It's just a small chat but, the maids around her couldn't believe what she just said. A noblewoman invited by Her Majesty for a cup of tea was something that never once happened in this palace. If this came out heard by other nobles, the society would definitely in chaos, since Denallie was someone they cursed and mocked before, yet she was invited for a tea by Her Majesty.
"It would be my greatest pleasure, Your Majesty" I bowed a little then approached the Empress.
I just stood there.
"...is there anything wrong? Why won't you take a seat, Lady Denallie?"
"It is because I'm not permitted yet, Your Majesty. Please, forgive me"
The Empress laughed a little and put down her cup.
"Well then, take a seat, Lady Denallie"
"Excuse me, Your Majesty" I said, smiling.
.
.
.
After our little talk was over, Her Majesty finally jumped to the topic.
"Now, I'm still waiting for your answer, Lady Denallie"
"Just Llie is enough, Your Majesty. As for my answer, my intention was to spread my family's name around the other continents. But, my priority is still stopping the Southern's invasion. I hope, that will satisfy your curiosity, Your Majesty"
The Empress took a while to speak again.
"...I see. Then, I won't interfere on that matter. But, should you be seeking a helping hand, send me a letter. Understand?"
"I understand, Your Majesty. As for my other answer…I will gladly accept your generous offer"
She smiled.
"That's a good answer, yes. From this day on, Denallie Nayanika Isvara, and whoever she is acquainted with, will be permitted to enter this palace whenever she wants. Relay my words!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
All the maids bowed, then left the both of us alone.
"Now, how about you go to Dinesh's place? I'm sure she will be surprised since she never told of our meeting here"
.
.
.
"…I will excuse myself then, Your Majesty"
"Fufu…yes, Lady Denallie"
…
Just as I thought. When she said Dinesh's place, she was referring to Dinesh's private training ground.
"Haa!!"
As I arrived, Dinesh was alone practicing with her sword. Seeing that, I intentionally let out my killing intent towards her. Sensing that, Dinesh instinctively rushed towards me.
*(Clank)
"It's me, Your Highness" I said, with our swords clashing.
"Lady Denallie?!"
She hurriedly took a few steps back.
"W-w-why are you here??"
*(Sheathing)
"Her Majesty invited me for a cup of tea. I just think I might take a look at my future disciple before I go back. But, I see that you're working hard on your practice"
"O-of course I am. So, what do you think?"
"The fundamentals were already good, though somewhat lacking. A little bit of training from me will fix it. Your technique is…I'm sorry to say, less than I thought"
"I see…Yozita said so too. Can you help me for a bit? I-it's okay if you don't want to!"
A little performance won't waste my time. I started taking off my shirt. Dinesh and the maids who were there couldn't take their gazes off me.
"...I know that my abs look ravishing and my breasts are beautiful. But, please stop staring at it, okay?"
The maids hurriedly left the two of us, blushing. The rumor about how beautiful Denallie's body soon spread among the servants the next day.
*(Blush)
"W-w-w-why are you only wearing your underwear?!" said Dinesh, blushing.
"What are you saying? This is a sports bra. I always wear this when I'm practicing. Are you perhaps…seduced by this?"
"NO! PLEASE FOCUS ON OUR PRACTICE!"
You're blushing, though?
"Now now. Watch how I use my sword against this dummy"
"Yes"
I took a stance. I took a deep breath and started attacking the dummy.
.
.
.
*(Exhale)
"T-that was good swordsmanship. But, why won't you hit the dummy? I don't see any marks from your sword hitting it"
I smiled and softly touched the dummy. The dummy teared apart as if being slashed by a thousand swords.
"W-what just…"
"This will be your first task from me. You don't need to imitate my movements. If you watch carefully, I'm sure you'll find your answer"
"Thank you very much!"
*(Step)
"Aren't you a bit too harsh to Her Highness?"
A woman walked in behind me. Recognizing her voice, she was Yozita. She approached us with two towels in her hands.
"Dear, it's the most fundamental for her to learn from me, you know?" I said, wrapping my arm around her waist.
"Here's your towel. And stop seducing me when I'm working, please" she said, covering my face with a towel and pushing me away.
"Okay okay~"
"This is your towel, Your Highness"
"Thanks, Yozita"
We chatted for a while talking about what I just discussed with Her Majesty.
…
Dinesh left first, leaving both Yozita and myself alone.
"You sensed it?" I asked.
"A man, perhaps a noble, around our ages, and a noticeable figure. Should I leave it to you?" said Zita.
"Sure thing. See you at the front gate, dear"
"Take care~"
…
At the front gate…
"UWAAAAAAH!!!"
*(Boom)
"What was that?!" asked the guards.
"A stalker of Her Highness Dinesh. May I have the honor to punish this thing?" I said.
"W-we can't give you the permission to do that, Lady Denallie"
"You have my permission, Lady Denallie. Punish this imbecile however you see fit" said Her Majesty, who suddenly appeared behind the guards.
"I-I BEG YOU, YOUR MAJESTY!! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!!!"
The Empress ignored him and left.
"Well then, I will take the most important yet sinned part of you. Your eyes" I said, as shadow hands appeared from the ground.
*(Pluck)
"AAAGHHH?!!!"
A set of eyeballs fell to the ground, with a lot of blood surrounding it. I took them and put them inside a bag.
"Guards, I'm sure you will handle the rest, right?"
"Y-yes!"
They then took him to the nearest priest to stop his bleeding.
*(Fwoosh)
"Which one?" I asked
"The Landel. I never thought that the thing they called 'heir' is someone like that" said Zita, who just appeared when the guards left.
"An earldom, huh? I'll send these eyes as a gift for them"
"Horrible"
"Yet you loved me"
…
After that, I went back home with a satisfied feeling. As soon as I arrived at home, I chose to take a bath and told the maids that I don't need dinner. Just as I was done taking a bath, Yozita was already on my bed, fully naked.
"...can you hold it in for a bit? I need to finish some works first"
"You can't leave it?" she asked, spreading her legs.
.
.
.
"That's tempting, but no. How about you sit on my lap and cuddle with me. Sounds good?"
"...fine"
Yozita headed to me and sat on my lap, facing me. She rested her face on my breasts.
"I've been meaning to ask you about this, Zita. Did you write everything you remember about this world?" I said, stroking her hair.
"I did. Not completely but, only the important parts. How about you?"
"Well, I remembered almost all of the contents. So I wrote down everything"
Zita looked up to me.
"Huh? What if someone else discovered that? Don't you think it would be dangerous?"
*(Pat)
"Of course I know that. I've made sure to bring this knowledge to my grave"
"How?"
"I engraved all of that to my core. A little bit painful, but worth it. Hence, no one will be able to find it"
.
.
.
*(Bite)
Zita suddenly bit my neck.
"Ow ow ow. What was that for?!"
"You dummy. If you remembered almost all of the contents, then you shouldn't write it!"
"....sorry. I need to extract every memory of me knowing that information back then. Every time the extraction is done, I need to remember that again. And the cycle goes on years later until I met Jormungand"
.
.
.
"Is it because of those potential enemies?"
*(Kiss)
"Yes. Once the plot was written, there's not a chance for it to be changed. That's what I was thinking since my power was still far from it's peak back then. Now, I don't give a damn about that plot. I'm already powerful enough to change everything at the moment" I said, kissing her lips.
"That means you're still aiming to be stronger than you are now"
I put down my pen, and lifted Zita's face closer to mine.
"Indeed. But, not to avoid those bastards. I need to be stronger, to protect all of my family. Don't worry, I'm not some kind of person who'll burden myself to be comforted by the others just because I need to be stronger"
.
.
.
"Pfft…Are you insinuating someone right now?"
"Yeah…maybe"
…
At certain places, buried deep in the dark…
"I hope everything is going well for the plan"
A deep voice echoing through the dark.
"Yes, My Lord. We are waiting for your order"
The ground trembled violently.
"We will punish those imbeciles for treating us as their plaything! Once the moonless night arrives! We will be victorious!
"YEAAAAAAHHH!!!!"
*.*.*.*
To Be Continued…
***
How's the new cover guys? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)