episode_0109

Chapter 109 – Imperial Party

‘Hmm, my underwear is in good condition today.’

It wasn’t too flashy, but appropriately luxurious, the type that wouldn’t divide opinions.

Satisfied, I was about to take off my underwear too.

“Wait, wait, just a moment!”

If Alisa hadn’t quickly stopped me, that is.

“What’s wrong?”

“What do you mean ‘what’s wrong’! Are you asking because you don’t know? How can you just accept it so readily when I tell you to take it off? You pervert!”

“Then what do you want me to do? Wasn’t it you who said it was unfair for only one of us to show?”

“Ugh… that, that’s true, but…”

“Or are you going to kill me?”

Considering her usual behavior, it’s possible she might kill the witness to make it as if nothing happened.

“That’s impossible!”

“It’s not?”

“Of course not! Does it make sense to kill a savior just for seeing her chest? What do you take me for?”

“…A violent woman?”

“Why? I’ve never shown such a side to Hyun!”

As if disappointed, Alisa’s eyes drooped.

Admiring her rather docile appearance slightly, I pulled up my pants.

“If it was a misunderstanding, I apologize. It seems I had a strange preconceived notion.”

“…I’ll accept it just this once.”

“Thank you.”

Along with my thanks, as I picked up the rapier that had fallen to the floor and handed it to her, she took it and asked again.

“By the way, why did you take off your pants so casually? Do you perhaps have exhibitionism?”

“I don’t have that.”

“Then why?”

Her eyes were full of curiosity.

‘Why, you ask?’

Well, obviously.

Since I’ve already even raped her, showing my dick is nothing special.

But I can’t tell her the truth, so I’ll give a vague answer.

“There’s no particular reason. I just thought it wouldn’t matter if I showed it to you.”

“…It wouldn’t matter if it was me?”

“Yes.”

“What do you mean?”

Alisa’s expression was ambiguous.

She seemed a little excited and also a little scared; it was truly subtle.

What kind of answer was she hoping for?

I don’t know what she wants, but unfortunately, the answers I can give are limited.

“It’s literal. I judged that it wouldn’t matter if I showed it.”

“…Is it because you don’t see me as a woman?”

“What?”

“Isn’t it because you don’t think of me romantically that you showed it? Because no one feels shame showing their naked body in front of an animal.”

Alisa’s eyes instantly became moist.

Her tightly shut lips looked precarious, as if she might burst into tears at any moment.

Only then did I realize.

‘Surely not…’

I had considered the possibility earlier, but had denied it, thinking it couldn’t be.

But it seems there’s no point in denying it anymore.

Alisa must be in love with me, or rather, Hyun.

Of all people, it had to be me. What kind of cruel twist of fate is this? This was a relationship destined for ruin.

I smiled bitterly.

‘What should I do?’

Generally, firmly pushing her away would be the right choice.

But is that really the best option?

Refusing without thought could actually provoke the other person. If Alisa were to become even more obsessed with me because of that, things would get serious.

So, slowly creating distance and making her forget naturally would be the wisest.

The problem is that it’s difficult to judge whether this thought is based on rational thinking or swayed by emotional thinking.

I couldn’t understand myself either.

My troubled choice ultimately leaned towards the latter.

‘Anyway, we won’t meet often.’

As long as I don’t unnecessarily step forward like this, I won’t even face Alisa five times until the ending.

Even those five times won’t be relaxed enough for us to have a conversation.

Finally, a decision was made.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking. Does that mean I see you as a man?”

“…That’s not what I mean.”

“Then what is it?”

“Well…”

Alisa tried to say something, then stopped.

She’s probably hesitating because she’s afraid her feelings will be exposed. It’s a bit absurd for her to act like this after having shown such blatant interest until now.

She fidgeted, checking my expression, then asked in a tiny, ant-like voice.

“How was it when you saw my chest?”

“…What did you say?”

“I asked how my chest was! Don’t pretend you didn’t hear me.”

When I tried to gloss over it, Alisa shouted angrily.

Though her demeanor itself was bold and full of confidence, if you looked at her eyes, trembling as if an earthquake had struck, and her tightly stiff shoulders, you could tell how nervous she was.

In front of her, it was impossible to utter something like ‘it was terrible’.

“It was beautiful.”

“…Beautiful, you say?”

“Yes.”

“Then, were you aroused?”

“……”

Alisa’s chest was excellent.

Considering her slim figure, it felt as if all available fat, excluding the bare minimum, had been concentrated there?

Moreover, it was full of elasticity and maintained a teardrop shape, which was aesthetically faultless.

Noticing that my silence was affirmation, Alisa’s face slowly brightened.

“I see… You were aroused. Hehe!”

Realizing that I perceived her as a woman, a shy smile spread across her lips, and her eyes curved like crescent moons.

Her fresh, girlish charm was felt, making a contented smile form on my face involuntarily.

I took a step back.

“Then, I’ll be going now.”

“Huh? Now?”

“I said the sparring was for five minutes, didn’t I? It’s already been a long time. …See you later.”

Leaving behind a promise that wouldn’t happen, I turned my back without hesitation and left.

Fortunately, Alisa didn’t stop me.

As I crossed the garden, when I was a suitable distance away, I took off my mask.

Then I retraced my steps, went up to the balcony, put my accessories and blazer back on, and returned to the party hall.

As I looked around to find Isis, I made eye contact with Skadia.

She was sitting at a table, and as soon as she saw me, she frowned, then gulped down the wine a man was offering her.

Even while doing so, her gaze never left me for a moment.

At her sharp intensity, I turned my head.

And finally, I found Isis conversing with Princess Regina in a corner.

As I approached, Isis looked at me.

“Ruan! You’re here? Where have you been? I was worried.”

“I was on the balcony for a bit. Watching the stars, I didn’t realize how much time had passed.”

“Really? I’m glad nothing happened. More importantly, say hello. This is Princess Regina.”

Isis pointed behind her.

I had already seen her earlier when presenting the gift to the Emperor, but I hadn’t exchanged a single word with her, so this was our first proper meeting.

“It’s been a long time, Your Highness. Thank you for last time.”

“It’s a pleasure, Young Master Ruan. But when do you mean by ‘last time’?”

“During the election campaign. Thanks to you, I was rescued without any major problems.”

“Oh, you mean that? It was nothing.”

Looking at the conversation alone, it was harmonious, but the gazes between Regina and me were anything but.

The emotion in our eyes was clearly dislike.

We both strongly disliked each other. Both Regina and I wanted to escape this situation immediately.

To achieve my purpose, I brought up the matter.

“Sister. Could we talk for a moment, just the two of us?”

“Hm? Just the two of us?”

“Yes. It’s a personal matter.”

As I seriously hardened my expression and glanced at Regina, Isis let out a small sigh.

“Ah… really? Then I suppose it can’t be helped. Princess Regina, may I be excused for a moment?”

“…Do as you please. I’ll wait here.”

“Thank you. Ruan, where should we go?”

“Follow me.”

I led Isis towards the balcony.

Regina, for some reason, glared at me fiercely. Even though she herself wanted to avoid the situation, I don’t know why she was acting like that.

Isis and I, who had opened the door and gone out onto the balcony, stood side by side in front of the railing.

“Haa… This is truly nice. So many stars are out tonight, aren’t they? No wonder you were so lost watching them, Ruan?”

Isis looked up at the night sky and marveled.

The sight of countless blue stars adorning the sky was truly magnificent. But my gaze didn’t leave her face.

Because Isis alone shone brighter than those hundreds of millions, tens of millions of countless star clusters.

Looking at her, I took a box from my pocket.

“Take this.”

“Oh? What’s this?”

“Try opening it.”

A small box, barely larger than a hand-span.

Isis tilted her head, opened the lid, and her eyes widened.

Inside was a brilliantly shining silver cross necklace.

“Ru, Ruan? What is this?”

“It’s a gift to commemorate my inauguration as student council president. It ended up being quite late, somehow.”

“You… really…”

Isis seemed moved, and her voice choked up.

Her eyes sparkled, holding back tears. Their gleam was more brilliant than the necklace itself.

Eventually, a single tear streamed down her cheek.

“Thank you, Ruan. I’ll treasure it.”

“You should. Stay still. I’ll put it on for you.”

“…Okay. Please do.”

Moving behind her, I swept her long, straight hair to one side, then carefully put the necklace on her.

I barely resisted the urge to back-hug her.

Returning to my spot, I smiled as I looked at the necklace sparkling on her ample chest.

“It suits you well.”

“Yes. It’s so pretty.”

Her slender fingers caressed the necklace.

Even without needing long explanations in words, I could feel how much Isis liked it.

“That’s an artifact called Medallion’s Blessing. It contains the power of purification, so it will protect you from harmful effects.”

Actually, the student council inauguration thing was just an excuse; I just wanted to give this to her.

A month later, in the dungeon she’ll enter when she goes on dispatch, purification will be a tremendous help to her.

“What? This? If it’s an artifact, it must be incredibly expensive. Where did you get it?”

“At an auction. I got it by chance.”

“I see… Thank you so much. Ruan really is the best!”

“It’s nothing. Always keep it on you, don’t take it off. Okay?”

“Yes! I’ll always wear it around my neck.”

Isis smiled brightly.

There’s a proverb that says if you cry then laugh, hair will grow on your butt [a proverb implying that such a sudden shift in emotion will lead to a silly consequence], but her smile was so beautiful that such a thing didn’t matter.

At the same time, a strange presence was felt from inside the party hall.

When I turned my head, a red afterimage disappeared at incredible speed. It was probably Regina.

‘What was that?’

I tilted my head.

It’s not like she was caught stealing something, so I wondered if there was any need to flee like that. While it’s true that secretly peeking is wrong, we were the ones who openly entered the balcony in the first place.

After being briefly puzzled, I shook off the extraneous thoughts, deciding it didn’t matter.

“Then, shall we go inside now? Princess Regina will be waiting.”

“Let’s. Pfft! I should go show off my mask, that our Ruan gave me.”

Isis, seeming to be in a good mood, entered the party hall with light steps.

It was when we returned to our original spot.

“Oh? Where did she go?”

We found ourselves facing an empty table.

I picked up the memo lying on the chair.

[Something urgent came up, so I’ll be leaving first. Regina.]

It seems she was bothered by being caught peeking, so she left early.

I handed it to Isis.

“Ah, something came up. Now I can’t show it off.”

“You want to show it off that much?”

“Of course! It’s the first gift Ruan gave me, isn’t it? I’ll treasure it for my whole life.”

I suddenly felt a pang of conscience.

To such a beautiful and kind sister, to have never given a single gift for over 20 years, I’m truly the worst scumbag in the world.

I quickly changed the subject.

“By the way, the party is slowly coming to an end. Shall we go too?”

“Hmm… let’s do that. Since we have to go to school tomorrow too, it would be good to go in quickly and rest.”

“Yes. Let’s go then.”

When I held out my hand, Isis quickly took it. She tightly interlocked her fingers with mine.

‘This makes us seem like real lovers, doesn’t it?’

What siblings in the world would attend a party as partners and even interlock fingers?

I let out a small laugh and left the party hall.

And it was just as we reached the entrance. A maid came running from afar.

“Ru, Young Master Ruan! It’s been a long time.”

“You are…”

“I am Renny, Young Lady Skadia’s personal maid. Excuse me, but is the Young Lady inside?”

“Skadia?”

I frowned.

Though I hadn’t looked closely, when I returned to the party hall after giving Isis the necklace, I remember Skadia not being there.

“No. I don’t think she was inside. Has something happened?”

“Yes! She was supposed to arrive 20 minutes ago, but she’s still not here. The Young Lady is not someone who would break a promise!”

Skadia is very precise.

Once she set a plan, it rarely went awry, and if something like that were to happen, she was the type to contact you in advance.

For her to have disappeared without any contact is no ordinary matter.

Suddenly, a memory flashed through my mind.

-Fucking bitch. She acts all high and mighty, doesn’t she? Does it make sense to sit with us and not even let us touch her?

-I told you to feed her that! One shot of that and it’s over. Huh? Women love it to death.

The two men I encountered while going to the restroom.

The face of one of them overlapped with the noble who was sitting with Skadia.

‘So it was him.’

Skadia is in danger.