Iris no longer talked about her belief after the dessert break. She couldn’t convince her family to believe in her radical idea without the passage of time to simmer her messages, but she didn’t have the time, and she didn’t require their faith.

Only their safety mattered.

She could bear their look of disappointment and fury, though it would tear apart her heart, for so long as they were unharmed, undisturbed in their paradise, the paradise that she strived to create. And she hoped, with all her naivety, that they would understand her in the end.

Vivalin ate a piece of brownie. Its chocolate coating melted on her tongue and tainted her blue lips with a hint of dark brown impunity. She pursed her lips, chewed the soft piece, and wiped the stain with her handkerchief. Her eyes wandered to Iris, and her mouth curved into a faint smile, expressing an array of emotions.

Iris’s heart clicked. Her vision blurred. Vivalin’s silhouette overlapped with another maiden of noble birth, someone so cold and indifferent, yet so elegant and soft-spoken.

She saw herself, her stubborn, rebellious past self. It wasn’t a confirmation or a declaration but merely an instinct. Its aura was dazzling yet fleeting, vanishing the instant it manifested.

“Iris, is there something you wish to know?” Vivalin said.

Iris recalled her dreamy expression. “There is a little bit of chocolate on your lips, Vivalin.”

Vivalin leaned forward, her eyes sparkling. “Do you want to clean them for me?”

“Please don’t tempt me, or I might fail to restrain myself.” Iris touched her lips. “It’s the first time something has tainted your perfection. I found it irresistible not to restore your glamour.”

“Is my beauty that important to you?”

“Beauty is our greatest weapon. We Monster Girls must take tender care of our charms.”

“But I am not one yet.”

“Your heart is one, Vivalin. You devote yourself to your ideal. If you weren’t of Monster Girl, you wouldn’t have gone to such length.” Iris smiled.

How hypocritical. I told her to cherish herself, yet I didn’t take my own advice. Why am I so stubborn, Main Body? Why can we not change, even if we know it would be for the better?

Vivalin straightened her back. “Iris, your encouragement reaches me. I will cherish your words and keep them in my heart.”

“If I were to be greedy, would you permit my lavish spending?”

Lenmia and the rest held their breaths. Their strange expressions gradually turned to defeated ones. Unlike them, who idolised the Broken Empire, Iris was too careless, too daring. They feared for her, but they also felt that she could do anything.

Her bright, otherworldly aura reassured them, but such a feeling only deepened their worries, for they realised she hid too deep, hid too well.

“Iris, you shouldn’t play with Her Highness’s feeling,” Dulcie said. “If you want to relieve your stress, I am always free. Please don’t leave us for Her Highness. Even though we are inferior in terms of wealth and beauty, Her Highness is still a human.”

Iris turned to Dulcie. “I’m a greedy Monster Girl. I would never let go of my possession, no matter the amount of compensation.”

“Iris, your boldness is unrivalled.” Vivalin got up. “I usually don’t indulge in the garden of earthly delight, but something about you captivates me.”

“Has my charm infected you?”

“Your charm is something I hold dear.” Vivalin walked to Iris, her hands tracing the dining table. “We are that arrogant, aren’t we?”

Iris leaned back with her mouth slightly open. She stared at Vivalin, her thoughts racing, before she blinked, grinned, and rose from her seat. Her demeanour lost its mischief. The cute air that lingered around her morphed into a dignified temperament.

Their sight connected, but they said nothing, revealed nothing. They communicated through silence, silence which permeated everything, silence which conveyed everything.

Iris chuckled. “Yes, Vivalin. We’re arrogant, but without it, we wouldn’t have made our choices.”

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Vivalin reached forward and embraced Iris delicately. “Maybe it isn’t arrogance but confidence.”

“Only uncertainty will tell.” Iris lightly coughed. “Destiny is everchanging. Even if we know ourselves, we can never know what others are thinking.”

Vivalin relaxed her embrace. “How heartless. Do you not trust those behind you? They give you their hearts, yet you cannot bring yourself to rely on them?”

Varda smacked the table. “Your Highness—”

Lenmia raised her hand and shook her head. Varda reluctantly shrank back. Everyone then shifted their attention to Iris. Though they never doubted her affection, her silence still made them anxious. The idea of her distress pained them. They wanted her to feel happy, to share her worry, to ease her sorrow.

After all, she was their family.

When the lack of sound became deafening, Iris laughed. Her crisp voice dispelled the heavy atmosphere. As her mouth curved into a smile, she curtseyed Vivalin, who gracefully helped Iris get up.

“Since the beginning, I’ve been beside my family. And after the end, I shall continue to be with them. Our intimacy transcends doubts.” Iris tapped Vivalin’s chest. “Have you ever felt that pulse?”

Vivalin grabbed Iris’s hand and pressed it on her own chest firmly. “Why not feel it for me?”

“It’s my pleasure.” Iris stepped forward. She placed her other hand on the Second Princess’s chest and bent her head to rest on them. The soft flesh cushioned her, creating a fuzzy, lively sensation in her bosom. “Your heart is lively, although it sounds lonesome.”

“Can you cure it?”

“My cure only works from within. May I have the permission to trespass?”

“I cannot open the door for you, but I can leave it unlocked. Please do your best trespassing into me.” Vivalin kissed the top of Iris’s head. “Tell me your feeling. I’m curious about your definition of love.”

“Love . . . is like this.” Iris raised her head. Her melting eyes stared at Vivalin’s surprised face.

Grinning, she rose upward and stole the imperial kiss. Her cheeks flushed, her heart pounding, but she kept her lips connected with Vivalin’s until her slime bubbled. As she pulled back, her head coyly drooped, expressing her bashful spirit.

Silence covered the room. Vivalin, frozen in her place, slowly raised her right hand and touched her moist lips. It tasted like strawberry, sour and sweet and irresistible. She had never tasted such a mild yet addictive flavour before.

“Is this the essence of love?” she said. “It’s fruity.”

“Love doesn’t taste like strawberry . . . . That’s just me.” Iris pinkened. “What I meant to show you is not my taste. It’s the throbbing of your heart. Please listen to it.”

“It feels . . . frustrating. I don’t like it, but I also don’t hate it.” Vivalin took a step forward. “Iris, I require your services once more. I want to investigate it thoroughly.”

Iris widened her embrace and pulled Vivalin close to her. She moved her face toward her imperial partner, but before she could indulge in the royal pleasure, her eyes caught a glimpse of her family’s countenances.

Though silent, their faces expressed masked jealousy. Varda grabbed her own tail and teased its tip, trembling in both pleasure and uneasiness. On the side, Tardi and Pallorn held each other’s hands while Dulcie and Lenmia gawked at Iris, their emotions indiscernible.

The one who appeared calmest was Reta, who watched Iris and Vivalin with unwavering interest as if to capture everything to study later.

Iris had neglected their feelings and spoiled Vivalin instead of her family. Still, she couldn’t stop. She had to give Vivalin the tasteful kiss; she had to confirm something.

Her family’s yearning expressions filled her with excitement. She might have enjoyed their heartache. She would compensate them later, but now, she would relish their flustered hearts.

“Please savour me, Vivalin.” Iris pushed her lips onto Vivalin’s. She gradually slithered her tongue out of her mouth and into the other.

Vivalin nibbled on the intruding tongue and caught it with hers. She crutched Iris’s waist as Iris crutched hers. She trembled, but she didn’t resist. Her saliva, mixed with the sweet nectar, coated her mouth with a delicious taste.

Though her power was beyond Iris, she felt like submitting to her, to the overflowing bliss. No Monster Girls could shake her conviction, but Iris was different. This otherworldly Slime Girl had implanted something into her, something eternal, something valuable.

It was too late to get rid of it now; she had to live with it.

As her legs gave in, she moaned. Her dignified voice reverted to that of an innocent maiden. It seeped inside Iris, messing with her head. She wanted to drag her beloved to the pit of desire, to make this moment unforgettable, irreproducible.

No. Iris suppressed her sinful thoughts and retracted her tongue. She deliberately caressed every part of Vivalin’s mouth before licking her lips and retreating, though her eyes had become pink, with dizziness vaguely visible.

If not for her family’s staring, she would have already defiled Vivalin.

“Vivalin, Your Highness, how was I?” Iris wiped the saliva on her lips and licked her palm. “Has my taste soaked your mind?”

Vivalin held the edge of the table as she balanced herself on her twitching legs. Her authoritative aura vanished. “Iris, the crime . . . of defiling the imperial princess will not go unpunished.”

“Please punish me, Your Highness.” Iris eyed her family. Their gazes made her shiver. She started to regret her aggressive advance. “I’ve overstepped my boundary. It will never—”

“Take responsibility. You have barged into my heart. I won’t allow you to leave whenever you want.” Vivalin held her head high. Her overwhelming aura returned. “However, I am not heartless. Your family will have you as they please. I shall not interfere with your private matter.”

“Your magnanimity is endless, Your Highness,” Lenmia said as she turned to Iris. “You cannot disobey Her Highness’s order, can you?”

“How could I?”

Iris backtracked a few steps, yet she couldn’t avoid the gazes of her family. Shame, dubious excitement, painted her face pink. Trapped in the middle of the sound-proof balcony, she was at their mercy, her pleasure at their fingertips.

“Please don’t stare at me with those scary eyes,” Iris said. “We didn’t come here to commit indecency, did we? Vivalin, what was it that you want to tell me?”

Vivalin sighed. “You all can continue your intimacy later. I must ask our Iris a little more.”

“Please ask away.”

“For the sake of our Corrupted Races, please answer truthfully.” Vivalin sat down, turning solemn. “You’ve been in contact with your main body, haven’t you?”