The Princess’s Love? (1)

When I lost consciousness during my act with Ethan and opened my eyes again, it was almost dawn.

The first thing I felt upon waking was an overwhelming pressure crushing my entire body.

Thanks to the familiar warmth against my skin, I could easily guess that it was Ethan’s body pressing down on me.

‘Ethan, did you really fall asleep like this with me…?’

It seemed that at the moment I lost consciousness, Ethan had also run out of energy and ended up falling asleep while tightly holding me.

With only his upper body draped over the bed and our lower halves still connected, escaping from that position alone required considerable effort.

“Ugh, haaah…!!”

Perhaps due to the side effects of being pinned under Ethan’s body for so long, my entire body ached as if my muscles were throbbing.

Still, somehow managing to crawl free, I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurd sight of Ethan still half-sprawled naked on the bed.

‘How can you sleep like that?’

…Well, it’s understandable that he’d be exhausted. It had only been a day since we returned from the Geology Exploration class.

Considering the non-stop battles, uncomfortable sleeping conditions, and the long journey back from the dungeon city to the academy, it was only natural he’d be worn out.

Of course, I was just as exhausted, so in terms of conditions, we were about the same.

‘Wait, no, that’s not right. Strictly speaking, this was my penalty play, wasn’t it? Unlike Ethan, I had a collar and tail, and crawling around the inn floor during our “walk” drained my stamina even more.’

But when the act ended, both Ethan and I collapsed from exhaustion at the same time? And I was the first to recover and get up?

In that case, the result was effectively my victory. Regardless of the fact that I blacked out slightly more than Ethan.

After all, there was no way I could lose to Ethan in a proper one-on-one in bed. From the start, there was no expert quite like me when it came to what men liked.

“Khuul, phew… phew…”

“…Ugh, damn it.”

…Well, what’s the point of basking in self-satisfaction over winning alone? In the end, regardless of victory or defeat, I still had to clean up.

I couldn’t just leave Ethan sprawled out in such an absurd state, so I somehow managed to lift his limp body onto the bed and covered his peacefully sleeping face with a blanket.

Wouldn’t want him catching a cold lying around like that. And when he wakes up, his muscle soreness is going to be no joke.

‘…Though, strictly speaking, I’m not in a position to worry about Ethan’s muscle soreness.’

After being pinned under Ethan for hours while unconscious, my muscles were already throbbing, and since I’d been crawling around the inn room on all fours, I could feel the strain in muscles I didn’t usually use.

‘I’ll deal with the muscle soreness later. First, I need to clean up.’

There were many things to do, but the first priority was, of course, [Clean]. If I spaced out and ended up with an unplanned pregnancy, the repercussions would be severe.

“Eugh, huuu. Ugh, [Clean]…!”

Next was removing the accessories still attached to my body.

The headband, being part of the headdress, didn’t need to be taken off immediately, but the collar and tail were so uncomfortable I wanted them gone as soon as possible.

‘The collar key… Ah, here it is.’

Of course, it was inside the bag.

If I hadn’t brought the key separately, I might have had to return to the academy wearing this ridiculous accessory around my neck, but thankfully, Ethan seemed to have brought every part of the cat maid set without missing anything. So, I inserted the key into the lock of the red collar around my neck and removed the restraint.

-Click.

“Phew…”

As soon as the collar, which had been slightly suffocating the whole time, came off, breathing became a little easier.

‘Now, I should wash up and sleep…’

My entire body was soaked in sweat and bodily fluids, and I felt a bit chilly all over, so I desperately wanted to soak in a tub of hot water.

While contraception and enemas could be conveniently handled with [Clean], personal hygiene still required actual water and soap in this world. Typical of an eroge setting, really.

The bathtub filled with hot water in an instant thanks to acceleration and heating magic. Thinking once again how great money was, I mindlessly lowered my hips into the tub and-

-Thud!

“……!!!!!”

The moment my butt touched the bottom, a sharp pain shot through my tailbone, forcing me to twist my body inside the tub.

Ah, damn it. I still had the tail on…

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

The morning after a night of cat maid play.

Ethan, who had left vivid red marks on my neck from last night’s play, began apologizing profusely as soon as he woke up.

“Thank you very much, Young Master Ethan. Thanks to you, I now have a reason to wear a muffler even in midsummer.”

“…I’m sorry, Lilith.”

“No need to apologize, Young Master Ethan. In fact, the bright red marks are so clear that anyone who sees them will assume it’s just a fashion statement. From a distance, they’ll probably think it’s a red choker.”

“……”

The vivid red rope marks remained no matter how many times I checked the mirror.

Seeing the marks, which looked like I’d been strangled, made me sigh involuntarily.

‘This looks like it won’t fade for at least a week.’

The only silver lining was that, aside from Magical Swordsmanship, I had no classes this week.

Of course, that didn’t mean I could go around showing off these collar marks, so the problem remained the same.

Whenever I met Mezlen, Agnes, Liz, or others, they’d inevitably ask about the marks, and I had no idea how to answer.

I couldn’t just say they were from collar play with Ethan. Even I had some pride.

“Sorry, Lilith. Should we go to the commercial district to buy a necklace or something? Just to cover it up a little.”

“…It’s fine, Young Master Ethan. I have my maid uniform back at the dormitory, so until the marks fade, I’ll just wear the choker necktie over my uniform.”

“…Right, that could work.”

It was a good thing I always carried my maid uniform just in case.

If Mezlen or Agnes asked why I was suddenly wearing something strange around my neck, I’d just brush it off with “Because I’m a maid.”

Given how much aftermath this play left, it seemed like something we shouldn’t do too often, so I made sure to set some ground rules.

“Let’s limit collar play to when we’re staying at the Blackwood mansion. So if you ever think of putting a collar around my neck again, please reserve it for then, Young Master Ethan.”

“…Huh? You’ll do it again, Lilith?”

“I never said I wouldn’t, did I?”

Just to be clear, this isn’t a play I enjoy doing.

I’m just humoring Ethan because he seems to like it. That’s all.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

“Miss Lilith, you look a little different from usual today…?”

“…Do I?”

Princess Mezlen, whom I met again after returning from the Geology Exploration class.

I tried my best to act natural and avoid her gaze, which for some reason was unusually sharp at times like this.

“Ah, now that I look, there’s a ribbon around your neck that I haven’t seen before…?”

“Ah, yes. Actually, I’ve been thinking lately about reaffirming my demeanor as a maid…”

“Miss Lilith, your fashion sense is really terrible…? A necktie with the academy uniform? I’ve never seen such a mismatched combination before…”

“……”

“Next time we meet, I think I should give you a few outfits… If rumors spread that I’m friends with someone with fashion sense like yours, I might not be able to show my face around the academy…”

“…Ah, yes. Thank you for your consideration, Princess Mezlen.”

…Does this girl think everything that comes out of her mouth is gold? I really want to smack her hard.

I put on a choker to hide the collar marks, and now she’s saying being seen with me would ruin her reputation.

Princess Mezlen had a habit of spouting absurd insults without realizing it, but the only responses I could give were “Thank you,” “Yes, I see,” and “Understood.” Insulting royalty would only make my life harder.

‘Honestly, I think I might have gotten too close to Mezlen for no reason.’

I approached her thinking I could create a happy ending, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized there was no one to pair her with. If only she and Ethan had been engaged, everything would have worked out perfectly.

Mezlen, who would give her all once she fell in love, and Ethan, who needed a woman who could accept his somewhat sadistic and sinister tendencies.

The more I thought about it, the more perfect they seemed, and it was a shame it didn’t happen.

‘…It is a shame, right?’

Of course, it wasn’t all bad-thanks to that, Ethan and I had maintained a temporary romantic relationship even after the semester started.

“Did anything special happen in the past week, Your Highness?”

“Ah, actually, there was something special…! I was just about to tell you…!”

“What special thing happened, Princess Mezlen?”

I assumed she’d either exaggerate some trivial good deed as if it were a great achievement or force some explanation about how she was better than Seraphine.

Prepared to tune out the princess’s self-indulgent rambling, I was caught off guard by what came out of her mouth next.

“I… I think I’ve fallen in love…!”

“Cough, hack, keh…!”

W-what?

I haven’t even done anything to her yet?