Chapter 63

### Chapter 62 Extra (?) - How to Steal a Woman (11)

"Hey, Lena de Ferion, are you really taking sleeping pills and sleeping?"

"..."

A line I couldn't let pass by entered my ears.

Curiosity piqued, I quietly listened to the conversation.

"Verius definitely said that."

"Oh, that jerk?"

I asked Armonia.

'Who is Verius?'

[It's the name of the prince we saw yesterday.]

'Ah.'

I remembered hearing it, but I didn't care much and forgot.

The one who called him a jerk was the heir of the marquis.

The fact that he spoke about his country's prince in such a way meant that the prince was indeed a jerk.

Indeed, when I first met him, he seemed like someone who couldn't tell right from wrong.

"Where can you get those pills?"

"I don't know exactly."

"But even if you take sleeping pills, you'll still lock the door, right? Is there anyone here who can pick locks?"

"What do you take us for...? Do you think we'd learn such a trivial skill?"

What, are you kidding? The act you're planning is something even a scumbag wouldn't do.

"Verius is keeping the key, in case of an emergency, to wake her up."

"Oh, then we just need to take the key."

"But the sleeping pills might be weak, and she could wake up. We'll need some ropes and cloth."

"She's a tough woman from the war, so it'll be hard to do anything without tying her up."

"So, when are we doing this?"

"Let's do it after the visitors leave."

I carefully opened the back door and left the warehouse.

'Let's go.'

[Don't you want to listen more?]

'No.'

I found it too absurd to listen further.

I understand.

The princess is really beautiful.

And if they were going to do it after I left, it would be meaningless.

I left the warehouse and carefully returned to the garden without being noticed by the giant monster.

When I arrived at the garden, the princess was already there with a cart full of food.

"Did you go looking for your companions?"

"No, I just went somewhere for a bit."

I sat down in a chair at the ornate table in the gazebo.

The perceptive princess immediately started placing the food on the table.

It was just one serving.

There was still one more serving left in the cart.

"The rest is for when your companions come..."

"No, no one is coming. Put it all out."

"...?"

I looked at the princess, who had a puzzled expression, and said,

"Sit down, let's eat."

***

"...Where am I?"

When Lena opened her eyes, she saw a dimly lit corridor bathed in the light of the setting sun.

"Yeah, I was heading back to my room after finishing my duties."

She started walking down the corridor, muttering to herself.

As she walked, she saw a group of people talking in the middle of the corridor.

They were men around Lena's age.

"..."

She didn't intend to eavesdrop, but they were completely engrossed in their conversation and didn't notice her.

"Lena de Ferion, she's probably a virgin, right?"

"Probably not. She must have been with soldiers a few times during the war."

"She must have had a lot of fun with the soldiers during the war."

Lena frowned at their vulgar conversation. She was at a loss for how to handle such situations.

Their conversation showed no signs of stopping.

"Should we take responsibility and do it now?"

"Yeah, let's try it out."

"Damn, we're in this mess because of her. We should do something to her, right?"

Lena felt her legs go weak, almost collapsing.

The men's conversation, where they subtly assigned her more work while encouraging her, made her eyes well up with tears. She clutched her chest and barely managed to stay on her feet.

The men had already disappeared.

"Yeah... it's because of me."

She muttered to herself and started walking again.

This time, she saw a group of noblewomen.

They didn't notice her and started their conversation.

"Do you know that the men are trying to do something strange to Lena de Ferion lately?"

Lena instinctively hid behind a pillar and crouched down.

"Shouldn't we tell her?"

Lena couldn't help but smile.

'Someone is on my side.'

The thought that she wasn't alone made her heart feel lighter.

The noblewomen always tried to shift the blame to her whenever something went wrong.

She had been the one to face the consequences, whipped, and starved.

Despite this, she felt incredibly grateful to them for thinking of her at this moment.

But the lightness in her heart quickly turned to despair.

"If something happens to her, there's no one to blame!"

"Exactly, those stupid men don't realize how useful she is."

"Ugh! It's so frustrating! If only the demons could see a woman's face, we could sell her and return to our country!"

Lena, hiding behind the pillar, no longer heard the women's words.

All she could see were the tears falling from her sleeve.

After crying silently for a while, she shakily got up.

"I... I have to go. If I sleep... everything will be fine..."

If she could just sleep, she could forget this situation, even if only for a moment.

Even if hell awaited her the next day, she could be happy for that moment.

As Lena staggered down the corridor, a young man ran up to her.

"Princess!"

"Haa... haa..."

The little boy, who ran up with a serious expression, was Verius.

Lena tried to calm herself and wipe away her cold sweat before asking,

"What is it, Verius?"

"Well..."

Verius's current behavior was typical of when he had done something wrong.

Lena held back her frustration and asked again,

"Did something happen?"

"You told me to clean the warehouse! I'm a prince of Betel!"

"Ah..."

Lena started to feel dizzy.

When Verius caused trouble like this, it meant all the responsibility would fall on her.

At first, she had taken care of everything to help the young Verius adapt.

But his childish behavior showed no signs of improvement.

And whenever he caused problems, the punishment she received was always the same.

She had to walk around the demon castle without sleep, replacing mana stones that were about to expire.

She began to feel a sense of exhaustion she had never experienced, even after four days and nights of continuous battle during the war.

Suddenly, Verius grinned and said,

"Fortunately, Princess!"

"...What?"

Verius's last words were the final blow.

"You said you couldn't sleep, right? I'm glad you're not bored!"

"A... Ah...!"

Lena's vision started to blur, and everything disappeared.

When she opened her eyes, a man was standing in front of her, staring blankly and offering her a handkerchief.

"Are you okay?"

***

"...I'm sorry."

The princess, despite her tears, straightened her voice and stood up.

She turned her head and wiped her tears with the handkerchief I offered.

As I watched her, I received a communication from Armonia.

I forced the princess to sit down and eat with me, using Gardia as a threat.

After we finished eating and she started to clear the dishes, I cast a sleep spell and entered her dream.

This time, driven by curiosity about her, I followed her secretly without manipulating her dream.

It was quite a spectacle.

The princess, specialized in war and combat, was good at hiding her presence and often overheard conversations she didn't want to hear from the humans she had to live with.

The content of those conversations was so frustrating that even I felt annoyed.

'These guys are trash...'

[Are you angry?]

'No, just annoyed. This woman is also foolish.'

It seemed she had known about the men's plans for a while.

But there was one thing I couldn't understand.

'Why did she give the key to that prince brat?'

I didn't think of him as a cat.

He was a rat.

She had given the fish to a rat.

The most absurd part was the prince brat.

'That brat, who follows her around claiming to like her, is the root of all evil.'

The princess's current state was due to the brat.

He caused trouble every day, and she had to take the blame, which slowly eroded her spirit.

'That brat changed after almost dying at Gardia's hands.'

[Indeed, his attitude changed significantly before and after that incident.]

It was surprising that the brat who growled while hugging Viola was the same one who trembled in my presence in the cabin.

But the brat in the princess's dream was definitely the same one I had first met.

The brat's last words were so shocking that even I was taken aback.

It was so absurd that I almost believed I had manipulated it.

In other words, while the princess might genuinely like him, she also saw him as a protective shield.

After regaining her composure, the princess returned the handkerchief to me.

"I'm really sorry."

"Well, people need sleep."

"I'll go clean the dishes now."

The princess started loading the dishes from the table into the cart.

I had a question and asked,

"Hey, do you have any hobbies?"

"...No."

Liar...

I didn't expect her to tell me.

"Got it. Put those down and come back. Let's stay a bit longer."

"...Okay, I understand."

After the princess returned the dishes, we didn't cast a sleep spell or enter a dream. We quietly toured the garden.

Whether it was due to my guilt or pity for her, I let her find some peace in the garden.

***

"He really likes her."

"Hehe, isn't he cute?"

"Ugh... It's tiring..."

When I returned to the cabin in the evening, Viola was hugging Beatrice on the bed.

Seeing them like this, I felt the urge to join in.

'One is a succubus, the other is a bit naive about sex. Maybe a 3P scene?'

[...]

Watching the two of them roll around on the bed, I wondered if I should take Beatrice with me.

'How much does it cost to register Beatrice?'

[It costs 35,000 enel.]

'Is it because her abilities are mediocre...?'

It wasn't a bad price.

Actually, if the princess was recruited, she would stay in the ship's corridor for a while.

The living quarters were all Viola's, and it cost 100,000 enel to buy more, which was a bit too much.

Even the corridor was extremely wide and long, so I could sleep there if I laid down a blanket.

Still, it would be a much better life than here, so she wouldn't complain.

"Beatrice."

"Ugh... Why are you calling me?"

"But why are you here?"

"...Ack! Stop it, kitty~"

She suddenly changed the subject.

She came here every day, even though she was afraid of Viola.

'Is Viola that good? But she still seems scared.'

[This is just my personal opinion.]

'?'

[Maybe she's looking for you.]

'Me?'

I was surprised by the unexpected suggestion.

We didn't have much in common.

Beatrice had been proactive since the first time we met.

I thought she was just a playful cat...

A cat with a good sense of smell and a lustful succubus.

It made sense, but I wasn't sure.

'Her constant "nya" makes it hard to tell.'

[Why don't you ask her directly?]

'Me, do you like me?'

[...? Guardian, that's incorrect grammar.]

'...I have a place for that kind of thing.'

Ignoring Armonia's lack of understanding of old slang, I approached the two on the bed.

Noticing her, I saw that Beatrice was looking at me cautiously.

"Viola, sorry, can I talk to Beatrice for a moment?"

"Sure! Go ahead, Bebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebe