Chapter 54 : Her Highness’s Sexual Repression is Too Strong
The Temptation
“Klaus, I really have to go. I definitely heard something just now, and I have a bad feeling.”
Lita rose from the bed, about to leave, but felt her wrist wrapped in a hot grip.
“Don’t go.”
Klaus‘s voice carried a heavy intoxication and a pleading nasal tone, like a blueberry steeped in wine.
Lita turned back and saw Klaus lying sideways. The thick drunkenness on her face seemed to have softened her waist and bones.
The dress she had worn all day was slightly loose from the rubbing, its neckline slipping to the side, exposing an exquisite collarbone and a rounded shoulder.
Klaus looked at Lita with hazy, moist eyes. The fingertips gripping Lita‘s wrist climbed upward like a small snake, but with a searing heat a snake would never possess.
Lita’s body stiffened slightly. The hand Klaus tightly held was guided to her scorching cheek, just like her roommate’s kitten when it begged for affection.
Lita felt her heart flutter, especially when someone she was fond of openly displayed her desire. The frantic pounding in her chest was close to leaping out of her throat.
Both the need to satisfy her hunger and the fulfillment of being needed made Lita hesitate again.
Lita‘s pause seemed like a signal to Klaus. She grew bolder, pulling Lita‘s hand to cup her own chest.
“Can you feel it? It’s beating so fast. The first time… it’s ever beaten this fast.”
Truthfully, it was very soft. So soft that Lita could clearly feel the violent heartbeat beneath the skin, just as Klaus had said.
While Lita was momentarily stunned, Klaus‘s grip suddenly tightened, pulling Lita back onto the bed. Then Klaus‘s body, which was lying sideways, pressed against Lita like a little rabbit, wrapping her arms around Lita‘s waist.
“Please, just stay with me a little longer.” Klaus‘s lips brushed Lita‘s ear, her wronged plea and warm breath flowing into Lita‘s ear: “Lita.”
That single instance of calling her by her first name, stripping away all courtesy and pretense, was far more moving than stripping off clothes.
Lita swallowed hard a few times. The intoxication she hadn’t felt after several cups of wine silently crept into her heart.
Perhaps this wouldn’t be so bad…
Lita struggled for a bit, but then heard an extremely faint clatter—a sound strikingly jarring in this world of only breathing and heartbeats.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a crumpled item.
It was a crêpe wrapper that should have been discarded. When she and Cecilia rose from the plaza, she had casually stuffed it into her pocket and never taken it out.
I went on a date all day with a wrapper in my pocket. That’s pretty sloppy, isn’t it?
Cecilia‘s face suddenly flashed in Lita‘s mind: serious, shy, pretending to be calm.
And that look of approval, which she couldn’t completely hide, when she stood at the modest weapon shop, handing the heavy saber into Lita‘s hands.
“Last night’s events were due to my lapse in judgment as Imperial Princess and Mistress, but I have always seen your loyalty and value.”
If she knew I was thinking, or doing this, would I be punished again?
No, who I associate with is my freedom. Cecilia shouldn’t have the right to control this.
But that little bun-faced look just wouldn’t leave her mind, as if telling her: ‘Dare to get closer.’
The fact proved that Cecilia‘s sexual repression was too strong.
Perhaps Lita simply had an intuition: if she did this easily now, some things would be permanently lost.
“I’m sorry, Klaus.” Lita grabbed Klaus‘s wrist and pushed the clinging woman away. “I really should go back. Her Highness Cecilia might be waiting for me.”
In that single instant, Lita thought she saw Klaus‘s eyes change.
There was no disappointment or embarrassment, only a bottomless resentment that made Lita feel the other was so unfamiliar, she thought she must have been hallucinating.
But it was only for a moment.
“Alright.” Klaus bit her lip, her hand seemingly gripping something. “Then, one last drink with me. Just one, okay?”
The Siren’s Fury
In the city.
“Hehe, do you hear those wails? Do you feel the heat of the flames? Countless people are dying horribly with every second you spend fighting me.”
The panting Siren couldn’t gain much advantage against Angus‘s greatsword, even as a High-Tier Demon, yet she wore a triumphant smile.
“Is that so? Then what a misfortune! I will use your head to honor their sacrifice!” Angus roared, his greatsword moving faster than his words.
This man is seeing red. It’s better to avoid his sharp edge for now. After all, my task isn’t to kill him.
Come on, be consumed by anger! That way we’ll have more time!
The Siren, who was skilled at manipulating people, thought this, but then saw that Angus‘s bloodshot eyes held not just the madness of an enraged person. On the contrary, they showed the resolve of a man who knew exactly what he was doing and still persisted.
Impossible. This guy can’t have a backup plan.
The Siren still couldn’t ignore the meaning behind that gaze.
Sense it, sense it again.
The Siren retreated a few steps, calling to her school of fish in her mind—the wanderers whose minds she had confused, who only knew how to charge forward.
Something that utterly baffled her happened: the number of wanderers with life signs was far less than she had anticipated, and it continued to drop rapidly.
“You’re showing a very ugly expression, Sea Hag,” Angus wiped his nose with a hand covered in dust and blood; the dark red smears looked like war paint.
In just those few words, several more wanderers completely lost the signal of life.
The Siren‘s composure was completely forgotten. Her clenched teeth constantly chattered: “What’s going on… What did you do? I see! Private soldiers! You keep a bunch of private soldiers too! That’s your trick!”
“You simply underestimated the warriors of Solus City! You underestimated humanity, Sea Hag!”
“Shut up!” The Siren‘s sharp shriek was as grating as fingernails on wood. The stiletto in her hand hummed with her trembling, angry fingers.
“Don’t you dare call me a Sea Hag!”
Cecilia Takes Command
Inside the Lord’s Manor.
“Report!” Soldiers entered the conference room one after another at a brisk run, snapping to attention at the door with a loud bang: “We have rendezvoused with the trapped units in the East and North districts. The street rioters have been contained.”
“The roaming forces outside the Lord’s Manor have been intercepted. Their offensive momentum is completely suppressed. Victory is just a matter of time!”
“The South District Garrison Commander has safely evacuated. He is now commanding despite his injuries; everything is stable on the front line.”
“We successfully discovered the hidden passage at the location you specified! It is now sealed off. They have nowhere to retreat!”
“Thank you for your hard work.” The blonde girl sitting in Angus‘s rightful seat wiped sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. Her eyes remained fixed on the city map spread across the table as she continued to give orders:
“Open a gap and follow the escaping wanderers to find their secret route. Also, summon the Magecraft Master and use Communication Magic to notify the frontline soldiers of these locations. Their hiding places must be near these points.”
More than one person was beginning to admire her silently.
How impressive. These decisions seem to have anticipated the enemy’s every move in the dark. Every step is like treading on the enemy’s footprints, tightly gripping their tails, giving those rats in the gutter nowhere to hide.
This girl really is…
“That is all for now. If you have any other information, report it immediately.” Cecilia looked up from the table, her golden eyes focused. “Time is short. Go quickly.”
The soldiers took the slips of paper with the locations written on them from the maid standing by the table and shouted in unison.
“Yes, Your Highness!”