It was a good thing that the hotel served breakfast on their first floor, because both Lucina and I were starving after our night of pleasure. We sat down, and ate hot soup and a salad for breakfast.
“You didn’t rent out the entire building last night, did you?” I looked around at the empty dining room, and Lucina just smiled and shook her head.
“No, but when you’re in a royal family, companies have a way of making sure you stay comfortable and not exposed.” She picked up her chopsticks, and started to deftly eat her salad.
I followed suit, and started digging into my soup first. The taste was similar to the one I ate at the Steel Palace yesterday, and filled my body with warmth.
“Now we’ll just go back to the palace, pick up Reya, and be on our way, I presume.” I said in between mouthfuls of soup.
The princess across from me nodded, finishing the last bites of the salad. “Yes, but first I need to check on the job that Reya has done. My parents asked me to double check her work.”
Lucina picked up the soup and started eating. “They don’t trust her?” My eyes widened as Lilian sat down next to us, and I accidentally choked on my soup.
“That’s very unbecoming of you, Master Joshua.” I took a deep breath to calm myself after my coughing fit had ended. Somehow, Lilian always managed to annoy me, despite the contract placed on him.
“Master, have you decided on what you are going to do about the trials?” I received the message on the Judgment OS, and turned to Lilian, who looked at me with a serious gaze.
I wiped away at my mouth with a napkin, and sent to him, “Yes. Right now, X is collecting data for me to view on our ride back to the Metronian Kingdom.”
“And what about me? Am I to remain in Asahi and work independently from you?” Despite the indifference in the message, Lilian looked a little unsure of himself.
“No, I need to introduce you to the King and Queen, and have you officially employed under my control. You’ll be taking the Skyquake back with us.”
Lilian smiled at me, and said, “Thanks. I was skeptical at first, but there’s something nice about having a set schedule to follow.”
Lilian then turned to the Metronian Princess, and said, “By the way, Lucy, thanks for last night. Before we started talking to each other, I didn’t even know that I was interested in something like that.”
Lucina smiled at Lilian as she responded, “No problem. I’m glad you could enjoy yourself. Was the show to your liking?”
“Absolutely! I think I’d like to view it again, if that’s ok with you.” Lilian blushed, but Lucina patted his shoulder reassuringly.
“Oh, are you talking about the movie?” I tried to join in their conversation, and they both turned to me stiffly.
“No… actually, I gave Lilian permission to watch us have sex last night.” I raised my eyebrow at Lucina, who averted her gaze.
“Sorry, I forgot to tell you. I got so caught up by the time we got into the room, and then… well, your own actions assured that I didn’t remember for the rest of the night.”
I sighed, and looked at Lilian, who also averted his gaze. “Well, I guess as long as you tell me beforehand, I don’t mind too much.”
“Really!?” Lilian and Lucina both shouted in disbelief.
“Yeah. It doesn’t bother me too much to be honest. An ex of mine was an exhibitionist, so I figure that you being a voyeur is just the other side of the coin.”
I stood up, and made to leave, seeing as we had all finished our breakfast. “Lilian, go around and get the palanquin. We’ll be heading back to the Steel Palace next.”
Lilian stood up, a smile on his face. That smile instantly disappeared as he looked down at my pants. “Uhh, Master? Are you sure you want to go out looking like that?”
I looked down to where he was pointing, and sighed as I saw the black lipstick stains on my jeans around my crotch region.
I shot a pointed look to Lucina, who shrugged. “What? Don’t pretend like you didn’t enjoy it.”
---
One hour and a trip to the clothing store later, we were pulling into the familiar airspace of the above ground portion of the Steel Palace.
After settling down on the landing pad, we exited the vehicle to see that a familiar face had come out to greet us.
I rolled my eyes as Akahime bowed to us after exiting the elevator. “Welcome back, honored guests.” Her tone was neutral, and her face expressionless as she rose once more.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
“Akahime, what-” Lucina stepped in front of me to keep me from dealing with the insane princess, but I walked in front of her, confronting the princess myself. Despite the fact that she had caused me great emotional stress, and had changed the very nature of my thoughts, the last thing I wanted to do was waste more of my time talking to this person.
“To what do we owe this pleasure, Imperial Princess Hoshizora?” She frowned at the formality with which I addressed her, and turned from me to Lucina.
“So you chose his side over mine? Your friend since childhood?” Lucina shrugged, revealing a set of pearly white teeth as she laughed.
“Well, it turns out that I never got to know the real you. A friendship requires effort and a willingness to be open on both sides. We were truly just acquaintances.”
Akahime bit her lip, but said nothing, instead, returning her gaze to my own. “I still want to offer my heartfelt apologies. What I did was wrong, and I shouldn't have ever considered taking your affections for granted. Will you forgive me?”
My eyes narrowed and my heart raced. “Do you know what forgiveness is, Imperial Princess? Forgiveness is only for the sake of those who messed up. To coddle them, and let them know that no matter how much of a fuck up they were, they’ll be better in the future.”
“Forgiveness is nothing but comfort for the perpetrator, and a waste of time for those who were wronged. So no, I don’t forgive you. I have no doubt that you’ll make a damn fine empress one day, after your father decides to give you the mantle. However, know that you will always be a piece of shit person, and that won’t change until the day you die.”
Tears started to well up in the princess’s eyes, and she fought back a sob. “Very well, you have made your opinions known. My father wishes to see you both in his throne room. Reya is waiting there as well.”
Akahime remained still as I walked past her and into the elevator, and Lucina and Lilian followed. Akahime sent the message, “I’m sorry,” to me, and I replied back, “I don’t care.”
She turned to look at me, tears streaming down her cheeks and a pained look on her face. However, it held no sway on me. I was done with her.
Moments later in the elevator, Lilian patted my shoulder. “That was pretty rough. Are you ok?”
I brushed off his hand and replied, “Yeah, I’m perfectly fine. I don’t know why the hell she was crying though. Everything that happened was her own fault.”
This time, it was Lucina who came to comfort me, putting an arm around my back and leaning against me. “Well, it must be pretty shocking for someone used to being forgiven for things to be told no.”
“That’s her father’s fault.” I sighed, remembering the remorse that Goto had shown earlier. “No, I guess it is her fault. Goto gave her the same amount of responsibility that he had when he was younger, she just abused her freedom.”
“Also…” Lucina pinched me on the arm, “Don’t tell people that they are ‘pieces of shit,’ to their face, ever. It’s rude, and unbecoming of someone of your position.”
“Even if it’s true?” I looked at her, and Lucina couldn’t keep the grin off of her face.
“Especially if it’s true.”
“Then how are they supposed to realize their own flaws? If you protect someone’s feelings too much, it’s more like you’re being rude to them. If someone won’t tell you how you messed up, how are you supposed to learn?”
“You’re thinking too deeply about it. Why put that much thought into someone you don’t really care about?”
“She got you on that one, Master Joshua.” Lilian smiled, and I frowned at his unwanted comment.
“That reminds me, Lilian. I need to tighten your contract again, so you can’t conspire with other people without my permission. This really makes me miss having Reya as a servant. She was really obedient, and never stress tested the system.”
Lilian did a small bow and said, “It is my pleasure, Master Joshua. I am just being helpful for the next time you have someone become an indentured slave.”
“The only way I’ll use these contracts is if they’re borderline murderers, such as yourself. Or perhaps if they’re criminal masterminds. Other than that, I don’t see myself using any.”
“Bo-ring.” Lilian said, enduring the shock that came following the perceived insult, and I seriously considered killing him again myself, just so he could go through the discomfort of living as a program again.
The elevator opened directly into the throne room, and we stepped into the welcoming faces of Emperor Goto and Reya.
Well, Reya was welcoming. Goto looked tired and worn out, no doubt done with the hectic negotiations that came against the leverage that Reya had attained during the proceedings.
“Ah, good to see you, lad.” Goto looked like he meant every word, and came over to shake my hand and bow to me personally.
“We’ve finally completed the deal. With this, we’ve negotiated trade peace between The Luong Empire and the Metronian Kingdom for the next ten years.” Goto sighed and made for his door.
“I know you have things to discuss, so I’ll leave you all alone. Lad, when you’re done, shoot me a message on Judgment. Let’s eat lunch or dinner together. I have some things to talk to you about.”
I nodded, and Goto left with a noticeable slump to his gait. Turning around, I asked Reya, “What was that all about?”
She grinned and said, “I squeezed him for all he was worth.”
“Ew, gross.” Lilian said, and I made a mental note to edit the settings of the contract once more. I walked over to the side of the room, and sat down on a large, soft, sofa.
‘I can arrange for that, Master. Will tonight on the flight back be appropriate?’ X, you’re back from accessing the files, I take it? Did you find the data I asked for?
‘Yes, people who are both Neuromancers and Fallen have been located, but unfortunately, they are all around the world. I suggest discussing your next steps after returning to the safety of the Metronian Kingdom.’
Lucina walked up to the table in the middle of the room, eager to check over the trade deal that her younger sister had created.
In the meantime, Reya walked over to me and sat by my side. “So, how’d your date with my sister go?”
“It was fun.” I said, letting a smile slip. “Next time, I need to be careful about her lipstick.”
Reya gave me a curious gaze, but seeing as I wasn’t going to elaborate, cleared her own throat.
“I know how much Akahime bothered you while we were here, so I hope you’ll enjoy the present I’ve gotten for you, by the way.” My brows raised, and a sinking feeling formed in the pit of my stomach.
“What did you do, Reya?”
The Metronian Princess averted my gaze and said, “Well, not much. I did get good prices for the ore, lowered costs of importing goods… oh! How could I forget. I did also get Akahime to come to the Metronian Kingdom with us, as part of her reformation measures.”