“Whoo—”
Stepping out of the head of the house’s room, Erika’s back was already soaked with sweat without her realizing it. Fortunately, she was wearing a camisole underneath, so it wouldn’t look inappropriate.
Right now, she felt like a cat named Tom who had been grabbed by the scruff and tossed into the sea, then fished out again. Hmm…what was that female cat’s name again?
Thankfully, the conversation had gone smoothly. If anything had gone wrong, Erika Angelina would probably be hanging on the wall or lying flat on the ground by now.
“That old man really doesn’t bother to hide his disgust for me at all.”
Even so, Erika still felt a bit confident. From what she knew, Leonardo was very interested in the position of Prime Minister. In fact, after the witch queen Evelyn was executed by an angry mob on the Execution Scaffold in the novel, it was Leonardo who took the Prime Minister’s seat to stabilize the turmoil in the Kingdom of Noelle—and he even went to great lengths trying to get his son Charlotte onto the throne.
All she did was tweak the timing and move it up a bit. The fact that Evelyn was still alive would become the key turning point in the story.
Erika, victory!
As much as she wanted to announce her triumph, there were still a few more issues she needed to deal with.
“Hey, Erika. You’re just a guest. Is it really okay for you to wander around someone else’s house like this, hmm?”
This musclehead, too.
“What, you’re glaring at me? Want to get beaten up?”
Emile bared her teeth like a provoked lion cub, then raised her gloved hand with its lacy trim and gave Erika a solid slap on the butt.
Ow! You lecherous woman!
There were still so many critical crossroads to face ahead, and if this musclebound woman kept interfering everywhere, it would be such a headache and a hassle.
“Answer me, answer me, Erika. Did I say something to make you feel so wronged you can’t even talk, hmm?”
“Slap, slap.” Erika tried to retaliate, but she was completely at the mercy of that troublesome big hand.
Clutching the back of her skirt and shrinking into a corner, Erika felt she needed to make this naughty villainess a bit more obedient. If only she could become like a little pony that would trot away with a pull of the reins.
“That resentful look of yours really ticks me off. Here, I’m the princess, I’m the queen, got it?”
“Of course. Then, Princess Emile, can we find a quiet place for just the two of us to talk?”
“Hmm, just the two of us? You’re bold, aren’t you?”
“If you could just stop with the harassment, I’d be much obliged.”
Within Monarch City, the Lioness family had a villa called the “Roaring Lion’s Nest.” To call it a villa was selling it short—the grounds were really more like an estate. Inside this luxurious enclave was a rather large training ground.
The training field was scattered with wooden boards, straw men, hay bales, and intersecting ditches. Originally, it was used to train the Lioness family’s private soldiers, but ever since young Emile had picked up a sword, it had become her own exclusive practice area.
For Erika, it was also a place full of memories—military memories.
“You know it too, right, Erika? Here, even if you screamed your lungs out, no one would come. No matter how badly I teach you a lesson or rough you up, no one will intervene.” On the empty, sprawling lawn, Emile tossed her head arrogantly. Her golden hair sparkled in the sunlight.
I already asked you to stop harassing me, you lecherous woman.
“So, if you don’t want to suffer real losses, hurry up, lift your skirt and show me your belly button as an apology.”
Erika shook her head. Emile’s words were weird, but her intent was just to beat someone up. Thinking back to when she first became a slave, she was made to be Emile’s personal maid, dealing with the bloodthirsty and impetuous Emile.
The worst part was, Emile was intentionally trying to train Erika, wanting to turn her into a muscle girl like herself. Getting her head knocked, cheeks pinched, or ears tugged were just daily occurrences.
That’s just what it’s like to be a slave without any rights, right? She should be grateful she’s not just being used as a tool to vent frustration.
Especially in this training ground, too many things had happened—Erika might never forget. That time, Emile revealed her strange habits for the first time, biting Erika’s nape like a beast and murmuring things like, “Remember this. Don’t you dare…” If her old man hadn’t caught them just in time, Erika really doubted if she’d have been ravished on the spot by a girl.
Muscle freaks are scary. Why can’t there be a soft, fragrant beauty who sticks close to me instead?
Thinking of those times, Erika’s anger flared up again. “And just what do you want me to apologize for?”
Hearing this, Emile’s expression became both playful and fierce. Her slender brows arched. “That attitude! And you keep giving me weird looks! Come on, admit it. Aren’t you?”
Weird looks? I have no idea what you’re talking about.
Thinking back, Emile really did have this unfathomable side. Was it a kind of home-court bullying? Outside, she was still somewhat restrained, but at home, she became even more arrogant and domineering.
Maybe it was gap moe? Ugh, as if.
After all, Emile was a tyrant both in and out of the house. She couldn’t be called a lady at all—more like a delinquent magical girl outside, and a tentacle monster at home.
On her home turf, Emile had every advantage, bombarding Erika with rapid-fire questions: “Did you, or did you not, tell anyone else?”
“Tell them what?”
“Tell them what? That when we’re alone, I, I get all close to you…”
“Of course not. Besides, who would believe it?”
“Hey, hey, am I not good to you? Am I mean to you in front of others?”
“Of…course not. I mean, everyone knows Lady Emile is dignified and self-respecting. What goes on between us is just for fun, right?”
“Hmm?!”
Seeing Emile’s murderous glare, Erika hurriedly waved her hands. “Come on, Princess Emile, outsiders would never think that way about two girls, right?”
To her surprise, Emile’s aura immediately faded. She crossed her arms and turned away, voice growing softer: “That’s not necessarily true. Haven’t I told you? Same-sex marriages aren’t, aren’t that uncommon… It’s even more so among nobles.” The last few words were barely audible.
What a dangerous world.
Erika joked to shift the topic. “I haven’t said anything. Maybe outsiders think we’re like water and fire. Ah, but it’s not like I dislike Princess Emile or anything.”
That was a lie.
Only then did Emile’s expression finally relax a bit. It was normal that she didn’t want people to find out how close they were in private. After all, compared to Evelyn, Emile still had some common sense. As the daughter of a great noble family like the Lioness, she was destined for a political marriage.
And since the nobles here were so libertine, even if rumors spread about “Emile pledging her life to another girl,” it wouldn’t be that shocking. But any well-matched marriage prospects would definitely fall through. The noble social circle was a breeding ground for gossip.
That’s why, before coming of age, the nobles here tried to keep their children ignorant about such matters, and only handed them off at a marriageable age—leaving the little couples to figure things out themselves. As if that would work.
That was also why, when Emile claimed it was her first time doing such a thing and bit Erika’s nape, the old man burst in and dragged Emile off for a good thrashing.
The problem was, Emile was more active than others and never learned the lesson that curiosity killed the cat. Forbidden from interacting with the opposite sex, but with a low-born experiment subject close at hand to satisfy her curiosity—whether lucky or unlucky, that was Erika.
“If you don’t apologize soon, I’ll strip you and hang you up in my room all day. You know I mean what I say, right?”
“Sorry.”
“Hmph, still being stubborn? Then I’ll just have to punish you a bit… Eh, what did you say?”
“Sorry, I apologize. Erika shouldn’t have looked at Lady Emile with strange eyes. Is that alright now?”
“…”
Emile’s eyebrow twitched. Her golden lion’s mane fluttered in the wind.
After a while, she finally seemed to have sorted out her thoughts and said, “Alright, since you’ve apologized and been so obedient…well, good kids deserve a reward, right? I’m always good to those I approve of.”
With that, Emile started rummaging through the small pouch at her waist, then pulled out a small, round object and handed it to Erika.
“May I ask…what is this?”
“Honey candy. Authentic Hakimi Honey Candy made with Jade Dew Queen Bee Honey I stole from the Honeydew Fairy. It’s the real deal. I bet you’ve never tasted anything like this before?”
Candy?
Come on, I’m not a kid… huh?