SWNOVELXO chapter 231
Chapter 231 – Side Story: Crown Princess Laura
“When are you going to tell me that you’re a woman?”
In response to my question, Laura leaned back on the sofa with her characteristic smile on her face. Seeing her sipping the teacup in her hand, I thought she had no intention of answering, but surprisingly, she answered.
“It will be revealed someday. I think I told you this before, but why are you suddenly doing this?”
“It’s like this. Isn’t it pitiful?”
I poked at the delicious-looking strawberry chocolate cake on the appetizer plate with my fork.
There were also a wide variety of other items. From famous desserts like Mont Blanc, Mille-feuille, and macarons, to dozens of other sweet treats whose names I had no idea about.
They were all sent by Eichenhardt to appeal to what a homely woman she was.
“You don’t know. It is a great honor to be able to exchange gifts with the Crown Prince in person. How many people in the Empire do you think would be able to deliver a gift sent privately to me without any censorship?”
It wasn’t a wrong statement. It didn’t feel that way at all when we were together, but Laura of this world is clearly the one who has been reserved for the next emperor.
The fact that you can send a gift to someone like that at any time would be a special privilege of a very high level, even if they are a member of one of the three major dukes of the empire.
“And, thanks to that, I was able to help the Crown Prince, so isn’t that a good thing?”
Laura smiled at me, still delighted that I had found the dessert she had made herself in this mountain of plates.
That’s why I brought it here in the first place.
“That’s true, but doesn’t that mean I won’t be shocked when I find out later that you’re a girl?”
I asked Priscilla, who was just picking strawberries from the cake and munching on them. Next to me, Rosaria was happily emptying her dessert plate. Thanks to that, Rosaria was the only one who was getting a good meal.
Even though we usually like this to the point where we would eat dessert instead of rice if it weren’t for us, there is a subtle difference between ready-made and homemade products, no matter how high-end they are.
Especially when the quality of homemade products, like Eichenhardt’s, is comparable to that of high-end ready-made products. That’s why it’s fun to compare tastes.
In reality, it’s just about eating.
“It’s okay. She has a fiancé scheduled. I expect it will take at most… … Yes. She’ll be able to forget me in a month or two.”
“… … What? No, what did you say?”
It was Rosaria’s words, not mine. It was so shocking that I couldn’t stop munching on the cake in my mouth and just bite it back.
“Is that true? That he was talking nonsense to you even though he had a fiancé?”
“Didn’t you say she was a planned engagement? That means she was planning to get married. She was the second son of a famous marquis. That’s why the woman’s father said it was okay for him not to reveal the truth. He needed a reason to wait while the second son of the marquis matured into a man.”
“But that’s true. In the end, it only works if Eichenhardt likes it.”
“Don’t worry about it. Why do you think that girl liked me?”
“Well. Money? Fame? Status?”
“You’re all wrong.”
Laura shook her head and tapped her cheek with her finger.
“That’s why. Duke Renitus himself personally admitted it to me. The male version of me has a handsome androgynous face. The second son of the Marquis also has a handsome androgynous face, so we’ll be a match made in heaven.”
“Wait a minute. No, that guy is an idiot? He says and does things like that?”
“She is quite loyal to a man she has fallen in love with, but on the other hand, she is a woman who calculates quickly. Even if it is revealed that I am a woman, she is not the type of person who can maintain love. If that happens, she will quickly give up on her feelings, and naturally, she will be attracted to a man who is working hard to win her heart.”
“Uh, um.”
Priscilla swallowed the strawberry that was rolling around in her mouth. Her thoughts seemed complicated.
“Considering that you’ve been clinging to me since the moment you first saw me, you probably aren’t the type to change your mind easily. It’s just that this factor takes up a significant portion of your time when looking at men.”
His fingers touched her cheek again.
“Do you understand why I said it was okay to just leave her alone? It’s because there’s already a man who’s completely smitten with her and is trying hard to please her, and if we broke up for no other reason than because I’m a woman, I’d be the type of person to quickly move on.”
If it was not someone else but Youngae Eichenhardt’s own father who made that judgment, then it would not be a completely baseless speculation. In that case, we had nothing to say either.
Rosaria was eating a piece of cake with a slightly drowsy expression on her face, which had been as happy as death. Still, it seemed to be delicious, as the corners of her mouth kept twitching upwards.
“Going back to the beginning, when it comes to the question of when I will reveal my true gender… … .”
Laura, with her legs crossed seductively, her elbows resting on her raised knees and her chin resting on them, looked at me intently and said:
“I will answer you shortly.”
“Mr. Mira is a stone. He is not a human.”
“Me? Me what?”
While the Holy Spirit was still examining whether or not he could still intervene in time, Latina suddenly opened her mouth. Nika, who was running errands next to her, nodded in agreement.
“That’s right. It doesn’t make sense for a human being to share so much energy with someone and never touch them. And to a succubus… … No. Not even a normal succubus, but a succubus queen!”
“hey…….”
I was wondering why he was acting like that all of a sudden. I looked at him in disbelief.
“When I first heard that Priscilla had succeeded, I thought things would be smooth sailing. She even motivated me in front of everyone. But nothing has changed, and Mira is still the same. It’s ridiculous.”
“That’s right. How difficult is it to wait in line?”
“Even though I regularly pumped Erestica’s milk, nothing happened. I was really shocked. Mira, you’re not a person, you’re a stone.”
“… … It’s for periodic release to prevent your breasts from getting bigger or more painful.”
“Nothing will change even if you say it indirectly.”
He coughed and avoided eye contact. The stabbing gaze felt even more painful.
“That’s okay. I understand. I always hope that Mira-san will do well. I hope that she will be happy as much as she has suffered. So, let’s start working hard from now on. Then, someday, we can take turns in bed every day.”
“That was a truly moving speech, Latina… … .”
Nika clapped her hands next to me, pretending to wipe away tears. If Beatrice had been there, she would never have dreamed of such an action. She was very relieved that she had been sent out for a while because of the scrotum.
-Thud!
Perhaps because of the shock from clapping, one of the buttons on her already precarious chest was ripped off. Her clothes rip open from side to side, completely exposing her lower chest.
The remaining buttons screamed in agony. It reminded me of a spider-man stopping a subway train, or a spider-man blocking a cruise ship.
I didn’t say anything because I knew it was an intentional exposure. I’ve seen her stick out her chest like that when she’s with me, but then wrap it up and hide it when she goes outside.
“Why do you look like that, Master?”
“I thought you were trying to get a Latina too.”
Although her personality was 180 degrees different from back then, she had a strange power to grab my heart, perhaps because she was a former saint. Even now, she is still exerting that power without holding back.
Even if it wasn’t intentional, unlike the other seven who had become close through hardships and joys together for seven years, he had been sleeping all the time until I came back, so there was no time to become close, but he still got along well.
“Do you not like it? If you do not like it, then fix it.”
“No. Do whatever you want.”
“Really? Then— ah!”
“Not in that direction.”
Nika, who was hit on the forehead while trying to transform into a queen, held her forehead and cried. It’s better to be lively.
“Okay. Nothing else is detected.”
Latina took her hand off the lance. I also took the lance away. The golden light that filled the room disappeared, and the original color returned.
“Fortunately… … No, I’m not sure if it’s fortunate.”
“There is no information right now, so there is nothing we can do. The only way is to keep watching. Did you say something was detected during the last Gate incident?”
I nodded. When I used the Holy Spear to get out of that ridiculous place where the gate itself was a monster, I felt something was slightly off. That’s why I watched it for a few weeks and said it today.
“If it’s been okay so far, it should continue to be okay. I can’t be sure though, since faith is still flowing in.”
The faith of the people of this world was still not in the goddess or the demon god, but in the Holy Spear. To be exact, the faith dedicated to the goddess was being accumulated in the Holy Spear to replace the goddess who had disappeared.
The Holy Spear gave divinity to those people in place of the Goddess. Before I knew it, the Holy Spear was becoming a concept similar to a religion in this world.
“You don’t know where it’ll end up, right? Okay. I’ll be careful.”
“You don’t have to be careful. Whatever it is, a holy spear is a holy spear. If it helps Mira-ssi, it won’t cause any harm.”
“If that’s the case, then that’s good.”
As I stood up and put away my spear, Nika came running towards me.
“Are you finished?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Tell Laura to come to the library, she’ll be waiting for you.”
“library?”
“He left.”
“I checked it too.”
After Mira headed to the library of Bellium Academy with a strange expression on her face, Latina and Nika, who were left behind, muttered quietly.
“Laura, you are a much bolder woman than I thought. A library? What a very unexpected place.”
“I had a feeling it was going to happen ever since I heard Priscilla say that at the movie theater… … .”
In fact, the two had guessed about Laura’s plan.
Even if it was purely coincidental. If Laura hadn’t come to Latina on the day she decided to carry out her plan and complained about something strange in Seongchang, she would have found out after everything was done.
Nika and Latina said that on purpose, in their own way, to help.
“Who do you think will be next?”
“It’s most likely Ciel-san or Leona-san.”
That’s also because their interests coincide. Latina wants Mira to be happy, and Nika has no reason to refuse the relationship from developing in that direction.
“It’s still a shame though. Because in a library, there are a lot of restrictions on what you can do.”
“… … .”
This point was a little different.
Not a little, but a lot.