Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 4 Chapter 6

Chapter 6 - Ancient palace's abandoned garden

Part 1

“Uu~n…”

Ash woke up after touching something that felt soft and comfortable.

He felt that he had been sleeping for quite a long time.

There was a ticking sound coming from beside his pillow. He stretched his hand to search for the source and touched something cold.

It was the silver watch that Oswald awarded to him last night.

-The Proof of a Dragner.

For all the citizens of the Knight Country, everyone had dreamed of getting their hands on this silver watch. Ash flipped open the cover and took a glance.

The outer design was made that the inner structure could be seen. The movement of the quaint and complicated gear mechanism for each and every second would make people stare at it in awe.

The position of the pointed was at twelve sharp.

“Is it already noon…”

This energetic feeling that he had after waking up might as well be the first time in his whole life.

Also what is this fruity smell? This refreshing smell had some sweetness in it and it felt like a smell that teenage girls would like.

The main point is, this bolster is very good. Not only that it is soft, it also felt warm. It also could change its shape according to Ash’s will. Just as expected of a bedding set prepared in Fontain City…

-Stop, hold on! I remember very well that no bolster was prepared.

When he found out in surprise that his memories contradicted with reality, Ash immediately rubbed his sleepy eyes.

“Sss… Sss…”

Prim who was only in her underwear was sleeping soundly next to Ash.

The thing that Ash thought was a bolster was actually Prim’s soft body. Just like a child embracing its mother, Ash had his face sunk deep into the valley.

Ash only now realized what the extremely soft object was.

“Uwaaaaa! W-Why is Prim-san sleeping here!”

Ash jumped in shock.

Even while someone was shouting beside her, Prim was still sleeping soundly.

“Hey… What is this ruckus about?”

There was a sound of disparagement coming from the bed beside. It was Eco. She sat up while rubbing her sleepy eyes then she stared at Ash angrily.

For a moment, Eco’s expression froze.

“Hey… What’s the big idea? Why is Prim sleeping on your bed?”

“Please calm down, Eco! I was also wondering why!”

“Then… how are you going to explain the maid attire that is scattered all over the floor.”

Following Eco’s sight, indeed the floor was full of Prim’s maid attire.

“Hmm… I see.”

There was a black killing intend surrounding Eco and sounds like ‘Gggggggg' could somehow be heard.

“Hey… I had told you a few times, no? You are not my master; I am the master! But you take the opportunity of your master sleeping… to lure a maid into your bed… and did this and that to her, no?”

Eco was still naïve the time she was born, but in this few months she had learned quite a number of things about humans. The dragons have storage of knowledge that had been passed down since ancient times- The Dragonweiss. Eco can obtain any knowledge if she searched using it.

But Eco had obviously misunderstood.

“S-Stop! That’s not it! I did nothing! It is the truth!”

“The truth is right in front of my eyes, who would believe what you say!”

At the same time when Eco was going to explode, someone slammed the door open.

“Ash! Are you alright! I thought that I heard something weird…"

It was Silvia who banged into the room and following behind her was Cosette. They had probably heard Ash’s voice in the corridor and came to make sure.

“Hey, Ash… Why is Prim… sleeping on your bed… in only her underwear?”

Once she found out about Prim, Silvia made the same frightening expression as Eco.

The familiar lines could be heard once again.

“A knight must not commit fornication before marriage!”

Silvia was jinxing when she approached Ash with steady footsteps.

“I swear that… I’ll never forgive you!”

To synchronize with Silvia’s footsteps, Eco leaped from her bed towards Ash.

Ahh... Stop. Followed by this pattern will be…

It will be useless even if he tries to protest. Ash could only leave the rest to fate.

“I’m gonna trample you!”

“This is the Lautreamont’s family rules!”

Part 2

“S~sorry! It is my fault… I had mistaken the rooms, and also slept on Ash-sama’s bed. I’m really sorry!”

Prim, who had finally woken up, cleared up the misunderstandings as she explained in tears.

“By the way… I wanted to inform you something about tonight’s dress code."

Cosette gently spoke as if end the quietness:

“Tonight? Aah… The Masquerade ?”

Cosette nodded after Ash asked.

“That’s right. If it is alright, I hope that you will allow Eco to try on some evening dresses.”

“Would you also lend me some cute evening dresses this time?”

Upon hearing Cosette, Eco became excited. Her eyes were glittering right now and she had totally forgotten about her anger.

“Ufufu. I have prepared the best evening dress that suits this ball for you. But…”

“But…”

“I’m going to be busy with princess’s dressing today so the person who will assist Eco will be-“

Cosette showed a bitter smile and glanced at Prim.

“Will be in Prim’s hands.”

Eco was shocked by what she had said and immediately lost her temper.

“Hold on! This clumsy maid will be in charge of my dressing? Are you kidding me!”

“Uuuuugh”

After she heard Eco’s heartless critiques, Prim gave a deep sigh while pressing against her chest. After seeing that, Cosette placed her hand on her shoulder and smiled.

“Please rest assured. Although onee-chan is always clumsy, good at destroying things, frequently enters the wrong room, her brains are not that bright and also lack of energy just like an human being dragged by her breasts, but…”

“Please stop! Cosette-san! Prim-san is nearly in tears!”

Ash immediately reminded her and Cosette was mumbling something like ‘Ara ara, oh no’ and immediately covered her mouth with her hand.

“H-How can you… So Onee-chan is such a person in your eyes...”

Prim who had been crying was looking down and sat on the floor without any spirit. She could be seen mumbling with tears in her eyes with something like: ‘Since I'm just a useless girl…’.

“Ufufu. You should have listened until the end before taking any action, onee-chan. For a useless sister like you, you are better at picking beautiful things than me.”

“That’s absolutely correct!”

Upon being praised, Prim rose from the ground just like a corpse being reborn.

“Is it true…?”

Eco didn’t even try to hide her suspiciousness and glanced at Prim.

“You need not worry about anything. I will take care of everything. I swear that I will find Eco an evening dress that matches with her best!”

Prim who received motivation from Cosette was no longer in her timid self. She shook her busty breast and made the declaration.

Part 3

After lunch, Eco was dragged to the changing room by Prim. Ash who had nothing to do was lying on the bed lazily.

“Guys can relax at times like this.”

Ash had decided to attend the ball with the suit that he wore yesterday when he had dinner with Oswald. The suit was hanging by the wall right now.

In conclusion, guys just need to choose a black suit to attend but it is different for a girl.

-Knock Knock…

Upon hearing the door knocks, Ash jumped up from the bed.

It is impossible for Eco and Prim to return this early.

“Who is it…?”

Ash was a little nervous when he couldn’t figure out who was knocking.

“Please wait for a moment!”

After informing the person on the other side of the door, Ash covered his naked left arm with bandages. To him, this just could be considered as a normal routine, so he only spent less than thirty seconds to complete the bandages.

There was amazing symbols that looked like a poisonous black snakes branded on his left arm.

That is the proof of Ash’s contract with the dragons- ‘Seikoku’.

Normally, the size of a ‘seikoku’ will never be larger than the size of a palm but only Ash’s ‘Seikoku’ was overly large. Because it looked like a bad omen, Ash had always had it hidden.

Ash who had dealt with the bandages slowly open the door.

Fragrance of roses slowly entered the room.

“Princess!”

“W-Why were you startled?”

That’s right, Silvia was standing at the doorway with a poker face. Her white blouse paired with a blue skirt- It is a fresh sight which can be rarely seen at the academy.

“Err… Can you spare me some of your time, I just wanted to have a talk.”

“Alright…”

Ash invited Silvia to enter his room which having a look out in the corridor. Luckily there isn’t a single soul in the corridor. Ash gave a sigh of relieve and quickly close the door. If this scenario was seen by someone from the palace… Ash felt that his life was threatened just by thinking about it.

“…”

After she looked around in the room, Silvia chose to sit on the bed out of all places.

-W-Why must you sit at there…! Why not on the sofa…!

“Anything wrong? Why don’t you have a seat too?”

Upon saying, Silvia tapped at the place beside her.

Ash gave a gulp while swallowing his saliva and sat beside Silvia.

“…”

Even when she came here with some intentions, Silvia’s mouth still remains shut.

“That’s it. Don’t you need to put on your evening dress?”

Ash who can no longer bear with the silence asked.

Silvia answered softly with her poker face:

Basically, I have already decided what to wear. But… there were some parts that were too tight. So it was brought to the tailor to have its adjustment done.

“But you don’t look like you have grown fatter?”

Silvia immediately blushed.

“I’m talking about my chest! My breast has grown since last year… Look at what you had made me say!”

“S-Sorry!”

The moment Silvia straightened her body; her beautifully shaped breasts were bouncing up and down. Ash immediately averted his eyes.

“Since it was brought to the tailor, don’t you need to wait beside?”

“The measurement has already been taken. So before the tailor is done adjusting, there is nothing that I can do.”

At this moment, Silvia was looking downwards embarrassly, and spoke after a few seconds of making up her mind:

“Err… I want to say that, since both of us are free, we could have a little chat. O-Of course that if you feel that I am a bother, then I will take my leave…”

Ash gave a wry smile. When he saw Silvia being nervous, Ash on the other hand had calmed down.

“Nope, I am free right now. Eco and Prim are not in and when I think about the masquerade, I don’t feel like taking a tour in the town.

“Is it so… great.”

Silvia looked spiritless. She was no longer her usual energetic self. She looked as if she wanted to say something important but she didn’t know how to convey it. So Ash tried to give her a push.

“If you are worried about something, I will be glad to hear it out. I think that a Princess who was born in the Royal Knight’s Family will carry a larger burden compare to a peasant like me. So… I don’t know how much I am able to help you but I am ready to hear out what you want to say."

Silvia lifted her head and looked at Ash with her clear blue eyes. Maybe he was too sensitive towards her expression, he thought that she somehow became relieved

“I see. So it means that you are willing to listen to my troubles, no?”

Part 4

“Haa… This too is still lacking.”

Eco was facing some trouble in the changing room on the second floor. Because she had been searching for some time and she still couldn’t find one dress that will make her say ‘This is the one’.

“Do you like this?”

Prim was getting nervous and she rubbed of her sweat on her forehead.

“Everyone will dress themselves up to their best in a ball, no? As a noble dragon girl, how could I lose to a stupid and ignorant human. Especially that Silvia!”

Eco declared while crossing her arms in front of chest.

“Or do you think that, I, have no chance of winning against Silvia?”

“I-I daren’t say so! The thing is… I am curious regarding why are you always trying your best to compete against Silvia? Could it be… it is because of Ash-sama?”

Eco immediately blushed.

“W-W….What are you talking about! It has nothing to do with him!”

Prim bend her neck to a side and continued to stare at Eco.

“Suspicious!”

“Nothing suspicious!”

“But the relationship between Ash-sama and Silvia-sama is not something to joke about. I was shocked during yesterday’s dinner. Because it was the first time I saw Silvia-sama to have a close relationship with a guy when talking to him.”

“Urgh…”

After Prim finished talking, Eco felt insecure. That's right, Ash and Silvia had been getting better in the recent days.

-To leave me as the owner at a side to have an affair with some female animals? What is this! Why don’t I just squash him flat today!

No, Ash is the true owner.

Basically, Eco knew this. Even so, she refused to admit it because of her pride.

Is Ash fed up with my attitude? So he rather chooses to mix with some female animals?

Apart from Silvia, there is Rebecca, Jessica and Lukka to name a few… There seems to be many females with great charms around Ash.

Recently, the waitress in the student’s restaurant- The female animal who is called Anya was also a little suspicious. She kept on asking things about Ash. She probably is also interested in Ash…

“Eco-chan, do you hate Princess?”

The sudden question brought Eco back to her sense.

“I don’t hate her… during the Selective Training Camp, she was generous enough for allowing me to ride on Lancelot. But her breasts made me mad!”

Prim smiled bitterly and sighed with a heavy tone:

“Eco-chan, you must be suffering a lot.”

“…Suffer what?”

Eco was startled.

After Prim paused for a moment, she said:

“Because… Ash-sama is a human and you are a dragon. One day in the future, Ash-sama will get married with a human girl and have children together- Aah, Eco-chan!”

Before Prim could manage to finish her sentence, Eco suddenly ran through the door to the corridor.

“Eco-chan! Please stop! I-I … Did I say something bad!?”

Prim was chasing behind her but Eco kept on running forward without even turning her head back.

This is frustrating!

Eco didn’t understand why was she this frustrated.

But her frustration and anger had urged her to keep on running.

She was not angry about Prim. Eco knew well that Prim said that without any bad intention.

Ash and Eco are bound together by the contract. They shared their life and death together. Eco had always believed that there is no stronger bond than this and thus she was assured of their relationship.

So she had never thought of Ash being taken away by someone.

But- Ash is a human and Eco is a dragon.

Just in case what Prim stated was true…

If Ash fell in love and decide to settle down…

Then what am I to him?

“Uuuu… *Hick*”

Eco was running aimlessly in tears.

“Tsk… I already knew the answer… That guy is the real owner-”

That’s right… in the far future, I will only be treated as a pet dragon.

As a pet, she could only wish for Ash’s happiness from the side. She will pass her days by eating when she is hungry and shake her tail when she has nothing to do just like a tamed beast…

“Urgg… This kind of life is just too sad....”

That is not the kind of love Eco wants from Ash.

Her chest was like being bound tightly. It is painful. Just too painful.

With her head filled with mixed emotions, Eco was running wildly. She ran down the stairs and passed through the hall towards the entrance.

The guards immediately tried to stop her. Since the ball is going to be held, the security is tighter.

“You there! Stop!”

When her wrist was being held, Eco angrily showed her teeth. After struggling the guards were knocked like dried leaves. One by one the guards were knocked off by Eco.

No matter how strong the soldiers are, they were just like puppets when they were facing Eco.

“Uuu…”

But, this incident made Eco realize more that she is born a dragon. Just by thinking that human guys didn’t like abnormally strong girls, more of her tears flowed out.

Eco was outside of the palace once she exited the entrance.

“Hold on! Eco-chan!”

It seems that the clumsy Prim was still chasing nonstop.

Eco was already confused about the reason that made her run. But she didn’t want Prim to see her crying looks.

Just by looking at the sky she felt depressed.

The clear sky a few moments ago was suddenly filled with dark clouds as if it is going to rain anytime. The roaring of thunder could somehow be heard from afar.

Eco was running under a sky filled with dark clouds and she was running without even looking back.

Suddenly, she was tripped by something.

“-Kyaa!”

Because of her strong momentum, Eco was sent flying head front. The moment she landed on the ground, her palms hurts like as if they were on fire.

“Darn!”

One of her mule had dropped off and was lying on her ground with the bottom facing upwards just like the current Eco.

“Where am I…?”

Eco was looking at her surroundings.

Even when the place she was at was still in the palace gardens’ perimeter, but it was not well taken care of. It was full of weeds and not a single flower can be seen.

It can be called an abandoned garden.

There was an old double-storied building that looked like it is going to crumble anytime right in front of her. It is no different from a ruin. There was a stone tablet beside the entrance. It is obvious that ruin is an ancient palace.

She had never thought that there was such a lonely place behind the grand palace.

“It hurts…!”

The pain was coming from her palm. There was also blood on her right knee.

But Eco was sad because her favorite clothing was being dirtied and was filled with mud.

This was a dress bought by Ash in Ansarivan for the trip a few days before their departure.

Eco loves the pale blue colour of this dress and the ribbon at the chest.

But now it was full of mud…

Just at that moment-

‘Click…’ the entrance door of the ancient palace was opened followed by the sound of the old mechanism running.

A group of five people appeared from the ancient palace.

Judging from their attires, they are just the palace servants. But Eco knew something was wrong. Those people looked just like the palace servants but seeing their hunter liked eyes and body movements… She knew that they were not some small fry.

Eco immediately lay low and hid in bushes as tall as her.

The leader of the group looked like a girl in a maid attire. It is the same palace designed maid attire that Cosette and Prim wore.

No, although they were well imitated, Eco had seen through them.

That maid attire must be a fake. Not only is the cloth used lacked of glossiness, some of the details in the attire are also different from the real thing.

Then a familiar face of the girl startled Eco.

“Why is that girl… Here?!”

Isn’t she called Anya… the one working at the student restaurant ‘La Tene’.

Why would a waitress pretend to be a maid and walk around in Fountain City?

Eco was totally confused.

Basically, Eco knew her. But right now, her instinct told her not to call out to Anya.

The Anya right in front is not the kind Anya in the restaurant. Her eyes right now are of a warrior.

The guys beside Anya who were acting polite towards her also seemed weird.

Out of all times- At this moment, Prim’s voice can be heard all over the abandoned garden.

“Eco-chan! Where are you?”

At that instant, Anya and the guys started their operations in a lightning speed. What is frightening is she had unsheathed a dagger. The rest of the guys also followed her by pulling out theirs.

Right now, Eco knew she was right about Anya being the ‘enemy’. She immediately stood up and shouted to Prim:

“Don’t come here! Run, quick!”

Part 5

Not long before, the special force led by Anya had successfully infiltrated Fontaine City through a dark underground secret passage.

When she took a peek after climbing up the stairs from the passage, she realized that the exit is at the ruins of the ancient palace. She found out that the fire place in the guestroom was connected to the secret passage.

The information about the underground passage was given by Milgauss. How did Milgauss get to know about the existence of this underground passage? Anya once again was bothered by this question.

The group of people had removed the battle gear. Anya had changed into her maid attire and the rest had changed into their manservant wear. All these imitations were supplied by Klaus.

Anya led her four underlings out of the ancient palace. The sun could not be seen and the grey sky made it seem like it was going to rain anytime.

We must infiltrate the palace immediately… Anya tried to build up her spirit.

The surroundings of the old building was an abandoned garden. No matter how tight the securityis at the front, they will never figure that any suspicious people will appear from such a place. There isn’t even a single guard here.

The next objectives is to find Eco in the palace and led her out to a quite place and kidnap her back to Beowolf, then her mission is complete.

Along the way in the abandoned garden, Anya touched her pistol hidden in her cloths. The bullets were filled with strong tranquilizers.

This object is given by Milgauss. Even when it is a tranquilizer, it will still be a lie if she says she will not hesitate to shoot a girl like Eco.

“Chief, anything wrong?”

Anya was back to her senses after being asked by an underling.

“…Nothing.”

That’s it, she mustn’t forget that she is leading a team right now. As a chief of the Tantalos tribe, she is also the leader of the special force at the same time. If she was not focused on her mission, her whole team will be in danger… After some thought, she made up her mind.

Right at this moment.

“Eco-chan! Where are you~?”

Suddenly, there was a panicking voice that was spoken slowly.

A maid appeared right in front. When she saw Anya and the rest, she became confused.

Anya realized something. This maid shouted Eco’s name a few moments ago. So she must be one of Eco’s acquaintances…

No matter what, she mustn’t let loose of this opportunity. As long as she captures this maid and interrogates her, she probably could save her trouble for doing land combing in search for Eco.

Anya signaled her underlings behind with her fingers and immediately unsheathed her dagger.

Under Anya’s leadership, the four underlings immediately split up.

They intend to surround the maid.

“Don’t come here! Run, quick!”

The voice that suddenly came out of nowhere shocked Anya.

That cry sounds familiar.

“That’s young dragon Eco.”

Her underlings stopped their footsteps at the same time upon hearing Anya’s shout.

At the same time, there was a lightning strike and the sound of thunder. The sound of thunder that’s seems far away a few moments ago and slowly approached.

“All of you, go and capture Eco! I will deal with the maid!”

Under Anya’s order, the underlings had shifted their targets. All four of them attacked Eco at the same time.

Even when she is a dragon, she looked like a girl. It should be an easy job for four big burly Tantalos man. After Anya made the positive judgment, she attacked the maid.

“Huh? What is happening- Ouch!”

Anya punched the maid in her stomach. The maid lost her consciousness and dropped on the ground.

“Hmph, the citizens of the Knight Country are really weak.”

The same time Anya snubbed her nose, the thunder roared. The drizzling rain had turned into a down pour. The cold temperature of the rain doesn’t make the season look like summer.

Anya turned her head thinking that her four underlings should have kept Eco in control.

“Wha…!”

Anya shivered when she saw the scene behind.

“…Tsk, this is why I hate stupid and ignorant humans.”

Not only Eco wasn’t captured, she was even standing in the middle of the garden in rage. Her hair is wet and messy being dripped by the rain but her red eyes were full of spirit.

Three of the special force members were already on the ground.

“Damn you brat…!”

The fourth member lifted his dagger and attacked Eco directly. Seeing that his companions were knocked out, he had lost his calm.

Eco suddenly leaped. She rushed in front of him before the dagger struck and gave him a punch in the stomach.

“*Cough*!”

Even though it seems like a girl struggling to escape, but her underling was like being attacked by a bull and was knocked back. This scene is what someone can see in a story book.

-Is that… The so called power of a dragon!?

Anya shivered.

Even when her pure self made her look fragile, but the truth is Eco's strength is unimaginable.

“If you don’t respect me… Then get ready to be trampled!”

The guy was lying on the ground weakly full of mud. Eco stepped on his back without mercy.

“Ouuuu!”

After the last underling cried in pain, he lost consciousness.

After making sure that the guy had fainted, Eco stared at Anya angrily.

“Aren’t you Anya? Why do you pretend to be a waitress in the student restaurant?”

Anya remained silent. There was no need for her to answer. She silently put on her fighting posture.

“Is it… So I take that you are not going to tell me. Never mind, that’s not so important anyway.”

Eco immediately prepared her defense.

For a short moment, it looked like a dragon had appeared behind her body.

“I have never liked you since before. You seemed to be interested in Ash!”

Eco rushed towards Anya with all the waters splashing around.

Her wrist strength is very strong.

If she was hit, Anya would probably follow the footsteps of her four underlings.

But-!

“No matter how strong your strength is, there is no point if you can’t land a hit!”

Anya twisted her body to a side to get out of the way of Eco’s headbutt.

“Urgh…”

Eco who nearly fell because of her momentum immediately turned around and faced Anya again. She had now changed her weapon into her fist.

Anya dodged her first punch by just a few millimeters.

-Don!

The wind pressure of the punch swept passed her face painfully. This straight punch looks as if it can cut through rain. It felt as if the wind pressure of the punch is strong enough to blow a human off his feet.

No wonder her four underlings were easily knocked out. But Anya had not yet broken a sweat. Her ability is still stronger than the four guys who were the top in the tribe.

“Damn… why can’t you just get knocked out!”

Eco angrily swung her fist again but in Anya’s eyes, she was no longer a frightening enemy.

“…Urgh!”

Eco who hit blank was tripped by the mud and lost her balance.

The afternoon thunderstorm had not yet stopped. Anya had long found out that the ground was slippery, but Eco probably didn’t notice these details.

Seeing Eco’s defense is exposed, Anya took the chance.

“Haa!”

She gave Eco a kick with all her might behind her neck.

Her foot had knocked in to Eco’s neck with water splashing.

If she was to be a normal human, Eco would be knocked out of conscious in just a second.

“Urgh… How dare you kick me!”

“It can’t be!”

Anya was shocked.

Eco who nearly fell managed to stand still with only will power. She was staring at Anya with tears in her eyes.

Her face that was wet with the rain water is full of killing intent.

“I swear I’ll, I’ll… Trample you!”

Eco while showing her teeth rushed towards Anya. Not only she had a huge amount of strength, she is also as hardy as a dragon. But Eco who attacked aimlessly is just like a trapped animal. If this fight continues, it probably won’t end before the night arrives.

Anya made a search in her cloths with her hand and felt something cold. If it is possible, she will never chose to use this thing, but she mustn’t waste any time anymore.

“…Please don’t think badly of me.”

After Anya took out the pistol, she pulled the trigger without a single hesitation.

Part 6

After Silvia finished her story, Ash was in a great shock.

Ash absolutely couldn’t believe what he heard. Milgauss is most probably Prince Julius- this was what Silvia had said.

Of course Ash knew that Julius was sentenced to death for committing a taboo. That can be said as the worst scandal in the long history of the Lautreamont family.

“But Prince Julius… Wasn’t he already sentenced to death?”

Ash who still doubted the statement asked. But Silvia mumbled her explanation:

“The information about him being sentenced to death may be fake. Chichi–ue is that kind of a person… he would never kill his own son. The truth is, I am very happy that Anii-ue is alive. I also believe that he must have his own reason for killing Mordred. But… why is he cooperating with the Empire and bringing disasters to the Knight Country? This is the only part that doesn’t make sense. What should I do…”

Silvia pursed her lips and looked downwards without saying a word. Just by thinking about the burden and her troubles, Ash felt that his head is starting to spin. But seeing Silvia being troubled by her worries, Ash knew that he can no longer remain silent.

“Actually… I didn’t quite remember what my father looks like.”

“…?”

Silvia lifted her head and looked at Ash confusedly.

“Even though it is not right for me as a son to say so, but my father is an odd person… He disappeared after my sister’s birth. Somehow, my family talks less and less about him. As for why would my father leave us… I had been wondering about this for ages, but I can’t simply ask this question. One day… I finally asked my mother out of curiosity.”

“Did she tell you anything?”

“No, she didn’t even mention a single thing. But she promised me that she will tell me everything when I grow up. This is also the reason why I have never asked about it since.”

This is the first time Ash had the chance to talk about his family background, so he is a little shy. Still, he is happy that Silvia listened to him inattentively.

“In the end… What I wanted to say is, your problem won’t be solved if you keep it to your self. If you have the time to feel sad, why not directly ask the person involved. Isn’t that better?”

“If I could do it, I wouldn’t be facing all this trouble… But what you said is reasonable.”

Silvia was full of her happy expression.

“Thank you, Ash. With your encouragement, I feel that the burden somehow was lifted.”

Her cute smile made Ash’s heart beat nonstop. Silvia’s impression in the academy was the ‘Graceful but unapproachable beautiful princess’. Who would have known that she can make such a smile.

In this instant, there was a bright light coming from the sky and the next second, the thunders were roaring.

The loud sound felt as if it had landed right beside them. Ash turned his sight outside the window and found out that it was raining heavily.

Then, he finally felt the smell of the rain.

“Kyaa!”

Just as expected, Silvia who was born timid immediately screamed. She was so frightened that she lost her sense and cuddled in Ash’s arms.

“Uwaa…!”

Ash was shocked and fell on the bed with Silvia hugging him.

Silvia was trembling and cuddled to Ash tightly. On her snow white face, there is the shadow of her long eye lashes.

“…Princess?”

Even after Ash called out to her, Silvia still remained silent. She shut her eyes tightly and embraced Ash. Just like a child, she was trembling nonstop.

There won’t be much of a problem if it is only to this extend. But ash felt something soft that shouldn’t exist in this world. That is certainly not something that can be felt from a child. It is Silvia's breast which was pressing against Ash’s body tightly.

The lightning strikes for two, three times. Every time it strikes, Silvia trembled a little and tightens her hug…Both of them had remained in the same position for some time.

The lightning strikes two, three times. Every time it strikes, Silvia trembled a little and tightens her hug.

…Both of them remained in the same position for some time.

“Are you alright, Princess?’

When the sounds of the thunder and the winds had stopped, Ash slowly asked. If Silvia kept on sticking to him, he felt like his heart is going to burst. So, Ash pretended to give Silvia a gentle push and sat up.

“Nn…”

Silvia was lying on the bed when she opened her eyes that were shut close for a long time. There were tears at the edge of her eyes which was probably caused by the tremendous fear that she had been through.

“Wha…!”

Silvia who finally calmed down immediately blushed. She probably had realized the situation that she was in.

As a princess, she was lying on a bed defenseless while being looked at by Ash-

-T-This is bad.

Ash had made his mental preparation for the coming ‘fist of the Lautreamont Family Rules’.

Although he did nothing wrong, through his past experience, he was already used to this kind of ending. Basically, everything will end after that fist.

But, Silvia was still lying on the bed with her red face.

Ash felt that her eyelashes were shaking.

“Princess…?’

Ash looked carefully at Silvia.

In contrast to a ferocious Dragner, her limbs were thin and nicely shaped. The two lumps of meat at her chest were moving up and down following her breathing tempo…

In this instant, Ash felt that his mind was going to crack.

Silvia was not wearing a bra right now. The pink tips could somehow be seen underneath her blouse that was covered in sweat was breaking down Ash’s mental reasoning ability.

Why is Silvia not moving?

Why is she not in her usual angry self and try to hit me?

What if I try to touch her right now?

-N-No, I mustn’t! Princess right now is… Is worried about Prince Julius so she couldn’t think straight. For me to take advantage of others at such moment… I can never do this. Not even in a million years…

-Kon, kon.

There was someone knocking the door.

Although it just a usual knock, but in this situation, the sound was piercing Ash’s ears.

“…Urgh!”

Silvia had probably thought the same thing. Just like the magic had disappeared, she jumped off from the bed.

“Sorry for intruding.”

The person outside entered before Ash replied.

It was Cosette.

“The evening dress has been altered. I am here to pick up Princess.”

The way Cosette speaks was unnatural and way too formal. She probably had seen through what had happened between Ash and Silvia.

“...Understood. I will head there right now.”

Silvia kept her calm and followed Cosette out of the room.

“Haa…”

Ash felt that he had lost his energy and fell on the bed.

If he had more courage, if Cosette didn’t intrude-

He and Silvia who were on the bed would probably…

“Uwaa! What am I thinking about!”

Ash was rolling around on the bed.

He really wanted to get rid of this trouble. Too bad for him, the bed was full of Silvia’s smell which caused him to get more and more jumpy.

He kept on recalling the rose fragrance, the glimmering golden hair and the soft peaks.

As he was rolling around, Ash saw the bed beside him.

Eco and Prim still haven’t returned from the changing room.

His worry suddenly disappeared.

“What is taking Eco so long?”

"Black Prelude ~A.S.B.1365.7~" is closed.

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