Ch 51-The Princess and the Duchess

 

Arietta looked at Luciella and couldn’t help but admire her.

“Haa. Seriously. Who exactly are you acquainted with?”

“I wonder.”

“You two seem strangely close, don’t you?”

“Ah, well, it just happened?”

Arietta glanced at me and simply closed her eyes.

It seemed like Arietta was sulking, but probably not.

Luciella, catching that moment, stared intently at Arietta.

As if she was plotting something.

“A demonic star, a demonic star. There are records in the kingdom, but who would have thought the princess would be a demonic star.”

“Um.”

“No, I have no intention of telling anyone. There’s no benefit for me in telling. There’s been a lot of talk about the hero party, are the princess and Ciel alright?”

“Yes. Well, it’s not clinging to us. It’s testing the waters here and there, but it hasn’t come directly to us.”

I wonder if she knew things would turn out this way.

Ailia seems to have decided to be quiet recently.

I heard that the hero party tried to approach Ailia too, but was rejected. Those guys really have no tact.

Isn’t it about time the Lion King showed his face?

There was the Latin Commune attack, but it’s been too quiet. Lion King Alex is the commander of the capital defense, so it’s strange that he hasn’t appeared.

“How did the transfer go?”

“I got permission right away.”

If the Emperor approved it, that’s all there is to it. I wonder how she managed to get permission so easily.

The Emperor has been neutral and hands-off only in the imperial succession competition, and has shown fairly good results in politics and diplomacy.

Of course, the hero’s recent antics have damaged the empire and turned public sentiment somewhat against him. But that’s all because of those wonderful anti-imperialists.

Besides, when I talked to him a few times, he was different from the stubborn nobles.

If that Emperor, who isn’t even in the transfer season and doesn’t qualify for the foreign student program, allowed the princess’s transfer, there must be a reason.

“It seems that because of the recent attack on the princess, they want me to return to the kingdom under the hero party’s escort.”

For a brief moment, a wicked devilish smile flashed across Luciella’s face.

I know what that means.

There’s a good excuse with the hero party.

“You don’t trust the hero party, so you decided to stay for now.”

“Yes.”

It’s obvious without even looking.

Our princess can’t trust the hero party who loses the Holy Sword as it is.

So, she wants to stay in the empire at least until the Latin Commune, anti-imperialist issues are resolved.

The princess has a rather shady side.

The problem is that there is a commune in this country.

Even if the princess is a foreigner, it’s not certain that the commune will leave her alone.

Those workers and whatnot wouldn’t do that.

Rather, they might try to use Luciella to make a move on the kingdom.

“Are you really going to be alright? The commune guys won’t spare you just because you’re a foreign princess.”

“It doesn’t matter. If necessary, our Ciel will protect me, right?”

This woman sees me as too omnipotent.

The princess has a connection with Libra, so I can protect her.

Of course, I’ll have to get a fair price for it.

“Ah, I can protect you as a bonus, but.”

“A bonus? That’s too much.”

“If you raid the royal treasury later, I can do that much.”

“Wow, you’re trying to rob me even in this situation?”

I have to do that much.

I’m clear about public and private matters.

Besides, my homeland is no longer the kingdom. If Luciella wants to be protected, she has to offer that much compensation.

“Well, what about it? You should do that much.”

Too much or not, I’m not an unpaid worker.

Maybe the commune guys would foam at the mouth, saying it’s a job they have to pay for, and show hostility to the high-ranking princess, who is an enemy of the commune.

“Hey. Don’t you miss the tattoo?”

While we were talking, the princess got annoyed.

She’s shaking her back here and there, telling me to draw it quickly, like a kid begging for a toy.

“Ah, I’ll draw it.”

The princess and the princess are especially sensitive today.

As much as I hate being disturbed, I decided to quickly engrave a crow on the princess’s back.

Stitching it with care, slowly.

Before I knew it, a splendid crow spreading its wings took its place on the princess’s beautiful back.

Of course, it’s made of patterns, so it’s far from an actual creature, but if you look at it closely, it looks seductive.

It’s a tattoo that I’m satisfied with enough in my eyes.

“But our princess’s body is really amazing.”

“Don’t say such embarrassing things.”

“From this waist to the curve of the hips, and when I look at the crushed chest from the side, it’s really something.”

Luciella lowered her head slightly and admired her crushed chest as she lay on the sheet.

Is this how women usually play?

I just thought there would be the inconvenience of one more piece of underwear. I feel like I’m learning a lot of different things while living as a woman.

“The princess is definitely born with a great figure too.”

“So that’s how you were seducing Ciel with that body.”

What are you talking about?

Of course, I was a man, so I admit that I get a little excited when I see a body like that. But this is a different matter.

But from just now, Luciella has been diligently looking at the crow on the princess’s back, wondering what she doesn’t like about it.

The princess must have seen it a few times.

The princess, who has a great interest in me, has seen my back a few times.

It wouldn’t be that surprising, but I don’t know why she’s so interested, maybe Luciella also likes the existence of crows.

The princess narrowed her eyes and stared at the crow that appeared on the princess’s back, which was tinged with purple, and clapped her hands.

“But this is a crow.”

“That’s right.”

“Isn’t it the same as the one on Ciel’s back?”

“Does Libra even know about that?”

I’m carefully calling out my identity in front of the princess, but somehow the princess’s face is gradually becoming an icy surface that I don’t know.

It seems like she’s just asking out of curiosity, but why does it feel like she’s being sarcastic?

After all, women are creatures that I don’t know.

“There’s nothing I don’t know.”

“That’s good for you. Anyway, the first crow is mine.”

“Ahaha. Is that important? After all, the bond of fate is important.”

“How long have you met?”

Why is it turning into an argument, these women?

Just use the crow as it is.

“Stop talking. Then I’ll engrave it.”

“Oh my, pervert.”

“I’m saying I’ll engrave the crow. Lewd princess.”

Inevitably, I also engraved it on our lewd Princess Luciella’s back.

With the same thing.

Since Luciella’s side is also good, the tattoo suits her quite well.

“Yes. Well, I know a way. Wait, then do it for me too.”

“Why do you want it, Princess?”

“Because it looks cool?”

“No, it’s okay for me because I’m an abandoned child. The princess is Libra, so you have that, don’t you?”

Arietta sarcastically said to Luciella again in the meantime.

“Why? I’ll do whatever I want with my body.”

“Well, Princess Luciella, if you get a tattoo wrong, won’t there be a problem with your marriage prospects or something?”

“Ahaha. The princess can’t say that if she’s Libra.”

Luciella might feel disillusioned with the people of the kingdom.

In fact, it’s not that different for the people of the empire, but at least the empire is a foreign country, and even if you feel all kinds of dirty filth inside, it’s still the nobles, the imperial family, and the Emperor of the empire.

No matter what kind of heart they have, the princess won’t care.

But her own country, the kingdom, is different.

After all, if she feels the gaze of her fellow countrymen or the level of corruption, it will feel like she’s dipped her feet in sewage, so yeah. Let’s grant her request here.

I wanted to leave it as my own tattoo, as a code name. I can’t help it.

“Stop it. I’ll do it for you.”

“Really?”

“Yes. You both like crows so much, how can I not do that much for you?”

I didn’t know you liked crows this much.

Let’s engrave it with as much care as possible for our Princess Luciella, who feels disillusioned with the kingdom.

“I think I’ve been misunderstood in a strange way.”

“Don’t worry. Crows are auspicious in some countries. That’s enough.”

“Yeah. Well, that’s enough.”

Why are you sighing again? I don’t know why women sigh.

I feel like I’m rolling on a bed of thorns for no reason.

“Ah, but this is worth 100 gold coins.”

“You’re not really telling us to pay, are you?”

Of course not.

I’m thinking of getting something comparable to that later.

“I’ll put it on credit.”

“You’re not really telling us to pay, are you?”

“Hey, it’s not like we’re seeing each other for the first or second time, why are you doing this?”

Of course, I’m planning to eat it all later.

This Schperen Academy was definitely a space to control the anger management issues of those damned royals.

Kailon and Ailia, who don’t care about the means or methods.

I heard that those two were acting like crazy dogs outside of Schperen, but they couldn’t do anything inside Schperen. Of course, this was also a tacit rule inherited at the genetic level due to the imperial succession competition that had been going on for generations.

In the past, there were civil wars to take the throne, even risking the lives of nobles. Every time the imperial succession competition ended, nobles died and new nobles who sided with the winner took their place.

These nobles were divided into factions of royals who aimed for the next Emperor and repeated fighting.

This also eroded the empire’s power.

It was a pain in the ass that it lasted for several generations.

-So, there’s a rule to be as careful as possible, even if it means using any means or methods, at least in this academy where even foreigners gather. But even so. There was no fool who wouldn’t bite a royal who showed weakness once.

Kailon didn’t want to miss this opportunity.

Kailon revealed his plan to his fiancée.

“I’m thinking of bringing in the Ailia faction.”

Bringing the Ailia faction to this side.

That was Kailon’s plan.

“Are you telling me to help?”

“Yes. As my fiancée, don’t you feel it’s desirable to help? Edelia.”

“Even if I help, the Cloud family is not that great of a family. There’s no way for Princess Ailia’s faction to come to this side.”

Edelia Cloud.

The daughter of the Cloud family, a woman who received the title of imperial guard knight and even a medal, and was also in the position of Kailon’s fiancée from the student council president of Schperen.

She has a good style and is envied by everyone.

She is excellent in both literary and military arts, assists Kailon, and is a person who is not lacking even if she becomes the empress of the empire in the future.

If Kailon becomes Emperor, that is.

“Aren’t there some Ailia factions among the student council members?”

“Um. How are you going to bring in that faction?”

“Let’s give them some crumbs.”

“No way.”

“That’s right. The rights that Cloud has.”

Cloud’s territory is quite large.

At one time, it was located in the south, far from their original home, the north, and had various rights, such as trade rights and resource mining rights in the Latin region, the birthplace of the Latin Commune.

That’s right. Cloud rules the barren northern region, but it had mining rights to mine various resources throughout the empire.

Now Kailon is trying to get a faction by handing over some of those rights.

“Those are the rights of our family.”

“If you become empress, you’ll get that much back anyway. You know. It’s normal for the losing side to give the rights to the winner to maintain the family.”

“Yes.”

That’s true.

Knowing that the imperial succession competition has always been bloody and shows a miserable appearance, the nobles eventually joined the imperial succession competition by creating factions, not because they were fools.

It was for the family’s rights.