Chapter 54
“Since you chose option 2, auto-execution is starting!”
No… way?
Ah, I don’t know either! From now on, I’m a, uh, spectator! Since I can’t move on my own anyway, let’s just accept it!
Once I decided that, my mouth started moving on its own.
“Kiss me, Clayton.”
“Huh?”
“You don’t want to?”
“Ah, no…!”
He, who had been acting like he was about to devour my lips any second, was flustered by the command. Then, he slowly pressed his lips against mine. The soft, pliant sensation wasn’t unpleasant. As they intertwined, he held me tighter than anyone else, sticky and clinging, grabbing the back of my neck firmly as if he had no intention of letting go, holding me very tightly.
“Mmmph…”
After several exchanges, he released me. The sound of my pounding heart wasn’t as bothersome as before. Since I didn’t have a cravat, his hand slipped inside my open shirt front. As his hand slid down in that state, the buttons made a series of popping sounds as they came undone.
“Ah… Grayson… Mmm, h-here…? Do it here?”
“You can refuse.”
“N-no…”
He seemed completely conquered by his touch, biting his lip tightly. Then he looked at me with an expression that seemed to be holding back, but meeting his eyes made me afraid I’d be devoured.
“Don’t pounce, hold back. Clayton.”
“Mmm, okay…”
As I unfastened and pushed aside his clothes, the magnificent pectoral muscles I’d seen before came into view. When I pushed the clothes off his shoulders, he shuddered.
“Don’t move. I haven’t given you permission to move yet.”
“Huuk… Ugh, mmm…”
I could guess the emotion in the sound of his sharp intake of breath, and it gave me chills. It felt like cold water was trickling down my spine, and I wanted to run away.
“You still can’t hold back even when I just touch you. How pathetic.”
“Ah… Mmm. I am. Just you looking at me… I, mmm, can’t hold back.”
His finger pressed firmly against my Adam’s apple and then slowly trailed down. He touched my collarbone, pressed firmly on the sternum between my perfectly divided chest, and then went further down, tracing every deeply shadowed area of my well-defined abs with his fingertips.
“What should I do with you, Clayton?”
“T-take me. Mmm, take me and, make me yours. Leave your mark on my body.”
“If you lose control and pounce on me midway like last time, there won’t be a next time.”
“Okay. I’ll hold back well. I won’t act on my own like last time, absolutely.”
The fingers that were tickling my navel slipped inside his clothes and slid all the way up to his shoulders. With that, his outer garment came off. This guy, Clayton, said he’d hold back, but when I looked at his eyes, he was glaring as if he wanted to devour me right then and there, chewing on his lip.
I could hear the sound of him swallowing dryly. Mixed with the sound of his heartbeat.
“Take off the bottom part too.”
“Then kill me. I don’t want to take it off for you now because you look too good.”
When I lowered my gaze, his trousers were tight as if something was inside. Looks like he’s got a snake in his pocket!
“I c-can’t… kill you… I can’t if you touch me.”
“Then I can’t take it off. Still?”
“I’ll try. Because… it’s you…”
Clayton tightly closed his eyes, and I applied my fingertips to what had become fully sensitized. The thing that had been half-dead a moment ago came back to life, and whether he was tensing his lower abdomen or what, he trembled even more severely than before.
“Try to kill me quickly. Why can’t you do it?”
“Huuk, mmmph…”
It’s clear Clayton doesn’t really believe me when I say I don’t remember. In this game, it seems only the Emperor completely believes I’m pretending to have amnesia.
-Thwack!
“What the!”
A fist flew into the cheek of Clayton, who had his eyes closed.
“What are you doing to my fiancée?”
“Seems like you’ve only held pens; your fist has gotten pathetic, you fox bastard.”
Clayton staggered a bit from taking the hit square on the face, but that was it. Adrian pulled me away from him, hid me behind his back, and spoke.
“Since begging doesn’t work, are you resorting to taking your clothes off and charging? How pathetic.”
“Shut up.”
-Thwack!
This time, Clayton hit Adrian. In response, Adrian, not to be outdone, let go of me and hit Clayton back. Sounds of thwacking echoed, and in an instant, the two of them were tangled up, hitting and fighting each other.
“You crazy bastards! Why are you fighting?!”
Oh! The auto-execution is released…! No, that’s not important right now!
“I’ve disliked you from the start.”
“Did you think I felt any different?”
Clayton was on top hitting, then got flipped over, and Adrian was on top hitting—it was pure chaos. As they rolled around, punching each other thwack thwack, I couldn’t do anything.
More than anything, I didn’t want to get hurt by pointlessly intervening.
“If you’ve been cast aside, back off!”
“Mmmph, I, I haven’t been cast aside!”
Clayton’s voice trembled as he fought frantically, as if he were crying.
“You’re the one who stole her!”
“If she was stolen, you must be the fool.”
Adrian was also hitting him mercilessly, and Clayton was hitting back without holding back either. To be honest, it wasn’t that I had no desire to stop them at all.
However, these muscular men were going at each other for dear life, hitting one another.
How could someone as physically weak as me possibly stop them? Moreover, my right arm feels like it weighs 30kg. If I get involved here? It’s clear I’d get hurt more than them. And I never told them to fight; they’re fighting amongst themselves, so why should I?
“Grayson will choose me!”
“Why? Do you want to be her concubine or something?”
“Yes! So what if I’m a concubine! I’m sure she’d love me more than a gloomy bastard like you!”
Even so, for a Duke to say he’d become a concubine… Clayton was clearly not in his right mind. No, actually, that’s uncertain. Yep, definitely.
“A bear-like bastard who’s only good at using brute strength.”
“A fox bastard with only slick words.”
“Oh, then I guess I’m the queen of the animal kingdom.”
As if they didn’t even hear me, they started hitting each other again. Slowly, bruises seemed to be forming as their faces started to swell. Turning red and puffing up…
“Stop it! What if you break a nose…?!”
Then I might not be able to see those pretty faces anymore.
“You can’t even be a concubine.”
“You’re the one who doesn’t seem to know an engagement can be called off anytime before the wedding!”
“Stop it, you bastards!”
But they weren’t the type to stop. As they tangled even more fiercely, Clayton’s chest came into view, which was a big problem. That damn body that makes me stop thinking!
So I covered my eyes with my hands and said,
“If you keep fighting, I’ll marry Francis!”
“Are you serious, Your Highness?”
Oh, fuck.
“Your Highness…”
I turned around, and Francis was approaching.
Why is he here? I told him not to follow… No, did he see Adrian and follow him?
Ah, damn it.
“What did you say?”
“What did she say?”
“Your Highness, is that true?”
“Haha… Hahaha…”
Is there anything I can do in this situation?
Of course not. In that case, there’s only one method available.
“D-don’t follow me. If any of you three follow me, know that you’ll never see me again!”
“Grayson!”
“Wait!”
“Your Highness!”
So I ran away.
My cheeks were burning so much I thought they might explode, and I felt like I might die from embarrassment.
« Quest Failed!
The quest failed due to interference by others! (Sobbing uncontrollably) Therefore, only half the penalty is additionally applied!
▼ Penalty : The perceived weight of the right hand (30kg) is now applied to both hands! »
Ah, damn it! I don’t know anymore!
My both hands were so heavy that I ran with them dangling down like an orangutan.
It was a good thing I wasn’t seeing it from someone else’s perspective.
The place I ran to was the Emperor’s room. Somehow, it was perfectly identical to the room I was staying in, down to the last picture frame and vase. Now that I think about it, when I was briefly listening to the scholars’ lesson last time, they mentioned that they make all the rooms like this so you can stay comfortably in any room.
Since the Emperor lives with the constant risk of assassination, which room he stays in within the main palace is also a secret.
“Why do you look so dejected?”
I was slumped over the dining table when he started patting my head again.
“Father, I caused a bit of a big problem.”
“Is that so. Well, your father isn’t surprised by any ordinary problem you cause anymore, so tell me!”
Hearing that made me feel even more like a delinquent. I mean, how many problems must I have caused for him to lead with that?!
“W-well, you see…”
I couldn’t bring myself to speak, only moving my lips. Seeing that, he continued speaking as if to reassure me.
“You might not remember, but back when an imperial envoy came from Melvenia, you didn’t like his eyebrows and had him imprisoned for a month, remember?”
“Hahaha… R-really, did I?”
“Yes. And that’s not all. When the prince from Apentina visited, you insulted him, saying he was ugly. We almost had a diplomatic incident and war because of that, but your father handled it well.”
“How?”
“Your father released an epidemic in Apentina to neutralize their military power. Of course, that was your idea too.”
Wow… Having this conversation makes it really seem like you and I are the villains, Dad.
I lifted my head and looked; he was looking at me with a truly worried expression, and my heart melted. The courage I lacked to speak returned, and I even felt a delusion that my current problem seemed minor compared to the ones I’d caused before.
“I was with… Clayton… and then Adrian saw us. While I was watching the two of them fight, I ended up proposing to Francis.”
“Hmm… I see. Well, your father would be fine with you having all three if you said you wanted them all…”
“But…?”
“Doesn’t it seem that Duke Russell has a stronger possessive streak than I thought?”
That seems right. Adrian acts like he doesn’t like me much, but he also seems like the type who can’t stand having what’s his taken away.
“Now that you mention it, among your bed slaves, he was the only one who stood his ground against Duke Russell, wasn’t he?”
“Huh? Were there more?”
“Hehehe… Well, now.”
I started to feel afraid, wondering if I should ask more or just stop asking.
