Chapter 38: A Noblewoman’s Forward Feelings

Earlier that morning, before the aphrodisiac crisis.

Prussia sat on a crate near the entrance with her dragonbone sword resting across her lap. She ran the whetstone along the blade’s edge with slow strokes.

Shhk. Shhk. Shhk. She sharpened her blade.

Her eyes weren’t on the sword, though.

They were on Mariella.

The noblewoman sulked in a wooden chair in the far corner and looked uncharacteristically messy. Her hair was a mess, her blue eyes stared blankly at the wall, and she was wearing simply whatever: a white button shirt over a midi skirt and small brown boots. She looked like a wilted flower.

After the events of last night, Prussia knew exactly why.

It was pathetic.

It was also... uncomfortably familiar.

Prussia’s grip tightened on the whetstone. She hated this feeling. This boiling, churning sensation in her chest whenever she thought about another woman pining for Adonis.

’...Hmm, since when do I care? This is concerning.’

She didn’t like him. She was sure of it.

Prussia shoved the thought aside and sighed heavily.

"Oi."

Mariella didn’t respond.

"Oi. Noblewoman."

Mariella blinked and looked up as her eyes refocused.

"Hm? Did you say something?"

"What’s wrong with you?"

"Nothing."

Mariella answered in that very quick way people always did when they weren’t alright. She stood up from the chair, smoothed her rumpled long skirt.

She spent so many days cooking and eating slop all because she wanted Adonis to hit her. He was usually more aggressive when they were kids, but he’s much different now. Mariella didn’t know whether to call that maturity or something else entirely.

"I was just... heading back inside."

She made it two steps before Prussia’s voice stopped her.

"It’s about Adonis, isn’t it?"

Mariella froze on the spot and her shoulders tensed.

"How did you—?"

"Nothing stays a secret from me forever."

Prussia shrugged, putting down the whetstone and picking up a cloth to shine her blade thoroughly.

Mariella sighed defeatedly and slumped back into the chair beside Prussia. The fact Prussia had her figured out so easily left her like a punctured balloon.

"...How much do you know?"

"Enough."

Mariella groaned and buried her face in her hands.

Prussia held up her sword to inspect the shine and sharpness of the blade, then put it aside.

"What exactly do you want from him? Do you want him to hit you? And then what? Is that the limit of your fascination with him? If that’s the case, then it sounds shallow."

She spoke flatly with eyes of total disinterest, although she was actually very curious to know. Prussia was just very good at appearing calm on the outside, like right now, when she was boiling with anger and envy at the fact that another woman was sulking over Adonis.

It made her own feelings for him seem inadequate.

Prussia hates being inferior.

Mariella slowly lowered her hands from her red face.

"...You’re right."

"Hm?" Prussia looked away from her sword.

"I feel ashamed that you know... that... about me... I thought I hid it pretty well."

Prussia said nothing, still admiring her sword’s luster.

"Other than my mother, there’s really no one I can talk about stuff like... this... with. So I might as well tell you."

"..."

"Calling it shallow... that’s a bit unfair."

"How is it not shallow? You’ve reduced an image of your dirty sexual fantasies. He’s like a tool to cope with your urges. How would you feel if Adonis treated you like a toy?"

Mariella opened her mouth.

"Don’t answer that."

Mariella closed it.

She lowered her head a little. There was a lot of sense in what Prussia was saying, and now she felt terrible. No, she always felt like that. A feeling that wasn’t new to her.

Mariella’s hands trembled in her lap.

"...I know."

Her voice sounded almost lifeless.

"I know what I am. I’ve always known. And trust me, I hate it. I hate how my urges make me less of a romantic partner. I hate how they make’s me unable to be... to be a dependable rock to lean on for the man I love. I can barely live with myself."

A tear slid down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away.

"I can’t live with myself anymore."

She looked up at Prussia with wet blue eyes.

"What do you think I should do?"

Prussia was taken aback by the question.

’She’s asking me for advice. She’s that desperate. If I told her to jump off a cliff, would she do it?’

Prussia looked away. The whole thing made her uneasy. She wasn’t used to this. She was a warrior who solved problems with her sword, not with... feelings.

"You could always take an aphrodisiac and be more forward about your feelings. Adonis is a strong man. I’ve tried to make fun of him by seducing him quite a few times, but he doesn’t budge. I don’t think he will for you, but it’s worth a try."

Mariella nodded without hesitation. "Th-, Thank you!"

Prussia looked away in shame afterward. She may not know anything about love, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t tell when she was misleading her competition.

’It’s not honorable... but, but it must be done.’

And that’s how the Fifth Prince ended up in this dump with a horny Mariella who was burning up so badly her clothes looked like they’d been hit by rain. She was drenched, yet refused to take off a single layer to get some air.

The aphrodisiac... it made everything about her temptingly pronounced. Her lips looked flushed and far more appetizing than usual, her chest was transparent now that her shirt was glued to her skin and outlined her sizable breasts, even the way she panted was agonizingly seductive.

Adonis was a virgin.

But more than that, he was a man of principle.

He would never sleep with a woman while she was under the influence of an aphrodisiac. Or rather, he’d never use an aphrodisiac on a woman he respected deeply, even if she was a perverted mind with no self-respect.

’There has to be a way around this...’

If he slept with her now, how on earth was he going to explain things to Minerva?

Anytime he had tea with Minerva, or slept with his head resting on her thighs, a setup she insisted was "mandatory" so she could enjoy some quiet time with him, she would always whisper to herself while thinking he was asleep. Where she’d claim that his virginity belonged to her, and that no other woman would ever take it.

Adonis felt a headache brewing.

There might not be a way around this... but that didn’t stop him from trying.

In the corner of the warehouse, Mariella was curled up like a ball. As much as she desperately wanted to touch herself to relieve the overwhelming sexual pressure between her legs, she fought it.

"Ah... hahh..."

Her mumbles were weak.

"Hah~ haaah~ I touch myself now, I won’t have anything to hold over him. Hold it... in..."

She wrapped her arms around her body, squeezing herself as if she’d pee if she let go.

Her virgin rose is burning, and with each passing second it went from a rose to a thriving water lily. Her hot pant was getting wet as her water trickled.

"Please... do it already... Adonis..."

Her toes curled tightly inside her cute brown boots.

The Fifth Prince sighed. He walked over and dropped down onto one knee in front of her. Close up, he could see the raw lust clouding her eyes and the beads of sweat trailing down her collarbone.

"Mariella..." he called out softly.

"Wh-, What is it...?" she squeaked out, panicking.

The aphrodisiac must’ve made her jumpy, especially with the man she liked so much towering right over her.

"Look, I can’t give you what you want. I’ve tried to see things differently but there’s nothing right about this. I can’t do what you want me to do. I’m not that kind of man, and I apologize if I’d somehow given you the wrong impression."

He noticed Mariella was trembling as if she were about to die of a heatstroke, and what’s more was the strangely relieved look on her sweaty face. She was pretty clearly feeling pleasure now.

It turned him on a little.

Then he looked down.

Until he looked down and saw a clear puddle of water pooling on the floor right where she sat.

Mariella had water magic, but something told him this wasn’t an elemental spell.

Adonis edged back a few inches.

"Did you... pee yourself?"

Mariella nodded with a face full of suppressed ecstasy.

"It’s... unbecoming of a noble lady to wet herself, hnn~... but I can’t say I’m not enjoying how good it feels to relieve myself in front of you..."

A normal Mariella would have taken that kink to her grave but the aphrodisiac had clearly stripped away her filters.

Adonis pinched the bridge of his nose. "Oh, my goodness."

Mariella tilted her head, looking like a clueless cat.

"Doesn’t my prince find a beautiful lady pissing in front of him pleasant? Men like that, yes?"

The Fifth Prince abruptly stood up and turned his back.

"You should use your water magic to rinse your panties. I’ll look away while you—"

"Prussia told me how manipulative you can be. You got close to me because you knew I’d wet myself, you want me to take off my panties so you can steal the key... isn’t that right?"

"Sheet." ಠ_ಠ

Adonis turned his head back slightly and saw Mariella staring up at him with a lustful, crazy smile.

"C’mon, my prince. Undress me already... unless you want to be stuck here with me all day, fufu~"

The look in her eyes was borderline evil.

Shamefully enough, Adonis was aroused.

A virgin by choice is a strong man.

A virgin by force is a weak one.

Adonis got close to her again and slowly slipped his hands under her wet skirt.

"I’ll start with your panties first."

"D-, Don’t touch the key!"

"I want to touch something else."