IWAEBS - Chapter 57 < Bubbles are also delicious >



“Yes, Your Majesty. Go ahead.”

To put it simply, when Linel's sexy voice called me, I looked touched as if I had received a confession.

“Doesn’t Princess Shattonil know that you can touch people with just a glance?”

At his words, cracks began to appear on her perfect, pretty face. But soon her expression changed and she smiled brightly.

“I know, too. Ohohoho... Your Majesty is truly a romantic.”

The Princess threw back her pink hair and spoke as if impressed by his words. However, her eyes were still tense, even though she was smiling with her mouth. Having watched the Princess since she was a child, I could tell how bewildered she was now. No one, especially a man, had ever challenged her opinion by saying, “But that’s not what I think.” But the Emperor of the Lapion Empire. And the man who was almost her husband. No, the man she believed she would soon remarry. Didn’t agree with her opinion. She seemed even more shocked when Linel showed affection toward me.

“What do you think, Empress? Am I romantic?”

He wanted to confirm the compliment he had received from Princess Resilia from me. The Princess's gaze upon me was very stinging. I was unconsciously conscious of her and quietly replied to Linel.

“It seems like you’re gradually... changing like that.”

As if I am becoming more and more beautiful in His Majesty's eyes. I whispered the last words so that only he could hear them. He chuckled and patted my thigh under the table. Prince Tesla and Princess Resilia exchanged glances and narrowed their eyebrows at the same time.

“You two... look like you get along really well.”

Prince Tesla, who had been quiet the whole time, looked at him and me intently and said.

“It’s getting better and better.”

After Linel answered the Prince, he pulled my shoulder into his arms and laughed. I quickly got out of Prince Tesla’s arms, looking at his expression, and sat up straight. He had been refraining from showing affection in front of the concubines at my request, but he seemed to think that he didn’t need to be careful in front of the people of Shattonil, the Empress’s home country, and he was more affectionate than usual. 

Normally, it wouldn’t be strange, but that was when I was the ‘real Empress’. His affection was openly revealed in front of the people he really needed to be careful of. This would be really difficult...

“How is the Empress related to these two people?”

I sighed in response to Linel's question. The word 'friendship' was not appropriate.

“I have often seen you at the royal court since I was young.”

If you were born to a noble family, such as a noble lady or a nobleman, or an illegitimate child like me, you hung out with the royals your age when you were young. You were like a living toy. Should I say I was the plaything of the royals? I was just one of them, and I wasn't a close friend of those siblings. There was a time when I believed that.

“We were like real sisters, Your Majesty.”

Princess Resilia suddenly interrupted and chattered with her plump lips.

The lies were so pretty that I wanted to just be fooled. But, did all my sisters burn to death? 

I turned my head to the side, blurted out a curse with my lips, then turned my head again and met eyes with Prince Norton. The Prince raised one corner of his mouth... Did he read my lips? 

I felt awkward for no reason and touched the back of my neck. At that moment, the servants came into the living room with a tray. It was coffee that Princess Resilia had personally brought from the kingdom. A cup of foamy coffee was placed in front of me along with simple snacks. To my eyes, it just looked like a giant soap bubble had been clumped up and placed on a glass.

“Your Majesty, try this! The fragrant and rich vanilla foam doesn’t diminish as you drink the coffee. Of course, the coffee itself is delicious, but this....”

The Princess stopped talking and took a sip of coffee.

“Mmm, the vanilla foam itself tastes good.”

Her upper lip was covered in vanilla foam. Everyone sitting around the table focused their eyes on her lips and her tongue sticking out. 

Ha, what is her intention? 

She stared at Linel, slowly swiping her tongue over the vanilla foam. It was a tempting sight to anyone who saw it. My heart sank, one side of it. I wanted to put vanilla foam on the Princess’s eyes right away.

“The Kingdom of Chateau-O’Neill has a rather unique way of enjoying coffee.”

He slowly turned the coffee cup in his hand and looked at the vanilla foam that did not settle. I missed Linel’s expression as I watched Princess Resilia wiping the foam off with her tongue. Instead, I looked at the expressions of the other two men. The expression of Prince Norton, sitting diagonally across from her, was unpredictable. He certainly seemed surprised, but it was unclear what kind of surprise he was, and Prince Tesla had an expression I often saw at the royal court.

'Kill it or save it?'

He used to look at Princess Resilia like that every time she did something unexpected.

“I enjoy this coffee for its vanilla foamy taste.”

The Princess's body, which had been speaking softly with a look that said, "Are you all in love with me?", suddenly shook.

“Oh my God!”

She accidentally spilled coffee on her hand as she put the cup down. I'm not sure if it was really a mistake.

“Oh, hot, hot, hot!”

Even though the coffee had cooled down a bit, Princess Resilia was acting like someone who had just put her hand in a fire pit and pulled it out. Seeing her making such a fuss in this barely warm weather, my pent-up anger suddenly welled up inside me. Do you know how hot the red liquid you dropped on my right face was? The feeling of burning flesh with a hot piece of iron? 

It was too much pain for a seven-year-old child to bear. However, the stares from people after getting burned were even more painful. If I clenched my fists, Linel might see, so I placed both hands on my knees and tightened my grip. My kneecaps were starting to hurt, but it was nothing compared to the old wounds in my heart.

“Oh, wipe it with this.”

Linel took a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to the Princess politely. It was Prince Norton’s handkerchief. He had squeezed it so hard that it was all crumpled. I glanced at Prince Norton. The Prince’s expression darkened as he handed his handkerchief to the Princess as if he were watching an important document fall into the hands of the enemy. 

Prince Norton’s face also looked like a crumpled handkerchief. The only thing that was blooming in this drawing room was Princess Resilia’s face. She quickly took the handkerchief Linel had handed her and wiped the back of her hand.

“Thank you, Your Majesty! It is an honor for you to give me Your Majesty’s handkerchief.”

Princess Resilia spoke to him in a deeply moved voice. Then Linel said, 'Oh, that handkerchief.' and tried to reveal the owner of the handkerchief.

“I want to keep it. Is that okay?”

She asked shyly, placing a handkerchief over her bulging chest. Are you crazy...? If he allowed her to do so, she seemed ready to put the handkerchief inside her chest at any moment.

“I guess you should ask the Prince about that?”

Linel winked at Prince Norton.

“Huh? What do you mean...?”

Princess Resilia rolled her eyes at the Prince as she continued to speak.

“Because the Prince owns the handkerchief. Originally, I intended to keep the Prince’s handkerchief deep in my heart, but since the Princess seems to like the handkerchief, I am willing to give it up.”

Linel said as if he was doing me a great favor. I laughed at his appearance. On the other hand, the smile disappeared from Princess Resilia's face. She absentmindedly placed the handkerchief she was holding in her hand like a treasure on the table and spoke to Prince Norton with an awkward expression.

“I will return it to you, Your Highness.”

“You can throw it away.”

“Oh, no, it’s a nice handkerchief, but you shouldn’t throw it away.”

“In a world where people are being thrown away, how can a handkerchief be of any use?”

Prince Norton was smiling, but his tone sounded quite aggressive.

"...Yes?"

The Princess swallowed hard and opened her eyes.

“Just throw it away, Princess.”

Prince Norton emphasized once again.

“I’m not the type of person to throw anything away, whether it’s things or people.”

She blinked her eyes and spoke in an innocent voice. Some incomprehensible conversation went back and forth between the two. From the perspective of someone listening to their conversation, it was a bit strange, but the parties involved seemed to understand each other. I feel thirsty for no reason. I want to drink water, but all I see before my eyes is coffee-like soap bubbles. I had no choice but to quench my thirst and take a sip of the coffee that Resilia brought, feeling like I was drinking poison.

“Your Majesty, we will now withdraw to the villa where the VIP room is located.”

Prince Tesla, who had been looking back and forth between Princess Resilia and Prince Norton since earlier, had a much more tired look on his face than when he first saw them.

“Let’s do that. You must be tired from the long journey, so get some rest today, and we’ll have dinner together tomorrow and talk about the hunting competition. And you can talk to the Empress about things you haven’t been able to talk about.”

“Thank you for your consideration.”

Prince Tesla glanced at me and bowed his head slightly to me.

“Are you okay, Empress?”

He asked my opinion. It was a consideration I didn't like at all, but I had no choice but to answer.

“Yes, I will do so, Your Majesty.”

“...Ah, that’s a surprise.”

Linel looked at my face, leaned back, and looked startled.

“Why is that, Your Majesty?”

“Empress, I thought the High Priest had just arrived.”

Linel said, placing his hand on his heart.

“Huh? The High Priest?”

“Your lips.”

He spoke with a laugh, twirling his finger around his mouth.

"Ah!"

It seemed like there was vanilla foam on my lips. Still, that's right. Did you think I was a high priest with a lot of white whiskers when you saw me? 

Does vanilla foam look cute on Princess Resilia's lips, but on me, it looks like a white beard? 

I tried to wipe the vanilla foam off my lips like her, but I gave up. Why did I let go of my hand? I raised my hand to wipe my lips, but what my hand touched was not my lips, but the back of Linel's head. What the?! 

Suddenly, his closed eyes and his long eyelashes came into view. And before I could say anything, I felt a stubbornly sweet touch on my lips. It was Linel's lips.

He was wiping the vanilla foam off the corner of my mouth with his own mouth.

“The foam is also delicious.”

It took a few more strokes of his lips before his lively, sassy voice found its way into my mouth.

“The love between you two is... deep. It is truly a joyous... thing for the royal family of Shattonil.”

Prince Tesla asked him with a wicked smile as if he was teasing him. As he did so, the Prince looked at me and played with his little finger with his other hand, then moved it to the area near his wrist. Disgusting. His gesture seemed like a warning, a threat that he might blow Bonis's wrist off next time.

“It still seems like I’m the only one who’s deep.”

Linel responded curtly to Prince Tesla.

“Huh? Is it only Your Majesty who is deep?”

“If I don’t go to the Empress like this, I won’t have another chance. It’s a rare opportunity, so please excuse me.”

He lifted his teacup slightly and chuckled. His words just now seemed to have saved me and Bonis.

“Oh my... Your Majesty, please be a little more gentle with me.”

Prince Tesla spoke as if deliberately urging me.

“Understand, Your Majesty. The Empress has never been affectionate since she was young.”

His coquettish voice was quite irritating, but he wasn't lying.

“Oh, you seem like a consistent person.”

But Linel looked at me with admiration as if he had heard my praise.

“?”

I was really curious about what kind of expression I was making right now. I couldn't frown or smile at his words.

“Anyway, I got to taste some vanilla foam thanks to the coffee the Princess brought. Thank you.”

He spoke to Princess Resilia, his eyes fixed on my lips. A look of discomfort crossed her face, and she eventually got up from her chair before Prince Tesla.

“I, I will also go back to the VIP room now...”

*** 

The two siblings of the Shattonil royal family hurried out of the main palace, got back into the carriage, and headed to the annex where the VIP room was.

“What good does that little bitch have for wiping the foam off her lips and sitting there?”

From the moment she got on the carriage, Princess Resilia's irritation began.

“Resilia, close your mouth!”

She pouted at Prince Tesla's scolding. The Prince was about to lose his mind just thinking about Norton's problems.

'That mercenary knight of unknown origin turns out to be the Prince of the Parsha Empire? And he survived after falling off a cliff?'

*** 

The two people who arrived at the villa were guided to the VIP floor where they would be staying. Prince Tesla entered the VIP room assigned to the Princess together.

“What on earth were you thinking when you did something like that! I told you to just smile and do nothing!”

Even though he warned her before she came to the Lapion Empire, Prince Tesla shouted as soon as the bedroom door closed. Before he brought up Prince Norton, he first scolded her for her behavior in the reception room.

“Brother, how the hell did Zelda roast the emperor? This doesn't make sense.”

Princess Resilia ignored the Prince's scolding and was indignant at Linel's attitude of not showing any interest in her.

“What the hell is going on, damn it...”

Prince Tesla was equally annoyed.

“Did Zelda feed him something strange? Otherwise, how could the Emperor look at something like that with such longing eyes!”

“Keep your voice down, you punk!”

Prince Tesla put his hand to his forehead.

“Then why don’t you just spill coffee on her when you don’t want to see her?”

“Ah, I don’t know, I don’t know! Brother, please get me a magic potion that changes eye color.”

“What? What are you talking about out of the blue?”

“Zelda, I hate it when that girl and I have the same color.”

She began to comb her voluminous pink hair, sweeping it to one side.

“If possible, wouldn’t it be better if it were black eyes that you couldn’t even tell who’s in them?”

The Princess, who had been frowning, looked into the mirror and quickly spoke in a cuckoo-like voice.

“Stop talking nonsense.”

Prince Tesla loved seeing himself reflected in Zelda's clear pink eyes. Zelda with black eyes... It didn't suit her at all. Even though Resilia was his sister, he couldn't help but sigh when she would occasionally throw such ridiculous tantrums.

“You really didn’t know that guy was the Prince of the Parsha Empire?”

Prince Tesla asked, placing his hand on his forehead.

“If I had known, would I have betrayed Norton and followed the Royal Knights? But it’s strange. Why did he hide the fact that he was the Prince from me?”

“Haa, that might have been because there was a lot of bloodshed within the Parsha Imperial Family.”

“Oh, the 2nd Prince killed the 1st Prince and started a rebellion?”

“Yes. That’s why he came to the Northern Continent, but he probably didn’t want to reveal his identity.”

'You son of a bitch, there was no reason for you to survive off the cliff, right? You're the 3rd Prince.'

Prince Tesla sneered bitterly.

“I have to meet Norton.”

Princess Resilia, who was rolling her eyes and biting her fingernails, spoke with a determined look in her eyes.


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