Episode 137

“I’ll just stay like this for a moment…”

I buried my face in her chest.

Breathing became difficult due to the hot and ample flesh pressing in from both sides.

“Haah…”

A strange mix of sweat and sweet fruit aromas blended together.

My mind became dizzy from that intoxicating body odor.

‘It’s warm…’

I barely managed to lift my eyes to look up at Irina.

Surely, I thought she must be wearing a very troubled expression.

But…

“!”

Irina’s expression was completely different from my worries.

A strange expression of being thrilled yet happy as her chest was violated.

With her eyes half-closed, the corners of her mouth trembled as she smiled.

‘You liked me enough to kiss my chest anyway.’

As if provoking in such a tone.

Yes.

Irina definitely remembered me kissing her left chest.

And then she realized something.

The strength of her body.

“Huu…”

I was about to be intoxicated by her sweat and chest fragrance.

Somehow, I exhaled just to not drown in pleasure.

“It’s too hot…”

However, noticing my discomfort, Irina whispered enticingly.

Then, as if really wanting to intoxicate me with her body odor, she hugged me tightly while pressing her chest against me.

“!”

Her flesh and body temperature enveloped my whole body.

It was warm, like being held in the arms of a mother I had forgotten about during my orphanage days.

Because of that, I suddenly remembered.

On the day of the purge, just before death, Irina came to me and hugged me.

‘It was like this then, too…’

She made a pillow using her knees for me, and we cried together.

Hot tears fell on my face, making it wet.

Of course, now it’s soaked with sticky sweat droplets.

“…..”

Was it because those memories were intersecting?

I no longer rejected her feelings.

I reached out with both hands and gently embraced her back.

Then…

“!”

Irina, pressing against me with her chest, looked down at me with a suggestive glance.

She grabbed my arm, which was embracing her.

“You can be more comfortable.”

Then, she slid it into her tight t-shirt.

“Do as you please…”

My fingers brushed against her sweaty, sticky skin.

My nails grazed her bra, soaked with sweat.

I slipped my fingers inside and gently caressed her soft skin.

“Haah…”

Irina welcomed my touch with pleasure.

Awakened by the sensation, she pressed her chest even closer in response.

However, at that moment…

Bang!!

The closet door burst open due to her excessive force.

“Eek…!”

Consequently, we tumbled outside.

“Are you okay?”

I hit the floor first, with the Princess landing on top of me.

She barely managed to respond, her face buried in my chest.

“Yeah, you…?”

Before answering Irina’s question, I swiftly scanned the dressing room.

Just moments before, two female employees had been present.

“……”

Luckily, it seemed they had gone down to the first floor to clean.

The sound of their mops could be heard from below.

“I’m okay, too.”

It felt as though we had been in the closet for only a brief moment…

Yet, those women had been gone for quite some time.

“That’s a relief.”

Irina sighed deeply, her cheek resting against my chest.

Then, realizing our proximity, she slowly lifted her head.

“……”

I silently observed her, lying atop me.

She met my gaze, and then…

Simply chuckled awkwardly at our predicament.

“Can you move now?”

“Yes, I thought I was going to suffocate in there.”

I chuckled and caressed her hair.

Gently, I brushed her sweat-dampened hair behind her ear.

“Sorry…”

Irina, regaining her composure after our fall from the closet, shyly covered her lips with her fingers.

She looked as pure and beautiful as ever.

“It’s okay. There wasn’t much space.”

Irina lifted her ample, moist thigh.

Thanks to that, my legs could finally be free from her grasp.

“Huu…”

My whole body was drenched in sweat.

Especially the part of my pants where she had been sitting, which now bore the imprint of her thighs marked by sweat.

Irina fiddled with her shorts, which had burst open as she moved her lower abdomen.

“Haaa…”

Her pained moan, as she tried to fit into the pants, was dizzying.

I looked around for other clothes for her.

‘Lucky.’

I saw a shirt and skirt left by an employee on a chair.

It seemed they had left it carelessly since there was nobody else in the store.

“Wear this.”

Without hesitation, I picked up the clothes and handed them to her.

“Is it okay to wear someone else’s clothes and leave?”

The empire’s 2nd Princess hesitated for a moment.

Then, as if struck by a good idea, she took a brooch out of her dirty dress.

“I’ll borrow it for a moment, Miss.”

Irina gently placed an item on the bench, which was clearly worth an employee’s month’s worth of salary.

As if to compensate for it.

“……”

I admired her for valuing even a single item belonging to the people.

The Princess cherished every belonging of her people.

“Could you turn around for a moment?”

Irina asked, with both hands shyly holding the shirt.

Her murmuring while avoiding my gaze felt somewhat provocative.

“Understood.”

Complying with the Princess’s request, I headed towards the entrance of the dressing room.

And then, I waited, looking out into the corridor to see if someone was coming.

“….”

How long did I wait?

Soon, someone lightly knocked on my shoulder.

“It’s done, Vail. Did you wait long?”

Following Irina’s call, I turned my head.

I thought I could look at her more comfortably now.

But…

“…!”

My expectations were completely off.

“Your Highness, the clothes…”

The employee’s clothes were a bit small for Irina.

Moreover, the fabric of the shirt was too thin.

“Yeah, it’s a bit see-through…”

The tight shirt made the cheerleading outfit underneath visible.

The skirt, too, stretched taut, unable to accommodate her wide hips, making the underwear line prominent.

‘There’s no point in changing like this…!’

Just by looking at it, the cheerleading outfit was provocative.

But wearing it under a neat shirt…

It seemed lewd, as if she had purposely worn it underneath for a risqué event.

Outside, she appeared pure and innocent, but inside, it felt as if she was corrupted like a succubus.

“For now, let’s go outside…”

I took a deep breath and calmed my mind.

“We need to leave here before the employees return.”

I turned my head with a fake cough.

I focused solely on leaving to somehow forget Irina’s enchanting figure.

“Understood.”

I draped my uniform jacket over the Princess’s shoulders.

Afterward, we emerged into the corridor and headed towards the back door of the store.

‘Fortunately, there’s no one around,’

The quiet night streets.

The roads were quite dirty, perhaps because it was the day after the festival.

The sound of breaking glass with every step.

The rustling of paper echoed.

Thanks to that, we moved very cautiously, like thieves.

“Please wait a moment.”

I hid behind the building, wrapping Irina like a precious treasure.

Then, skillfully, I surveyed the surroundings from the shadows.

“……”

She nestled in my jacket and looked up into my serious eyes.

Then, she covered her mouth with her sleeve and chuckled.

“This is no time to laugh.”

I gently scolded her, as if soothing a child.

Then, the Princess wiped the sweat drops from my face with her finger and said,

“No. It’s just that our situation now seems funny.”

Her saying it was fun made me tilt my head in confusion.

Then, Irina’s next words made my eyes sparkle.

“It’s like we’re eloping.”

Eloping.

Yes, there was a similar scene in my previous life.

‘It was probably on the day of the purge, at Irina’s palace.’

But getting caught would be just as bad then as it is now.

If we were caught together like this, we would be summoned by the Emperor again.

‘Still… It’s not as scary as it was in my past life.’

If that day was a desperate elopement to survive…

Now, it’s merely a reckless deviation to hide our secret meeting.

I erased the days that felt like nightmares, now turned into memories, from my mind.

And just as I was about to move forward again…

“Capital Defense Command Unit…!”

Irina’s quiet warning made my eyes sparkle.

Thanks to her, I could spot two lanterns in the distance at the square.

“Night patrol…?”

Usually, on such days, the Defense Knight seniors would be drowned in alcohol.

However, it seemed the discipline had been reinstated recently, thanks to Camilla’s appointment and Senior Mia’s efforts.

“I didn’t expect them to be a hindrance in this way.”

They patrol very thoroughly and for a long time.

We looked around for another escape route from within the shadows.

“This means the seniors are spread out everywhere…”

I sighed deeply inwardly.

And while devising a new escape route…

“Just wait a moment.”

Irina whispered to me, seemingly having a good idea.

She placed her hand on her chest, where her cheerleading outfit was visible beneath.

And then, she quietly activated her aura.

Whoong.

Afterward, she spoke to Allen in a very low voice, using telepathy.

“Uh, Commander? It’s me.”

“Yes, Your Highness. Have you entered safely…?”

Allen answered with a slightly groggy voice, perhaps having been lying down after returning home.

Then, Irina commanded in a voice more regal than when she was with me.

“Yes, I’ve entered safely. But I have a favor to ask you, Commander.”

“Yes, please tell me anything comfortably.”

When the Acting Commander asked, the Princess spoke while looking at the Defense Knights patrolling the square.

“I need a little help from the Defense Knights on my way back…”

With a somewhat sly smile, she said,

“Could you send 10 boxes of beer to the Nostrun branch as an encouragement?”

I looked down at Irina with wide eyes.

Then, the Princess smiled and placed her finger on her lips.

“It would be nice if you could send some snacks along with it.”

“Understood.”

I expected Allen to be annoyed by nature, but he surprisingly responded calmly.

“Thank you. Use the money from my operational fund. And take a box for yourself, too, Commander.”

“Yes, thank you!”

Allen’s voice brightened significantly when Irina graciously allowed him a box of beer.

‘As if to prove he wasn’t from a rough background…’

This guy might have silently complied, aiming for this all along.

“Huhuhu….”

Irina soon suppressed her aura.

And then she looked up at me and smiled.

Like a comrade from a wealthy Knight Group.

“Let’s wait a little longer like this.”

The Princess leaned her face on my shoulder.

Then, feeling her warmth, she closed her eyes for a moment.

“……”

I gently placed my hand on her arm.

In that state, we waited by the wall of the building together.

“Rest easy.”

I looked down at Irina intently.

Her silver crown was just as cute as before.

‘She has changed a lot.’

But she was no longer terrified, like on the day of the purge.

She simply leaned on me comfortably, like a lover.

Moreover, she had developed the ability to resolve situations herself.

“Maybe because it’s night. It’s a bit cold.”

I let her lean a bit more into my embrace.

And I looked down at her fondly, waiting until Allen completed his task.

About 10 minutes later.

“Senior, let’s head back now!”

Reactions began to come from the direction of the square.

“Eh, already…? If we go back early, Mia will tell on us to the Deputy Commander again!”

“They say beer has arrived at the headquarters! They’re going to distribute it to everyone on duty, right?”

The excited voice of a junior in the patrol team resonated.

In response, his senior also replied with a cheerful tone.

“What? Really? Wow! What’s the occasion?”

“Let’s hurry! Everyone says to come back early!”

The sound of military boots gradually faded away.

The Defense Knights returned to headquarters with light steps.

“……”

Thanks to that, the square became quiet once again.

“That was an amazing method.”

“Right? Even our knights praise it.”

Irina gave a mischievous smile.

Some time ago, she had developed a seductive look in her eyes.

“Yes, thank you very much.”

I chuckled and gently stroked her shoulder.

“Shall we go now?”

“Yes, it’s gotten too late.”

We returned to the road again.

And then, walking briskly, we finally arrived near the villa.

“Let’s part ways here.”

“Yes, it would be troublesome if we got caught again…”

Irina looked up at me, catching her breath.

Even she, with her strong stamina, seemed tired from the ordeal in the changing room.

“Hey, Vail.”

I turned around upon hearing Irina’s call as I was heading home.

“Yes…?”

Irina approached me.

And then she spoke, her emerald eyes shining even in the middle of the night.

“Do you remember what I said earlier?”

What she said…

After a moment of thought, I gave the answer that came to mind.

“Are you talking about social status?”

“Yes, about how a commoner can rise in status.”

The empire’s 2nd Princess, with her brilliant silver hair, gazed at me with tender eyes.

“Do you think you know what it is?”

At her cautious question, I closed my eyes tightly.

And then, I took a deep breath.

“Yes, I think I do.”

Upon hearing my answer, Irina held a faint smile in the corner of her mouth.

“Think about it well.”

The Princess’s smile was somehow poignant.

Like those times.

“Now…”

The silver-haired Princess, with my jacket draped over her shoulders.

Carefully, she lifted her heels.

“Because I can protect you.”

The Princess lightly kissed my cheek.

“……”

Her eyes fluttered as she lowered herself from her tiptoes.

Irina slowly turned her head to hide that fluttering.

“I’ll go now.”

Fortunately, the Princess didn’t expect an immediate answer.

As if she were considering me.

“Please go in safely…”

She quietly walked the night streets.

I stared blankly at the Princess’s figure.

Because Irina’s kiss just now was more potent than I thought.

“……”

It was different from the intense kiss in the changing room.

If that time was lost in pleasure…

Just now, it felt like a clear-headed moment, recalling memories I had forgotten.

“Irina…”

The wolf returned alone to the snowy wilderness.

I intently watched the horizon where she had disappeared.

Beyond it, the vast night sky stretched out.

The dark sky was embroidered with red fireworks.

The source of the fireworks was the Central Imperial Palace.

‘It seems the first round of talks has successfully concluded.’

It appeared Rea had safely completed the event.

Lidia too, having successfully finished the hot springs development, freely set off oriental fireworks.

‘……’

I thought of the three princesses in my head.

Then, suddenly, the image of a giant mythological statue standing behind them came to mind.

“This is driving me crazy…”

With chills down my spine, I quietly went home.

On my way back.

Suddenly, I sensed a faint presence of mana.

However, when I turned my head.

The presence had disappeared without a trace.

“Did I see it wrong?”

It must have been a misconception caused by the sudden image of His Majesty the Emperor.

I forcibly erased my anxiety and returned to the entrance of the villa.

In the meantime, a small bird took flight into the night sky.

The creature, barely concealing itself amidst the bright lights and sounds of fireworks, quickly returned.

Toward the west of the capital.