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Episode 6
“Princess Haran, this is your servant, Shubat.”
Lucius opened his eyes.
It seemed it was already seven in the morning.
The elderly servant’s voice came again, urging a response.
The stubborn old man, Shubat, who had guided Lucius the previous night, had been annoyingly insistent about old traditions. Lucius had summoned one of the demons under his control and manipulated Shubat’s mind. Thanks to that, all the troublesome formalities had been skipped, and he had spent his time leisurely bathing at the Ketulta Spring while waiting for Haran to summon him.
“My sister is still sleeping, so she says not to disturb her and just go back.”
“Your Highness, I must confirm it according to protocol. You understand that I must also report to the Great Sultan.”
Shubat stubbornly insisted.
Many assassination attempts have taken place in royal bedchambers over the years. That was why confirming the safety of a royal after spending the night was important.
“Then do whatever you want.”
Taking that as permission from Haran, Shubat ordered his attendants to open the door.
As the door opened, Shubat froze at the strangely intimate sight before him.
The princess was sleeping peacefully, leaning against the beautiful body of her slave.
“Princess Haran…?”
Shh.
Lucius smiled with curved eyes and pressed a finger to his lips.
Then he turned his head and kissed Haran on the lips.
“Mmm…”
Haran responded in her sleep.
The face hidden behind Shubat’s long white beard turned bright red.
As a servant responsible for the royal bedchambers, he had witnessed countless scandalous scenes. He had seen things thousands of times more shocking than this. In Visenna’s case, there had once been only one slave entering the room at night, yet by morning, there had somehow become five.
But this…
For the first time in a very long while, Shubat felt embarrassed, as though he were peeking into a lover’s private bedroom.
Lucius acted as if he were marking Haran as his own, deliberately planting lingering kisses all over her face.
Her forehead.
Her nose.
Her cheeks.
Her ears.
There was no need to ask what had happened during the night.
The warm, heavy air filling the bedroom answered that question well enough.
“Ahem. If Her Highness starts coughing, ring the bell on the bedside table.”
“I’ll do that.”
Shubat quickly left the room.
Lucius leisurely stroked the smooth hair of the princess he had captured.
His violet eyes slowly wandered over every part of Haran.
The Public Enemy of the Century and a princess.
It was an excellent combination.
I’ll swallow her whole.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Without even letting Haran realise it herself.
Haran slowly opened her sleepy eyes.
“…And so the princess set out on a long journey to defeat the dragon and rescue the knight trapped in the tower… The knight must have been really handsome, right, Keban?”
Beside the bed sat Iraz and the monkey Keban, reading a fairy tale together while sitting side by side on chairs.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Ook-ook!”
Haran quietly glanced at the spot beside her.
Lucius was gone.
“Where’s Lucius?”
“The first thing you do after waking up is look for your slave? Looks like you really enjoyed last night. Princess Haran, how was your first night?”
Iraz asked cheerfully.
“It was incredible.”
In more ways than one.
During her impulsive kiss with Lucius, Haran had felt something unfamiliar pressing against her backside.
As she wondered what it was, she realised it was steadily growing larger.
The colour drained from her face.
Unbelievably, Lucius’s body had reacted to her.
And the damage has been far too enormous.
She had gotten swept up in the atmosphere of the early dawn and kissed him without thinking, but if things had continued, Lucius looked like he wouldn’t have stopped halfway.
It seemed he would have gone all the way.
Fortunately, she had fainted before anything more could happen.
Or maybe that wasn’t fortunate…
It really was nice, though.
And that was exactly the problem.
Had she enjoyed it because she was kissing a handsome man?
Or because it was Lucius?
Touching her swollen lips, Haran remembered the feeling of Lucius’s lips.
She wondered what kind of food could perfectly describe that soft sensation.
Then she felt disgusted with herself for thinking such things.
What a pervert.
So kissing doesn’t count under the contract.
That explained why Lucius had obeyed the contract so willingly.
There had been a loophole she hadn’t known about.
Thinking about what that meant for the future made her want to beat her chest in frustration.
“So where did Lucius go?”
“He said he was bored because he had nothing to do until Your Highness coughed, so he went for a walk in the garden.”
“In that outfit?”
Was he really wandering around the dangerous palace dressed like that?
“I tried to stop him because I thought someone might pounce on him, but he didn’t care. Still, since the Great Sultan personally gifted him to you, nobody would be stupid enough to touch him. Then again… this palace is full of idiots, so who knows?”
“Ook…”
Iraz and the winged monkey Keban sighed at the same time.
“I should go find him.”
Haran immediately jumped out of bed.
As she sat up, the strap of her dress slipped down, exposing part of her upper body.
Her pale skin was completely flawless.
Iraz covered her mouth in surprise.
“My goodness, Princess. Weren’t you a little too focused on the act itself? Your body is way too spotless.”
“T-There are people like that.”
“The others in your family aren’t. After Princess Visenna’s first night, she spent months wrapping herself in decorations and layers of cloth. Almost like she was showing off.”
“Is Visenna some kind of monster? How much stamina does she even have?”
“I heard she runs for two hours every day, wearing heavy sandbags to prepare for passionate nights.”
“That’s truly impressive dedication. Really impressive. You have to admire Visenna’s commitment when it comes to that sort of thing.”
Haran clapped three times.
It was her personal way of silently expressing admiration for someone.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
A tapping sound came from the window.
Looking over, she saw a winged monkey floating outside, wearing a red uniform embroidered with golden thread.
It was one of the shared messenger monkeys borrowed from the Monkey Palace by servants.
“Open it.”
“Ook—!”
Keban spread his wings and flew over, opening the window with his tiny hands.
“Ook-ook-ook!”
The messenger monkey politely bowed to Haran.
Then it greeted Keban happily.
“Ook.”
“Ook-ook.”
Messenger monkeys had social rankings, too.
Those without a palace affiliation or a trainer named Davand were considered low status.
But Keban had a friendly personality and got along with everyone regardless of rank.
The messenger monkey opened its mouth, and a human voice came out.
“Princess Haran. The highest-grade slave, Lucius, is currently at the Great Sultan’s royal tailoring room. The Great Sultan has ordered that clothing be made from fabrics worthy of standing beside Your Highness.”
“Understood.”
As Haran nodded, the messenger monkey bowed again and flew out through the open window.
“Looks like Grandpa Shubat gave a very enthusiastic report to the Great Sultan first thing this morning. For the slave to receive a reward like this…”
Iraz teased her.
Haran’s cheeks immediately turned pink.
Lucius followed several attendants through what seemed like an endless sea of fabrics.
Spider-people with six hands busily cut cloth, measured patterns, and ironed garments.
After passing through the bustling workshop, he stepped through a luxurious red curtain decorated with golden tassels.
Sultan Faisad was seated at a table, leisurely enjoying a glass of iced tea.
What exactly is this supposed to be?
Lucius tilted his head with a crooked smile.
“May the Great Sultan permit his servant Mard to speak.”
“Permission granted.”
“As ordered, I have brought the highest-grade slave, Lucius.”
Clink.
Faisad set down his teacup.
An icy atmosphere instantly filled the room.
The attendants trembled.
Lucius didn’t move an inch.
“Leave us.”
“We obey the command of the Great Sultan.”
The attendants bowed deeply and withdrew, closing the curtain behind them.
Strangely, the moment they left, it felt as if the entire space had been isolated.
Not a single sound from outside could be heard.
“What are you?”
“What do you mean by that? I’m a slave.”
“That is not what I meant. I was asking what I should call you.”
Faisad grinned, showing his teeth.
“The Public Enemy of the Century? The Demon of Twilight? The Emerging Nightmare? The Writhing Darkness? Or is Lucius truly the name you mentioned yourself?”
Did I underestimate him?
The Sultan of the Baral Kingdom had already figured out Lucius’s true identity.
“Call me Lucius. Haran already does.”
Lucius answered casually, as if it were nothing important.
“The fact that you’re still here means you failed to seduce my daughter.”
Faisad laughed heartily.
He trusted his youngest daughter, Haran.
If she didn’t truly want someone, she would never casually give them her first night.
And even if a demon tried to tempt her, she would never move according to his wishes.
“You won’t easily get what you want anyway.”
Faisad elegantly lifted his teacup once more.
White and blue steam curled upward from it.
Steam from iced tea?
Lucius immediately understood why and smiled.
“Ah. So she already belongs to someone?”
