"...Are you crazy?"
Beatrice looked at me with a disgusted expression, completely opposite to the cheerful demeanour she had shown until now.
I shouted at Armonia.
'Armonia, this is your fault!']
[Don't you think the way you asked is the problem?]
'I asked because you told me to! Anyway, it's your fault!
[...]
I resorted to the modern tactic of shifting all responsibility to a superior to avoid blame.
I tried to explain to Beatrice.
"Well… I was just joking around."
"Hoo… I thought you were mentally ill, but I'm relieved you're just an idiot."
"I don't like that either…"
"Isn't being an idiot better than being mentally ill?"
"..."
I hate both…
I returned to the main topic and asked what I was curious about.
"Do you like Viola?"
"Ugh… I don't dislike her, but she's scary."
"…Then why do you come here every day? Did the Demon King order you to?"
Is she just coming here purely out of obligation?
When Beatrice heard my question, she started fidgeting while glancing at me.
'…Is she a tsundere? I can't figure her out.'
[It seems clear that she wants something from you, Guardian.]
Beatrice peeked at me and finally opened her mouth.
"Well… you smell nice. That's why I come here!"
"Oh!"
The flames of excitement began to rise again.
'Pheromones?! So, is this a chance for a romantic encounter? Even if I don't like her, does that mean I want to get intimate?'
[Calm down…]
I dislike rape, but losing control due to overwhelming sexual desire is incredibly appealing.
A prime example of this was Sonya.
A case where sexual desire burned brighter than affection.
Moreover, there's almost zero affection here.
I'm even more excited!
Hahak, hahak!
While the catgirl succubus remained calm, I was the one starting to lose control.
Beatrice, on the other hand, looked at me calmly and smiled slyly.
"You smell like my mom!"
"…Mom?"
"…? What's that?"
"Never mind. But why do I smell like your mom?"
"…I don't know. You just strangely smell like my mom."
Is there something about mixing catgirls and succubi that makes communication impossible?
'I have no idea what she's talking about…'
[It's probably because of the pheromones.]
'I get that, but doesn't that mean she's in heat?'
[…It's not that. Beatrice's mother, who was also a succubus, likely emitted pheromones, so she's probably sensing that scent from you.]
'…Damn.'
I was really looking forward to it…
[Also, after checking, I realized that succubi have a certain trait.]
-[Immune to Sexual Skills], [Control over Sexual Desire]-
'…My motivation just plummeted.'
[...]
I thought succubi were beings who couldn't control their sexual desires, but it turns out the opposite is true.
They are beings who can control their sexual desires.
They are the ones who can elevate their partner's desires, not the ones who succumb to them.
Seeing my deflated expression, Beatrice looked at me with concern.
"Why are you suddenly like that?"
"No, it's nothing… Go see Viola."
But despite my words, Beatrice didn't go to the guest room.
Instead, she blushed and fidgeted nervously.
"Well… I have a favour to ask."
Could it be? Could it be!!! Is this the moment?!
But contrary to my loud expectations, Beatrice said something strange.
"Before you leave, can you give me some clothes?"
"…? What are you talking about?"
"Well…"
Beatrice explained that her parents died in the war, and the area where they lived was completely destroyed.
As a result, her home and all the mementoes inside were lost.
Beatrice, despite her embarrassment, wanted clothes that I had worn, which carried a scent similar to her mother's.
[Wouldn't this be a good opportunity to create the situation you desire?]
'No, it's fine.'
[…? You seemed quite interested in her. Are you sure?]
'I don't want to go that far. I'll just do her a favour.'
I told Beatrice.
"Alright, I'll give you some clothes before I leave."
"Hah! Really? Thank you!"
Beatrice jumped around happily.
"Ah, but there's one thing I want to ask of you."
"Huh? What is it?"
I decided to ask Beatrice for help with something I wanted to do before leaving.
It was something too difficult to do alone.
Beatrice wagged her tail and smiled.
"I can do it!"
"Hmm… But won't you get in trouble if you're caught?"
"Why would I get in trouble?"
Beatrice tilted her head, putting her finger in her mouth.
So cute…
"Even if they're humans here, they belong to the Demon King, so you can't just do whatever you want, right?"
"No. As long as you don't kill them, you can do whatever you want."
"..."
That's terrifying… No, that's a scary thing for a cat to say.
It seems that as long as you don't kill them, anything goes.
The reason you can't kill them is that they're being held as hostages.
Thinking about it, Beatrice being friendly with us doesn't mean she likes humans.
From her perspective, the humans here are the ones who killed her parents.
"Then can I really ask you for this favor?"
"Leave it to me! I'm really good at sneaking around! And I'll ask about Lev Herb too!"
"Great. If you do a good job, I'll give you the clothes before I leave."
"Yay!"
'Armonia.'
[Yes.]
'Do you know what a chastity belt is?'
[…I do.]
I asked Armonia if she could make a uniquely designed chastity belt.
Armonia's response was…
[It's possible. It will cost 600 Enel per unit.]
'Tsk, it's a waste to use it for this, but what can I do?'
600 Enel isn't that expensive, but when you consider making multiple units, it starts to add up.
[Still, the iron refining technology here is highly advanced, so the price is lower than it could be.]
'Ah, so the price varies depending on the era. Keep that in mind for now.'
[Understood.]
After finishing my conversation with Armonia, I grabbed Beatrice, who was trying to run away, and headed back to the guest room.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
"It's me, open the door."
"..."
Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock!
"..."
"Hey, aren't you going to open the door?"
After nightfall, I stopped by the kid's room first before heading to the princess's room.
But the kid was either asleep or pretending to be, ignoring me.
'Armonia.'
[Yes.]
'A lockpick, please~'
[Understood.]
Click, click!
"...?"
Clank! Creak!
"What, what's this!"
The kid looked at me with startled eyes.
"What, you were awake. Why didn't you open the door?"
"Of course! What are you planning to do now!"
After fooling around with the princess in bed yesterday, I had thrown the key into the kid's room.
He probably thought something strange was going on.
He was treating me with the same rebellious attitude as when we first met.
"What am I planning? Nothing much, man.
"Then why are you here…?"
"Just…"
"...?"
I approached the kid with a sly smile.
"I'm just going to go play in the princess's room for a bit."
"Don't joke around! How is that nothing? What did you do to the princess yesterday!"
You're the one doing something, you brat…
The real devil here isn't me, it's you.
"I just played around, don't make a big deal out of it…"
"Get lost! If you do anything weird to me or the princess again, I'll tell everyone!"
He threatened me, but it wasn't threatening at all.
"…What are you going to tell them?"
"I'll tell them… you sneaked into the princess's room!"
"Oh ho…"
The kid looked triumphant, thinking his threat had worked.
I slowly retorted.
"Who was it that told me about the princess's sleeping pills?"
"…Me."
"Who has the key to the princess's room?"
"…? Me."
"Who brought me here?"
"…That was also me…"
"And who was it that lewdly saw Viola's naked body?"
"D-Don't joke around! Lewdly? I-I just…"
"Listen, kid."
"…?"
I approached the kid with an interrogator's expression.
"So, in exchange for lewdly seeing Viola's naked body, you brought me here, told me the princess was defenseless, and gave me the key?"
"S-Stop talking nonsense!"
"If I tell the princess this story, how do you think she'll see you?"
"Ugh… D-Don't joke… The princess will believe me…"
"Grow up, man…"
Thud!
I couldn't listen to the kid anymore, so I just put him to sleep.
'What a trashy kid…'
[In a way, he's an unfortunate human who mistakes his exploitation for affection.]
These were the words of someone who would never have to worry about others' opinions.
I took the key the kid was holding and infiltrated the princess's room.
As I entered her room, her scent tickled my nose.
Even though everyone's scent is the same, a charming woman's scent feels different.
As expected, she had taken the drink again today.
A cup with residue was sitting by her bed.
Today, I once again burrowed into her bed.
"Hmm…"
"Wow, she's really beautiful."
Her appearance is breathtaking every time I see it.
Being able to see such beauty up close makes me want to kiss her nose.
She was charming in her maid outfit, maintaining a dignified posture, but her dishevelled, defenseless appearance exuded a different kind of charm.
Her pink hair, reflecting the moonlight, emitted a faint scent that stimulated my manhood.
My manhood rubbed against her lower abdomen.
It swelled with pain, begging to be thrust inside, but not yet.
"Hmm…"
"Hold on, I'll definitely do it later."
I buried her face in my chest and began to dream.
Perhaps because it was a bit late today, the dream had already started.
It was the duchy.
Unlike last time, it wasn't the Grand Duke's bedroom but a luxurious garden.
'…Maybe because we were in the garden earlier.'
I wondered if today's events had influenced the dream.
In the center of the garden, the princess and the Grand Duke were sitting at a table, chatting amiably.
They seemed to be having a meal.
Lena was smiling brightly, unlike when she was with me.
But by this point, I was curious.
'What if I approach without manipulating her? How will she react?'
I wanted to experiment with the princess in various ways.
I had manipulated her before and seen her inner self without manipulation.
However, when I didn't manipulate her, I just secretly followed her around.
Last time, it was the Grand Duke's bedroom, so she was probably on guard, but the situation seemed different now.
I cautiously approached the gazebo.
The princess, who had been chatting happily, noticed my presence and looked in my direction.
After staring intently, she stood up and bowed her head toward me.
"You've arrived, Teacher."
"…?"
I approached her in a daze.
At least she didn't seem hostile.
Both of them were smiling at me.
Especially the princess's smile stood out.
'She's so beautiful when she smiles…'
Seeing her smile here, which I couldn't see in reality, felt a bit strange.
It was like secretly reading her diary…
When I reached the gazebo, the Grand Duke immediately spoke to me.
"How is Lena's piano playing?"
"Ah…"
So, I'm the piano teacher…
The fact that I was created this way in the princess's mind seemed to indicate that she didn't consider me important.
I've learned one thing from dreaming.
Even in dreams, the positions of truly important people rarely change.
For example, family, lovers, or close friends—if the relationship is deep, their positions remain unchanged in dreams.
Although their attitudes can change depending on the day's mood…
I've been killed by my sister thousands of times in dreams.
'…Ugh, I need to be careful. If she pops out like in Inception, I'm screwed.'
Whenever she appears in my dreams, she stabs me without fail.
Back to the main point.
When a vaguely recognized character like me suddenly appears, the dream tries to create a position by forcing knowledge to fit.
In other words, the princess probably mixed the dream where I played the piano with her and the one where I punished her, so my position was set as the teacher.
In other words, I thought that perhaps the princess's position as a teacher had been determined because her dream of playing the piano with me and her dream of being punished had become intertwined.
"Oh dear, Lena. Looking at the expression of the person teaching you, are you perhaps not taking this seriously?"
"Ah, no. Father…."
It wasn't so much a scolding scene as it was a teasing joke.
"I apologize. The princess's skills are so outstanding that I am embarrassed to have nothing left to teach her. Please forgive me."
I made sure to include every polite phrase I could think of.
"Hahaha. Well then, I'll take my leave now. Lena, make sure to play for this old man later."
"Yes, Father. Once I've truly honed my skills, I will definitely play for you."
The princess maintained her impeccable manners and smiled even in front of her parents.
'She's truly an amazing woman.'
It seemed that even though her only family was the Grand Duke, she could still carry herself with such dignity.
The Grand Duke disappeared in an instant, leaving a single piano sitting alone in the garden.
'Wow, insane... If a virtual reality game like this ever comes out, I think I'd spend my whole life playing it...'
If a virtual reality game like this really existed, the positions of Viola and Luna in my mind would likely shrink significantly.
'...Sorry, Viola. Sorry, Luna.'
Feeling guilty toward the two women, I approached the princess.
In dreams, vague language isn't good.
I gave her clear instructions.
"Could you play once first? After that, we'll proceed by correcting any mistakes."
"Yes, understood."
The princess smiled faintly at my words, sat down on the long bench, and began to play.
No matter how I looked at it, she seemed to be playing much better than before.
Though the sound of the piano didn't fly through the garden and return, it spread through the garden like an aurora.
The highlight of this garden was the princess herself.
Just as the piano performance seemed to be coming to a close—
Thud!
A discordant note, like a blade, harshly cut through the aurora of sound.
My ability to play the piano is, at best, limited to mimicking others.
Whether it's the violin or the piano, I've only ever imitated what I've seen—I've never truly awakened any musical talent.
Even to my ears, which lack any sense of musical talent, the note was completely incomprehensible.
The princess, flustered, suddenly stood up.
Her pink hair swayed as she turned to apologize to me.
"I-I'm sorry, Teacher…"
"No, it's fine. Anyone can make mistakes. Let's just…"
I tried to comfort her and get her to sit back down to continue playing, but at that moment—
The princess suddenly turned around and began lifting her skirt.
'W-What is this…?'
Even I was taken aback as I watched her. She lifted her skirt completely, exposing her bottom, and said.
"I've made a mistake, Teacher… Please… punish me."
***
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