EP.8 Provocation
"You worked hard. Thanks to you, I slept soundly in bed."
As soon as I returned to the room, Nelson greeted me.
He looked completely unaware that anything had happened with the princess.
"Yeah. I had a tough time all by myself thanks to you."
"See, you should've just bowed your head like I did."
"I guess I'll have to do that next time."
I answered casually as I changed my clothes.
Maybe because I relaxed, I felt tired.
I'd have to hide the jewel so Nelson wouldn't notice it.
"Hmm...?"
"What's up? Did something happen?"
"N-no... It's nothing."
It's gone.
The jewel I put in my pocket.
I definitely had it until patrol.
'I was just planning to keep it until I found a good place to hide it, but where did it go?!'
I frantically searched all my pockets.
But I couldn't see or feel it anywhere.
"Why are you making such a fuss? Did you lose something?"
"Uh... well..."
I couldn't tell the truth.
If I said I lost a jewel, he'd definitely ask where it came from.
He might get suspicious for no reason.
"You look like you lost something. What did you lose?"
"Actually... I bought a fake jewel on the street the other day."
"Is it a gift for someone?"
"Just... planning to sell it to someone for a bit of cash."
Luckily, he didn't seem suspicious.
It was a pretty good lie for something I made up on the spot.
"Haha! Some dumb guy might fall for it. But you lost it, so that's over."
"You didn't see it on the floor? You came back to the room first."
"Nope. And the cleaning maid was quiet too. You probably just left it somewhere and forgot."
I lost the princess's gift.
Normally, that would be a crime worthy of execution.
Luckily, our relationship wasn't that shallow.
'I guess I'll have to tell her honestly later...'
For some reason, I thought of the princess's mischievous smile.
Would she use this to make some weird demand, like she'd caught me in a weak spot?
"Sigh..."
"What? Was it expensive?"
"...It was pretty pricey since it's almost like the real thing."
A regular soldier could never pay it back in a lifetime.
There's no way the treasure the princess gave me was just an ordinary jewel.
Nelson, not knowing this, just grinned.
"Then how about going to the gambling house during this week's break? You could win it back."
"I don't even have money for that this week."
"I'll pay for your food. Go out and cheer yourself up after your loss."
Unfortunately, I couldn't do that.
I had an appointment with the princess.
"I'll look around for it just in case. Let's put it off until next week."
"There's no next week. Don't get yourself in trouble wandering around for no reason."
"Even if I can't find it, I'll just rest. I'm going to sleep."
Fatigue and annoyance hit me all at once.
I buried my face in the bed and closed my eyes.
A sweet break time.
Other soldiers went out drinking or fell into a deep sleep.
But I couldn't do that.
The princess had called me out.
So I was carefully making my way toward the garden.
"This agenda..."
"Not sure if His Majesty will like it. More importantly..."
Some high-ranking people passed by, chatting.
Fortunately, they didn't pay much attention to a mere soldier who wasn't an intruder.
"Sigh..."
A mere soldier can't just wander around the palace as he pleases.
If someone asked what I was doing, I'd be in trouble.
So far, it was okay, but I had to hide the fact that I was entering the garden.
There's no reason for a soldier to be in the garden during the day.
"Now... there's no one around."
After checking my surroundings, I looked at the entrance.
Unfortunately, I couldn't see the princess from here.
"Please, let me not run into anyone else."
I had to trust in the garden's vastness and complexity.
I took my first step and quickly slipped inside.
Luckily, no one spotted me or called out.
"Come to think of it... the princess probably doesn't even know when soldiers have their break..."
There's no way the princess would know a soldier's break schedule.
It would be weird to ask someone, too.
'If the timing's bad... the princess might not even be here...'
I wandered the garden carefully for several minutes.
I couldn't find the princess.
Of course, there were still parts of the huge garden I hadn't checked.
"If I keep wandering, I might get caught... Should I look a little more...?"
As I hesitated, I spotted a familiar path.
It was the path where I'd found the naked princess before.
"...Let's just check up to there and go back."
It wasn't really a suitable meeting spot.
There were places in the garden meant for tea, after all.
But after just a few steps, I found the princess.
"You're pretty late. I thought you'd come yesterday."
"A soldier can't just take a break whenever he wants. Besides... if someone finds me here, it'll be a big problem."
"Don't worry. I'll just say I called you to do some chores."
A path surrounded by grass on all sides.
Behind the princess, the grass formed a wall.
If we got caught in a place like this, I wondered how believable any excuse would be.
"I didn't expect you to wait here."
"But you came, didn't you? Hehe...♥"
It was a familiar smile.
A mix of mischief and sensuality.
The princess was clearly enjoying herself.
"Did you keep the jewel I gave you last time?"
"Ah... that..."
"You look troubled. Don't tell me... you lost it?"
"Rather than lost... I guess it disappeared... Anyway, that's what happened."
While I looked flustered, the princess sidled up to me like a cat.
"Just as I hoped...♥"
"Huh?"
"The jewel I gave you gets absorbed into your body if it's compatible."
So I hadn't lost it after all.
She hadn't explained on purpose... I could tell just by looking at her face.
She must have wanted to see my troubled expression.
"...You have a mean streak."
"Hmm~ Is it okay to say that to a princess?"
The princess looked straight at me, smiling.
Her happy expression made it impossible to say more.
It wasn't just the joy of teasing me.
"Still, I'm glad."
"...?"
"Because it means you were compatible."
"By the way... it's not bad for your body if it gets absorbed, right?"
"Pfft...! Did you think it was some kind of poison?"
In the end, the princess burst out laughing at my question.
It must have sounded pretty dumb to her.
"Come to think of it... you wouldn't use something like that on a mere soldier, would you?"
"That's right. In fact, it's something that'll make you stronger, Eldric."
"Stronger?"
"You need to be skilled to sneak around, right? And... you'll find out about the better part later."
She had a look that said she was hiding something.
Even if I asked, she probably wouldn't tell me.
At least it didn't seem like anything bad.
"Thanks to you meeting my expectations, I can go ahead with my plan."
"I don't have a good feeling about this..."
"Shall I ask you something, then?"
A pale hand moved along my pants.
Before I could stop her, the princess stroked my groin.
"Ugh..."
Where her hand went, I got hard.
I'd been expecting this from the start.
No matter how much I tried to suppress it, a man's anticipation couldn't be helped.
The stimulation from the princess's own hand was too strong.
"Hmm~ You got hard so quickly? You really do like it, huh?"
"What kind of plan is this... kuh...!"
The princess's face drew closer.
The closer she got, the more sensitive I became.
"With it this stiff... you really wanted to put it inside me, didn't you?"
A sweet whisper that pierced my desire.
I should have denied it, but I couldn't.
I'd thought about it many times wanting to thrust my angry cock into the princess's body.
But even after crossing so many lines, I still hesitated at the thought of penetration.
"Hehe... I knew you couldn't deny it."
"If we go that far... there'll be no turning back."
"It's already impossible to turn back. Isn't that right? We've already crossed the line...♥"
A moist sensation tickled my ear.
The noble princess slowly began to lick my ear with her tongue.
"Even this... if someone saw us now, it'd be a huge scandal, wouldn't it?"
I couldn't move.
Even though I knew how dangerous the princess's temptation was,
my body was bound by anticipation.
"That's... true."
"Just do it like when you were rough before. Do whatever you want...♥"
Desire overflowed.
Her hand stimulating me through my pants, her tongue licking my ear,
and her sultry, whispering breath
all of it was pushing me to cross the final line.
'I really... want to punish her...'
I wanted to discipline her for her brazen provocation.
My body trembled with uncontrollable desire.
"Eldric... I want you to mess me up, thrust deep and hard...♥ When you were rough before... it felt so good...♥"
The princess's last words made my desire explode.
If I refused, I'd feel unworthy as a man.
Reason and instinct were perfectly aligned.
"If you're interested, come to my office next Monday night."
The princess slowly pulled away,
and at the last moment, she spoke as if kissing me.
"That day... you can go all night if you want...♥"