29 – Royal Reception
Every person we encounter stops in their tracks to bow deeply to us.
Among them, there were those who seemed to hold significant rank.
Seeing Count Taylor and Maria walking ahead of me, I was suddenly struck by the extent of their high status.
‘It feels like people of the rank of minister or vice-minister are walking among government officers…’
Being a commoner like me, I have no personal experience seeing such dignitaries in real life.
To make it more relatable to myself…
‘Is it like meeting a three-star general in the military…?’
Just imagining it makes me shudder.
Suddenly, our group stops – we have arrived at our destination.
A woman greeted us in front of a large sliding door.
“His Majesty has chosen to hold royal receptions in his office for the next while.”
Count Taylor and Maria head straight to the King’s office without any hesitation.
‘I was curious to see this so-called Royal Reception Room…’
The Royal Reception Room I often saw in various forms of media.
A long red carpet spread out on the floor. Courtiers line up on both sides. The King is seated in a chair set a few steps higher, looking down on subjects while pecking at grapes.
The realization that I would not get to see that made me inwardly disappointed.
Just as I was entertaining these frivolous thoughts, Count Taylor, who had been leading, suddenly stops.
“Duke Gibson…”
“Who do we have here? Our Supreme Commander.”
A woman, somewhat diminutive in stature and possessing a slightly stern countenance, was walking toward us from the opposite direction. She casually saluted Count Taylor.
But it didn’t feel respectful; it was more like mocking.
‘So, this is Duke Gibson.’
The six dukes of the kingdom were so powerful that we learned about them separately in etiquette class.
Among them, Duke Gibson, being akin to a Prime Minister in a constitutional monarchy, took care of most of the administrative tasks of the kingdom.
If Count Taylor was the peak of the military officers, then Duke Gibson was the peak of the bureaucrats.
Yet, there seemed to be no love lost between the two.
“His Majesty awaits me. If you will excuse me.”
With an air of reluctance, Count Taylor moved past her.
From Noble mtl dot com
“How about tea time, someday? My junior.”
Duke Gibson suggests with a seemingly friendly tone.
Duke Tyler pauses, not even turning around, and coldly retorts,
“Take care of it.”
I momentarily turn my head to observe Duke Gibson.
She appears to be smiling, but the corners of her mouth are rigid, and veins can be seen on her forehead.
‘She’s pissed.’
How could the country’s highest authorities be on such bad terms?
I was curious, as I hadn’t thoroughly studied the power dynamics among nobles during my etiquette classes.
‘Maybe I should ask Betty next time…’
I glanced at Betty, who was walking beside me.
‘I’m not sure if a swordsmanship otaku like her would be interested in politics…’
Every now and then, she showed an innocent side that was much like a young child’s.
‘Hmm, I’ll just ask Maria instead.’
Upon arrival at the office, a woman dressed as a maid greets us at the door.
“Your Majesty, Duke Tyler and his party request an audience.”
“Let them in.”
From inside came a voice of a woman, unusually low-toned.
The maid opened the door, and we entered.
“Welcome, Tyler. And Anderson.”
A woman who looked to be in her early 30s got up from her office desk and greeted us, showing her full figure.
I was greatly astonished by two things about her.
Firstly, her appearance.
She possessed a body quite different from the average women of this world.
The feeling I got when I first saw Betty’s true form.
No, unlike Betty, hers was a frame that gave off the feel of an adult’s embrace.
And with that, her warm-looking facial features, and the dimples by her mouth.
What surprised me secondly was her outfit.
She appeared like a goddess in a Greek painting,
Her body barely covered with a thin silk cloth, very revealing.
The white fabric was semi-transparent, revealing what was underneath like a see-through.
Even in places where underwear should have been visible, flesh tones were seen!
‘Did they not wear anything?’
I quickly lowered my gaze.
If I continued to look any longer, blood would rush to a certain area.
Thankfully, everyone else also bowed their heads.
I followed their suit, kneeling on one knee and bowing my head.
“Lift your head. And you, Cassie, stop that.”
“I can’t do that. One must distinguish between public and private affairs.”
Is the duke’s name Cassie? A cute name for someone who always looks stern. A pet name?
It seems the king and the duke are quite close.
“Ugh, fine. Long time no see, Betty. How have you been?”
“Your Majesty, I have been well, thanks to the grace of the castle.”
I turned my head and glanced at Betty.
‘So she can talk fluently like this’
Perhaps it’s due to her aristocratic education.
“It would be nice if you called me auntie like before.”
“No, no, I can’t…”
The king walks towards us.
To be precise, right in front of me.
“You who still can’t lift your head, you must be the talk of the town these days.”
“I-I am honored to meet Your Majesty~”
This awkward way of speaking, I decided to mimic those overly dramatic tones from historical dramas.
“Lift your head and look at me.”
‘It wasn’t about the historical tone.’
If I lift my head and look at her now, I’ll get an erection 100%.
A male nobleman getting an erection while meeting the queen.
A sense of unrest as if I’d get arrested for some crime if caught.
“Is there anything uncomfortable? Is your throat clogged? Why can’t you look at me?”
“No, no. I was nervous because it’s my first time seeing Your Majesty, I accidentally neglected etiquette. I will lift my head immediately!”
I steeled myself and raised my head.
As I lifted my head, I silently sang the anthem in my heart, thought of my mother, and recalled various s*xual harassment I had seen on the community.
However, such efforts were shattered by the breathtaking view that came into view.
I was kneeling and she was standing right in front of me, revealing a lot of skin.
From below, I could see her big, round breasts so well, and the red tip stood out vividly.
And my vision was gradually moving downwards, beyond the control of reason.
Thighs so plump that the flesh inside seemed to crush each other.
In between, a thin layer of fabric seemed to reveal a red crack.
“Ugh…”
I averted my gaze there.
My suit pants were already tight.
It was painful.
I tried to hide something by pulling the knee that was up more towards my body from the position of kneeling on one knee.
“You still don’t see the luggage?”
Her voice gradually sounded amusing.
‘Are you messing with me now?’
“Your Majesty, shall we move on to the main issue now?”
Duke Tyler stops the king’s mischief.
“hahahaha, I’m sorry. It would be hard for any man to endure this sight.”
“Would you like to wear a more formal outfit?”
“I can’t concentrate if I don’t look like this. I’m the king, but I have to take care of my affairs, don’t I?”
“……”
The Duke just shut his mouth as if they had had this conversation numerous times.
“But you have to dress properly in diplomatic places, right? That’s a big concession on my part.”
‘So you know you’re not dressed properly now.’
Suddenly, I looked at Betty.
Usually, when your man reacts like this to another woman’s naked body, you get jealous.
‘I’ve only seen this in cartoons though.’
I secretly hoped she would get jealous.
However, she had a different expression than I expected.
‘Why is he behaving like this again?’
He had a sulky expression on his face.
“Well, for the sake of our hero’s eye health, let me sit at the desk and speak.”
‘Eye health?… Ah.’
Only then did I understand the situation.
‘I’m really not getting used to this.’
I remembered how that queen-like body was treated in this world.
‘So in the original world, would a potbellied middle-aged man be dressed in see-through attire?’
The Queen was aware that her appearance might be repugnant to men.
‘That’s quite a strong sense of self-esteem, in a way.’
I roughly guessed why Betty was sulking.
‘She felt that I was uncomfortable with the king’s appearance and empathized.’
In some respects, it was correct to feel uncomfortable.
‘But to openly talk about my tastes…’
I feared that it could be interpreted as some kind of pervert.
‘Let’s not reveal it first.’
Eventually, Betty would find out, but there’s no reason to get ahead and get stamped as a pervert.
Sitting at the desk, I sighed i
She was not the culprit, and in the end, the arrow of suspicion pointed towards external forces.
“Bastards…”
To the north, there was an empire and a republic, and to the south, there were island countries.
Due to the geographical feature of the peninsula, provocations and localized wars were frequent.
They were adversarial nations, but ironically, she was able to ascend to the throne stably due to their existence.
This was because Katarina, while in military service, had participated in many local wars and earned high ranks.
The kingdom valued ‘noblesse oblige’, therefore from the royals to earls, everyone had to serve in the military as commanders for several years.
Cassandra Taylor was a war buddy she had gotten close to during that time, and she too, was able to secure the position of the general because of it.
“Speaking of which, that pinch hitter is really audacious.”
Duke Gibson had just paid his respects before leaving.
She seemed to be unaware of the fact that the Duke of Hex called all the shots.
He probably didn’t even know about the existence of the confessionals.
And that the king knows that the noble alliance is involved, too.
He just fawned over her and left.
“How should I handle this…”
Although he did not directly harm them, it was true that his ill-conceived schemes had ultimately led to this chaos.
A suitable punishment had to be given.
Just as she was contemplating.
“Your Majesty, Duke Taylor and his party request an audience.”
Katarina placed the imitation sword she held in her hand under the table and granted them entry.
“Let them in.”
Her friend, Cassandra Taylor, and Madam Maria Anderson came in.
And Betty, the daughter of a close friend.
The girl, who reminded her of her youthful days, had always looked cute as a daughter.
‘What a change…’
She looked more mature than the last time she saw her.
She would also have changed like this when she was her age.
Though she was strong enough to manage a country, considering Betty’s weak heart, it was only pitiful.
And her husband, and the hero of this incident.
‘Charles?’
The first thing that came to mind when I saw him was the image of my deceased parents.