change anything.”

I cleared my throat and averted my gaze. The piercing stares felt even more painful.

“But it’s okay. I understand. I always want the best for you, Mira. I want you to be happy after all your hardships. So you should start making an effort from now on. Then someday, we can take turns being in bed with you every day.”

“What a moving speech, Lady Latina…”

Nika pretended to wipe away tears while applauding. If Beatrice were here, she wouldn’t have dared to act like this. I had sent her out briefly because of the divine spear, and now they were running wild.

—Pop!

Perhaps due to the impact of her clapping, one of the already precarious buttons on her chest popped off. Her clothes spread wide open, revealing the underside of her breasts.

The remaining buttons screamed in agony. It reminded me of that spider-man stopping a subway or a cruise ship.

Knowing it was intentional exposure, I didn’t say anything. I’d seen her bundle up and hide her chest when going outside many times, despite flaunting it like this when alone with me.

“Why that expression, Master?”

“I’m wondering if you’re being influenced by Latina.”

Although her personality is completely different from before, perhaps because she used to be a saint, she has a strangely captivating power. She was using that power generously right now.

Unlike the other seven who had grown close through seven years of shared experiences, she had been asleep until my return, so there hadn’t been time to become friends. Yet she had integrated well.

“Don’t you like it? If not, I can change—”

“No. Do as you please.”

“Really? Then—Ouch!”

“Not in that way.”

Nika held her forehead and pouted after receiving a flick to the head as she tried to transform into her Queen form. The energetic version is definitely more pleasant to see.

“Done. I don’t detect anything unusual.”

Latina removed her hand from the divine spear. I also withdrew it. The golden light that had filled the room disappeared, and the original colors returned.

“That’s good… well, I’m not sure if it’s good.”

“For now, we have no information, so there’s nothing we can do but keep watching. Did you sense anything during the previous gate incident?”

I nodded. When using the divine spear to escape from that absurd place where the gate itself was a monster, I felt something slightly twisted. That’s why I’d been monitoring it for weeks before mentioning it today.

“If everything’s been fine so far, it will probably continue to be. Faith is still flowing in, so I can’t be certain.”

The faith of this world’s people was still accumulating in the divine spear, not in the goddess or demon god. More precisely, the faith meant for the vanished goddess was accumulating in the divine spear instead.

And the divine spear, in turn, bestowed divinity upon those people in place of the goddess. Somehow, the divine spear was becoming this world’s concept of faith.

“So basically, we don’t know which way it will go? Alright. I’ll be careful.”

“You don’t need to be careful. Whatever happens, the divine spear is still the divine spear. It may help you, but it won’t harm you.”

“That’s reassuring.”

As I put away the divine spear and stood up, Nika scurried over.

“Are you finished?”

“Yes. Why?”

“Laura said she’s waiting for you in the library and asked me to tell you to come find her.”

“The library?”

“She went there.”

“I confirmed it too.”

After Mira left for the Bellium Academy library with a strange expression, the remaining Latina and Nika whispered quietly.

“Laura is a much bolder woman than I thought. The library is an unexpectedly daring location.”

“I had my suspicions ever since I heard Priscilla did it in the movie theater…”

In truth, both of them had guessed Laura’s plan.

It was purely coincidental, but if Mira hadn’t come looking for Latina about the strange divine spear on the very day Laura had decided to execute her plan, they would have only found out after everything was done.

Nika and Latina had said those things deliberately to help in their own way.

“Who do you think will be next?”

“Probably Miss Ciel or Miss Leona.”

Their interests aligned on this matter. Latina wanted Mira to be happy, and Nika had no reason to object to the relationship developing in that direction.

“Still, it’s a bit disappointing. The library limits the positions they can try.”

“…”

This was where they differed.

Not just a little, but a lot.