Furthermore, she was the first princess of a superpower nation, with overwhelming support from its military arm. Through brains and effort, she had successfully overcome the societal limitations placed on her as a woman and convinced former King Ethelweld to grant her the position of third in line for succession to the throne of Emelia even before meeting Sol. On top of all that, she possessed such incredible beauty that she was lauded as the Lily of the Kingdom. She was the living embodiment of everything that Sol pictured in the ideal highborn girl.
At least, that was how he had seen her up until tonight. Even though she had practically forced him to call her without her title, she was still every bit a princess in his mind, a being to be looked up to and adored. She acted with grace at times, cutely teased him at times, and bewitched him at times, but throughout it all, there was always a pragmatic core in her that kept score and watched for opportunities. She never hesitated to use something and run it into the ground if needed, including herself. There was also a sincerity to her, and when she wanted to curry favor with someone, she actually made herself appreciate them from the bottom of her heart.
All this was why, in a way, Sol trusted her the most. His fingers unconsciously slid down her hair to stroke her small, well-shaped head, then traced her neck down to her back. Despite being asleep, her ravishing body still shuddered in reaction to the stimulation. The urge to bury his face in her back once more shot through him but was offset by the pang of guilt he felt over how hard he had been with her despite this being her first night.
Instead, he picked up the magic tool on the end table that Gawain had developed half as a joke. In the blink of an eye, the vestiges of their heat and passion were wiped away. Soldiers on the front line and adventurers would probably cry with joy to get their hands on such a tool, but the plan was to first sell it to the night districts. Sex was a rather effective motivator for innovation, advancement, and refinement, as Sol had learned with some surprise.
It was only natural to end up messy after the deed, and he wasn’t particularly disgusted by it, but intentionally remaining in that condition until morning was something else entirely. Most importantly, Frederica was a princess. It wasn’t hard to imagine how distraught she would be if she woke up to find herself in such a disheveled state.
Sol gulped at the sight of Frederica’s bare back, restored to a field of virgin snow thanks to the magic tool, then lightly chastised himself for his reaction. She was all cleaned up, but the marks left on her soft skin remained, seeming more immoral and arousing for becoming more obvious. They counted as wounds in a broad sense, so she would probably need Julia’s help to erase them, like Reen had yesterday morning.
Though the Frederica he knew had not been a lie, it had been but one side of many. Sol chuckled, acknowledging what an easy man he was to have fallen for it. Mere hours ago, the calculating part of her that he had evaluated so highly had crumbled entirely. She had completely bared herself, sharing the depth of the terror in her heart to the person with the power she most trusted to protect her and begged him to use it.
Honestly, he didn’t know what to make of himself. No, he was, in fact, quite dismayed. The sight of Frederica, the paragon of strength he had come to acknowledge, acting tough but being unable to fully suppress her shuddering, ultimately breaking down to reveal a fragile individual who desperately craved the reassurance and warmth of a man from him had excited him more than anything she had ever done to catch his attention. Before this night, he had never known how much this dynamic exhilarated him. There was a possibility that even this had been an act, a trap to burrow deeper into his heart, but if so, he was fine with it. He didn’t care if it was a trap. And for that, he conceded that she had completely beat him.
I thought I had more control over myself than this.
Reen had told him that Frederica was holding herself back and that he would be no match if she ever got serious, while Julia had simply snickered. He had gotten a little indignant at the time, but after tonight, he now fully understood that he was no match for any of the girls in his party.
With that being the case, he wanted to treasure not only his own dream but also those of these girls who had gotten caught up in his own and whom he had come to hold dear. This, too, was another reason for him to bring a swift resolution to the situation that scared Frederica so badly. Thankfully, it was only really a paradox for the All Dragon, whereas he, as the Boy Who Ruled the Monsters, also had at his side the Elven Queen, the Demon Lord, and hopefully, eventually, the Lifeless Divine Beast and the Cursed Hero.
Also, if what Gawain was developing based on Blue Water worked as planned, there was a strong possibility they might gain access to Ward IX’s memories. Additionally, though the Four Great Dungeons were probably still beyond their abilities, clearing normal dungeons seemed like something they could very much do.
What worlds they would find doing so, what enemies they would encounter, and what powers they would obtain remained unknown—all cards that would be revealed only when they actually turned them over. But there was still a lot that Sol and his group could do. Exhausting that list was exactly what it meant to be the adventurer that he dreamed of becoming—to be one who reached places unheard of and unmarred by footsteps. Only such people had the right to learn the world’s mysteries. Sol’s dream, his very purpose in life, was to turn these unknowns into the known.
But now, he had found more reasons to obtain greater strength. Had he acquired support pillars that made him tougher, or had his purpose become scattered and blunted? Not even Sol himself would know until that final moment.
The moment he did would be when he understood what meaning that moment held.