In the temporarily prepared lavish tent, Karisa and I sat facing each other.
At first, the atmosphere had been awkward—probably because of the Bunny Bunny Knights—but as I deliberately lightened the mood, the tension eased a little.
Still, the looks directed at the Bunny Bunny Knights were far from favorable.
‘A knight order made entirely of women. And their outfits practically scream a certain image.’
Anyone would think of only one purpose.
Nighttime service. Or something even more blatant.
‘Which was exactly what I was aiming for.’
In truth, openly leading around a knight order with a name like Bunny Bunny—one whose purpose anyone could guess—was a calculated move.
I had judged that it was time to gradually reveal my true nature.
‘If I emphasize only the image of a perfectly good and righteous hero, all I get is annoying expectations and obligations.’
So it was necessary to play the part of the good guy to a reasonable degree while simultaneously planting the image of a lecher.
A hero, but not a perfect one.
‘That way, no matter what I do later, people will just shrug and say, “That’s just like him.”’
Karisa lifted her teacup, took a sip, then cautiously spoke.
“Marquis.”
“Please speak, Your Highness.”
“I’ll ask frankly. That knight order… is it really for combat?”
A direct question.
I set my teacup down and gave a small chuckle.
“Of course.”
“…Then what about those outfits?”
“My preference.”
“Preference?”
Karisa’s eyebrow shot up.
“Yes, my preference. I like beautiful women. And strong women even more.”
I continued calmly.
“So I combined the two. Beautiful, strong female knights. And I dressed them according to my taste.”
“Hah.”
Karisa let out a hollow laugh, apparently at a loss for words.
“You say it so openly.”
“Is there any reason to hide it?”
“Most people… at least try to save face, don’t they?”
“In a situation where my life could end at any moment, I don’t have the luxury of worrying about such things.”
“You really are… quite an unusual person, Marquis.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“It might not be one.”
Karisa gave a small laugh.
She lifted her teacup again and took another sip, then turned her gaze out the window.
Outside, the Bunny Bunny Knights stood in awkward confrontation with the imperial knights.
The imperial knights kept stealing glances at the bunny-girl outfits, while the Bunny Bunny members stood proudly.
“Are they really that strong?”
Karisa asked.
“Would you like to see for yourself?”
“…No, never mind. If Marienne the hero is their captain, I have no choice but to believe it.”
She sighed.
“But those outfits… they’re going to cause problems once we reach the Holy Kingdom.”
“I’m aware.”
“You’re doing it even though you know?”
“Yes.”
Karisa sighed again, but the corners of her lips were slightly raised.
“You seem quite different from what I imagined, Marquis.”
“Are you disappointed?”
“Disappointed? No… actually, it’s been a long time since I’ve felt this entertained.”
Karisa extended her cup toward me.
I raised mine and lightly clinked it against hers.
“So, have you thought about it?”
Karisa asked abruptly.
“About marriage?”
“Yes.”
I slowly set my teacup down and looked at her.
“I’m sorry, but I must decline.”
“May I know the reason?”
“Your Highness is an exceptional person.”
I continued politely.
“Your beauty, your ability, your status—everything is perfect. But…”
“But?”
“I desire a free life.”
“A free life?”
Karisa raised an eyebrow.
“Are you saying marriage would restrict your freedom?”
“At least marriage to Your Highness would.”
I answered honestly.
“Marriage to you would mean an alliance with the Empire. Which also means getting entangled in imperial politics.”
“…That’s true.”
Karisa didn’t deny it.
“But is that necessarily a bad thing? Receiving the Empire’s support would be an enormous benefit.”
“Of course. But rather than someone else’s support…”
I paused for a moment and met her eyes directly.
“I prefer to seize what I want with my own strength.”
“Hmm.”
Karisa took another sip from her teacup.
Her expression was complicated.
“A refusal… That’s a shame.”
She rose from her seat.
“I should return now. My subordinates are waiting.”
“Allow me to see you off.”
I stood as well and walked out of the tent with her.
Outside, the imperial knights and Bunny Bunny Knights were still locked in awkward standoff.
Karisa mounted her horse and looked back at me one last time.
“Marquis.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“We’ll travel together to the Holy Kingdom. There’s no telling what might happen on the way.”
“A good idea.”
“And…”
Karisa hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“I’ll try to get used to those bunny outfits.”
“Thank you.”
“No need to thank me. I’ll have to look at them for days anyway.”
Karisa gave a small laugh and turned her horse’s head.
“Then, let’s meet again tomorrow morning.”
“Rest well, Your Highness.”
Karisa led the imperial knights away to set up camp.
I watched her retreating figure and smirked.
That gallant posture, the firm body wrapped in silver armor, the red hair fluttering in the wind.
‘Seeing her in person makes me want to pin her against a wall and fuck her even more.’
Marienne approached from the side where she had been waiting.
“Shall we set up camp as well?”
“Yeah. And set it up quite close. Close enough that the moans can be heard clearly at night.”
“Understood.”
She signaled to the Bunny Bunny Knights.
“Set up camp at an appropriate distance from the imperial knights!”
The thirty Bunny Bunny Knights immediately began to move.
I chuckled inwardly.
‘Tonight’s going to be pretty noisy.’
***
Night deepened.
Campfires burned in the imperial knights’ encampment, and the knights took turns standing guard.
Inside her tent, Karisa was removing her armor.
—Clank…
As the heavy silver armor came off, the thin undergarments beneath were revealed.
Toned abs, a narrow waist, and the full breasts that had been hidden by the armor.
A body that combined the hardness of a warrior with the softness of a woman.
“Huu…”
Karisa sighed and sat on the bed.
‘Jin Alcradion…’
The face of the man she had met today came to mind.
Silver hair, red eyes, and an aura that felt somehow dangerous.
‘He was very different from the rumors.’
The rumors painted him as some saintly hero, but in reality…
‘He was a man honest about his desires.’
Leading around the blatantly named Bunny Bunny Knights was proof enough.
During their conversation he had acted cheerful, but she could tell it was just a performance. Men like that were exactly the type she disliked most.
‘And the way he looked at me was far from ordinary.’
It was a gaze she knew all too well—the same lust-filled stare Bastian Bartello had once given her.
Karisa frowned.
‘I need to rethink Jin Alcradion.’
Pulling him into the Empire seemed like something that required reconsideration.
Karisa lay back on the bed and sighed.
Then—
—Mmm…♡
A faint moan drifted in.
“…What’s that?”
Karisa strained her ears.
—Aah♡ Master…♡
—Thrust, thrust, thrust!
Karisa’s face flushed red in an instant.
The sound was unmistakably coming from the Alcradion party’s camp.
Carried on the night breeze—moans, heavy breathing, and obscenely explicit noises.
Strangely, the marquis’s group had deliberately set up camp right next to theirs. At first she hadn’t thought much of it, but now the intention was becoming clear.
‘No way… is he doing this on purpose so we can hear?’
Karisa shook her head inwardly.
‘It can’t be…’
—Haaang♡ It’s so deep♡
—Spurt! Spurt!
‘He’s definitely making sure we hear.’
She felt irritated.
—Master♡ Please cum inside me♡
—Good, take it!
—Spurrrrt! Spurt! Spurt!
—Mmm♡
The flap of Karisa’s tent flew open suddenly.
“Your Highness!”
Serena stormed in, face twisted with anger.
“That… that bastard is doing that right out in the open…! Should I go say something?!”
Karisa sat up on the bed.
“What’s the situation outside?”
“The knights… they’re all shaken. Hearing sounds like that…”
Serena trailed off, but Karisa understood perfectly.
No man could stay calm hearing noises like those.
“Is it interfering with guard duty?”
“Not yet, but if it keeps going…”
—Next is me♡
—Ahn♡ Wait for me♡
—Both of you get on all fours. I’ll take turns fucking you.
—Yes♡
Multiple voices rang out.
Serena’s face grew even redder.
“That guy… it’s not even just one…”
Karisa gritted her teeth.
‘He’s completely disregarding us.’
No—not disregard. It was provocation.
As if daring her: What can you do about it?
‘I misjudged him.’
—Smack! Slap! Smaaack!
—Ahhng♡ Master♡
—This time the back feels tighter?
—Harder…♡ Spank my ass please♡
—Crack! Crack!
“Your Highness?”
Serena asked worriedly.
“Leave it.”
“But…!”
“Just block it with Silence.”
“…Understood.”
Serena looked dissatisfied but withdrew.
The tent flap closed, leaving Karisa alone again.
‘There’s no benefit in clashing with the marquis’s group right now.’
Her pride was wounded, but in this situation, fighting him would bring no gain—only the risk of endangering herself.
‘A man who provokes the imperial princess this brazenly is definitely not normal.’
And she had no idea just how strong Jin Alcradion really was.
According to rumors, the entire group here could be wiped out by the marquis alone.
If he harbored even the slightest ill intent…
‘He could kidnap me—the imperial princess—and do whatever he wanted.’
Thirty dark elf knights led by the hero Marienne.
That alone was already dangerous.
‘…Starting tomorrow, we need to keep more distance.’
And one new concern began to surface.
What if Duke Bastian Bartello had also tried to recruit him—and had already bought him over before she could?
‘I need to be cautious about that too.’
Karisa sat on the bed and sighed.
—Mmm…♡
Again, the moans drifted in.
—Aah♡ Master…♡
—Thrust, thrust, thrust!
“…Silence.”
Karisa quietly chanted the spell.
***
—Thrust! Thrust! Slam slam slam!
“Haaang♡ Master♡ It feels so good♡”
One dark elf moaned beneath me.
“Master.”
Another dark elf whispered from the side.
“The princess has cast Silence magic.”
“Has she?”
“What should we do?”
“Leave it.”
I answered nonchalantly.
“Understood.”
—Thrust! Thrust! Thrust!
I gripped the dark elf’s waist and kept pounding upward.
Then a thought occurred to me.
“Ah, by the way.”
“Yes, Master?”
“That escort knight next to the princess, right?”
“The blonde female knight?”
“Yeah. Use the thing we developed this time and lure her over here.”
“Understood.”
‘Planting a spy right next to the princess wouldn’t be bad.’
Of course, that wasn’t the only reason.
‘That blonde knight… her body was killer.’
Serena.
Princess Karisa’s personal guard knight.
She had caught my eye the moment I saw her today.
Sharp eyes, a strong personality, and an expression overflowing with loyalty.
‘There’s something delicious about corrupting a girl like that.’
It wasn’t purely because I wanted to fuck her.
Purely strategic judgment.
—Thrust! Thrust! Slam!
“Nngh♡ Master♡ I’m gonna cum♡”
I slapped the dark elf’s ass hard and drove even deeper.
—Spurt! Spurt! Spurt!
“Ooooh♡”
The dark elf trembled with an ecstatic expression.