Chereads / Harem Castle2 / Chapter 7 - Harem Castle 2: Chapter 1 - The Life of a Prince

Chapter 7 - Harem Castle 2: Chapter 1 - The Life of a Prince

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"Sorry about the wait."

Ishtar, Kingdom of Forests and Lakes, was one of the fortress city-states on the west side of the continent. Its castle was named Zepuloa and the northern tower had the best view. It had been dubbed the Tower of Water and it was where Queen Gloriana lived her personal life.

Summer was about to officially begin, but a pleasant breeze blew through at the top of that tower, so the occupants could stay cool without relying on magic.

Crown Prince Felix stepped out onto the balcony with Ursula, his guard captain, by his side. A fancy table and chairs had been set up in the shade provided by a large parasol.

The woman seated there looked like sex appeal incarnate and an intellectual woman in the red outfit of a civil official stood behind her on the right, making for a scene of artistic beauty.

"Thank you for coming, my adorable boy♪"

When the graceful woman noticed Felix, she spoke in a sweet voice and elegantly rose to her feet.

A bold body taller than the average woman was contained in a white summer dress with purple borders. It had a provocative design that left the shoulders, cleavage, and back bare.

Looking down, the long skirt had a daring slit up the left side, showing off her shin and her feet contained in white high heels.

She also wore a golden hair decoration, necklace, bracelet, and anklet with large rubies or sapphires set in them.

Her clothing and jewelry alone had to be worth more than most people made in a lifetime. They were probably enough to buy a small castle.

But that luxury did not seem obscene on her. In fact, it suited her perfectly, almost like they were props used to draw out her true beauty.

She had gorgeous honey-blonde hair and the soft features of a goddess. She had soft, round skin, eyes reminiscent of purple crystal, and sensual blood-red lips.

She had the ultimate in feminine beauty, but she lacked the coldness often found in beautiful women. She gave off a nice gentleness instead, perhaps because she was in her thirties.

Her thin, skimpy dress clung to her curves, showing off the large mounds of her breasts, her tight stomach, and her large butt that stuck out to either side.

Instead of the beauty of youth, she used the greatest beauty treatments and makeup to maintain her beauty.

It was said fruit was sweetest and most delicious just before it rotted and she gave off a unique sex appeal found only in a mature woman in her prime.

Most anyone would agree she was breathtakingly beautiful and she was in fact Ishtar Queen Gloriana.

In other words, she was Felix's stepmother.

"Oh, how I missed you♪"

A beaming smile appeared on her alluring face and she spread her arms as she approached.

"Um, w-wait!"

Felix knew exactly what was coming and he nearly took a step back on reflex, but Ursula slapped him on the butt to urge him onward. He managed to gather the willpower to stand his ground.

The kingdom was working to clean up after a short civil war. He knew the time his stepmother spent with him was her time to get away from it all, so he could not rob her of that.

He too wanted to do whatever he could for the kingdom, so he made a point to attend as many official events as possible and ran around pacifying the people and the soldiers. He was still a young boy, but the position of crown prince came in handy.

Queen Gloriana and Crown Prince Felix were not related by blood. In fact, they had only met a month ago.

He was a commoner, born when the queen's late husband, King Logenheid, had slept with a maid named Marinca.

(Oh, here it comes. And…there it is.)

Just as he had feared, the sexy woman embraced her stepson's head, pushing his face right into her enormous chest.

He was still a growing boy, so his face was right at an adult woman's chest height. That meant his face ended up buried in her exposed cleavage.

(They're so squishy and soft. Not even the finest down blanket feels this nice. B-but I c-can't …breathe.)

Her skin was soft, smooth, and chilly, but the mounds below were warm. They felt smoother than silk, but they were deadly when they blocked up your nose and mouth.

He sucked in what air he could, which filled his nose with a sweet perfume and the scent of female sweat.

Misinterpreting her stepson's struggle to breathe as an enjoyment of her breasts, Gloriana held his head even tighter in her hands and rubbed her breasts against his face.

(I-I'm gonna get a nosebleed… W-well, I can think of worse ways to die.)

The poor boy was close to being sent to heaven by an earthly paradise, so his aide offered some help.

"Your Majesty, you should probably stop. The prince is going to suffocate to death."

"Eh!? Oh, dear! We wouldn't want that!"

The queen was not willing to kill her precious heir, so she freed him from her chest just before he passed out.

"Gasp, pant, gasp."

He clung to her stomach to avoid collapsing entirely and sucked in fresh air.

"Are you okay?"

Ursula rubbed his back to comfort him.

She had long, dark brown hair and angular eyes. Her delicate features were at odds with her fierce expression, giving her a hard sort of beauty. She wore a silver breastplate and hip armor with a dark blue cape.

She had trained him as her knight apprentice back before either of them had any idea he was the king's illegitimate child. They had been close all his life, so they referred to each other as Urs and Feli Boy.

He had always had feelings for her and she had given him his first ejaculation.

She was known as the finest of the kingdom's young female knights, she held the rank of Holy Knight, and she was praised as the Silver War Goddess.

In the recent civil war, she had slain the mastermind Hilmedes and rescued the queen and crown prince. She had been named a young hero, awarded the Lionheart Medal, and given as many riches as she could have wanted.

Due to her accomplishments, skill, and personal relationship with the prince, she currently served as the captain of his personal guard.

"Pant…gasp…pant…yeah."

Felix clung to the queen's stomach and worked to catch his breath while his guard captain rubbed his back. Then a sharply intelligent young woman impeccably wearing a dark red civil official's outfit crouched down and wiped his mouth off with a silk handkerchief.

"Thanks, Louise."

"You are most welcome."

She belonged to Queen Gloriana's own Kriemhild family and she was daughter to Ishtar's General Dexel.

She was only in her late 20s, but she was known as one of the most talented women in the kingdom.

She was the queen's top aide and she had been assigned as Felix's chief maid and tutor after he was installed as crown prince.

As part of that tutoring, she had even used her own body to teach him how to sleep with women.

She was the queen's aide, the prince's tutor and lover, and she came from a powerful family.

Her ability and the trust she had earned led people to speculate she would be prime minister in the future.

"Must you make me watch this!?"

Gloriana puffed her cheeks out in protest when she saw Ursula and Louise looking after Felix.

She had nearly killed her stepson, but she clearly felt she had done nothing wrong. And in fact, he had nearly suffocated in those breasts several times in the past.

"If you must flirt with my adorable boy, do it where I can't see you."

Gloriana knew perfectly well that he had sex with at least one those two on a nightly basis.

Her reference to that fact made the two women blush and bow.

One of them had given the young boy his first orgasm and the other had taken his virginity. Those descriptions made them sound like horny perverts, but they both took their duties very seriously and had actually been late bloomers when it came to sexuality.

Those two were his only official lovers, but he had a similar relationship with another woman that had to be kept a secret for obvious reasons.

That woman was Queen Gloriana.

The people adored her like a goddess, but Felix and his lovers had come to learn that her feminine body was filled to the brim with powerful desires that had gone unfulfilled since her husband died. Enough so that they actually felt bad having fun with him on their own.

Hoping to break free of the awkwardness, Felix stood up and made his official greeting.

"Thank you very much for inviting me to lunch."

"A son doesn't need such a stuffy greeting when meeting his own mother. Now, please have a seat."

She prompted him with affection in her voice, so he sat across from her.

"D-don't you have official duties to attend to?" he asked. "Um…I had heard you were very busy of late."

"Yes, but all that has calmed down somewhat now that Hilcruz has escaped the kingdom. I actually had some extra time this afternoon. The only thing left on my schedule is…what was it again?"

The intellectual aide standing behind her whispered in her ear.

"Shakti, daughter of that noble family in the Kundar region."

"Right, that. I only have to accept her surrender, so I can take it easy."

The queen did not seem all that interested, but the crown prince latched onto the name he had heard.

"You mean the Shakti of Kundar?"

"Yes, the loathsome girl who repelled the army I sent after her."

Several complicated political conspiracies had surrounded Gloriana's ascent to the throne after her husband's death.

In the end, the king's younger brother Hilmedes had lost out.

He had been a military hero in Ishtar, so while he had not been all that interested in the throne himself, his supporters had refused to give up and he had been dragged into starting a rebellion along with them.

He had very nearly managed to take the lives of Queen Gloriana and Crown Prince Felix, but he had been slain by Ursula in the end.

The Hilmedes faction had crumbled once their leader was dead, but his son Hilcruz had gone into hiding and continued to resist. The rest of the Hilmedes faction, however, had collapsed like a sand castle in the waves.

The most surprising source of resistance had come from the Count of Kundar's family.

The Count of Kundar himself had surrendered as soon as he received word of Hilmedes's death in the capital, but his daughter had continued to resist as she defended their territory.

That daughter was named Shakti and she was only 20 years old. Despite being a noble's daughter, she had never visited the capital or enjoyed herself in high society. Instead, she had remained in her family's territory and spent all her time reading. She was known as a plain and gloomy woman.

For whatever reason, that sheltered daughter had holed up in her father's castle with 200 of her people and refused to hand over their territory.

Her impudence had led the surrounding noble families to put together an army of 1000 under the command of General Sehnsucht. They had attacked Kundar and suffered a humiliating defeat.

General Sehnsucht was one of the Crown Prince's defenders and had been one of General Dexel's most trusted confidantes.

He was known as one of their leading strategists and Felix had even received lessons from him.

He had the look of a capable man, so Felix had thought he was worthy of respect.

He had been working with a force gathered together from the nearby regions, but he had still lost to an unknown young woman despite his overwhelming numerical advantage.

Felix had been shocked to learn about it, but it had also sparked an interest in the enemy commander and he had kept tabs on the situation.

"I can't imagine why she would put up such a fight when even the Hilcruz boy has fled the kingdom."

"I'm amazed such a stubborn person is actually surrendering."

Gloriana looked disgusted, like the very memory displeased her, so Louise answered for her.

"The Count of Kundar convinced her."

"Oh, that makes sense."

Not even that stubborn daughter could continue fighting if her father worked to convince her.

"But she still refuses to give up a single acre of land, so that's wonderful," said Gloriana with a touch of sarcasm. "I unfortunately can't ignore her request when the surrounding noble families are asking she be spared, but I can at least make her sit and wait before I meet with her."

Felix smiled bitterly at the queen's childish form of payback, but he was also curious about this person who had protected her territory even after losing.

"Um…Your Majesty."

"I asked you to call me mama in private settings."

His stepmother sulked, so he hesitantly corrected himself.

"Um, right. Sorry…mama."

"So what was it?"

She gave him the spellbound look of someone listening to the finest music and reached out a hand to grab his chin.

"Um…could I sit in on the audience this afternoon?"

He squirmed as her sex appeal hit him full force, but he managed to get his question out.

"The conditions of surrender have already been worked out, so there isn't going to be anything of interest there."

"Maybe, but I was hoping to see this enemy commander who managed to repel General Sehnsucht."

"I have no problem with it myself at least."

She turned to check with Louis and Ursula who were in charge of his education and his daily schedule.

"I see no problem either," said Ursula.

"Then we can spend all afternoon together♪" Gloriana's face lit up and she clasped her hands together. "Now, how about some lunch? I think you will enjoy what I thought up for today."

Her purple crystal eyes glittered and Felix's instincts rang a warning bell, but he couldn't exactly run away.

"Louise, please call them in."

On the queen's command, the sharp aide gave a signal to someone inside the tower.

Gloriana took Felix's hand on the table.

"We will be having some light scones. That might not be enough for a growing boy like you, though."

"That sounds wonderful. Thank you."

A scone was a bite-sized pastry similar to a bread or biscuit.

You would split them in half and put honey or jam inside. They were often served during afternoon teatime, but they were being used for a light meal here.

This made for exactly the kind of lunch the queen preferred.

Felix had no strong feelings about them one way or another, but he was delighted to have the queen treating him to a meal.

Some maids carrying trays soon emerged onto the balcony. Felix had felt awkward with the queen holding his hand and staring into his eyes, but he was flabbergasted when he looked away to view the maids carrying in the meal.

"Wh-wh-wh-wh-wha-?"

He stiffened and turned his head forward again about a smoothly as a tin doll. Eyes wide and mouth gaping, he tried to ask her what this was about, but he could not get the words out.

She grinned at him as if to say "got you good!"

"The maids look so hot in those uniforms during the summer, don't they? I thought it would help us all feel cooler if they looked more comfortable♪"

The maids on the balcony only wore their headdress and one skinny piece of cloth.

Specifically, it was the apron worn over the front of their body.

The formal-sized apron of the royal maids was a half-apron that only just barely covered the chest and crotch.

Without anything else on, their entire backside was bare.

The maids walking around with their youthful asses wiggling were the usual suspects.

"Sasha, Magali, and Carol too? Wh-what are you wearing!?"

The prince's personal maids placed the food and drinks on the table before taking up positions around him.

Their aprons just barely kept their nipples and crotches covered, but their backs, side-boobs, and thighs were fully exposed. Even the slightest breeze would probably lift the bottom of the apron enough to see.

Having the important bits just barely covered made him want to see so bad, but he gathered his willpower and resisted the urge.

"Hee hee. We wanted to do something special for our prince♪"

Sasha, who stood to Felix's left, showed no sign of embarrassment and even struck a flirty pose out in the open sun. The sun made the thin apron nearly see-through, so she might as well have been naked.

She was the daughter of a forest noble family and she was in her late teens. Her long hair was a light chestnut, her skin was very pale, and her slender build had a softness reminiscent of a willow tree. Her chest was large for her age and she had conventional good looks. However, something always seemed a bit "off" about her, like she had a screw loose somewhere.

"I-I am willing to endure any embarrassment for you."

The short girl standing on Felix's right was blushing bright and tugging down on the short apron in embarrassment.

That was meant to expand its surface area and cover as much as possible, but it instead pressed it against her naked body, revealing the beautiful shape of her breasts that were like enormous meat buns. He could even see the position of the nipples poking out.

The busty baby-faced girl with a red ponytail was the daughter of the great merchant Muslan and the same age as Felix. They had known each other since before he knew his true parentage, back when he had been training as a knight as the son of a knight.

"Sorry about the wait, Prince Felix."

The last maid, Carol, carried over a large glass of chilled milk that looked almost comically large held by her.

She was the granddaughter of Prime Minister Canberra who had died during the civil war, she was a full head shorter even than Felix, and she could only be described as a little girl.

She had blonde hair and blue eyes, marshmallow cheeks that made you want to poke them, and fluffy curls tied back into a braid. Everything about her spoke to the love that everyone around her showed her.

As the youngest of the maids, she was still too young to feel embarrassed about this and actually seemed to find walking around in almost nothing to be fun.

After setting the glass down on the table, she smiled and bowed in the sunshine. The precocious behavior and the innocent smile of a job well done made her look like a fairy.

Sasha, Magali, and Carol were all very different, but they all had excellent looks and backgrounds. Most guys would consider them to be out of their league, but all three of them were standing around Felix in almost nothing.

Gloriana gave a loving look to her son who had frozen up in the face of what almost felt like a daydream.

"Hee hee. Excellent eye candy for a meal, don't you think?♪"

"Um, yes."

He awkwardly agreed since he could not defy her.

She sometimes pulled pranks like this, so he could never let his guard down.

"Now, you three can feed him."

The excited half-naked maids brought jam-covered scones to his mouth.

Ursula and Louise's gazes pierced into him.

(Oh, I don't want them to think I have no self-control. B-but I can't just refuse them, can I?)

His boyish restraint was soon broken and he hesitantly opened his mouth.

He enjoyed his lunch being fed by three half-naked girls while viewing the gorgeous castle town.

"Hee hee. Boy, you have some jam on your lips."

Satisfied, Gloriana wiped off his lips with a finger and then licked off her finger with her red tongue.

"Shakti, Daughter of the Count of Kundar, please enter."

After enjoying a leisurely lunch, the group moved to the audience chamber.

Queen Gloriana sat in the throne and Crown Prince Felix stood by her side.

On either side of them were the queen's aide Louise and the prince's guard captain Ursula. Magali, Sasha, and some others curious about this woman everyone had been talking about had made themselves presentable and come to watch. It was naptime for Carol.

After Louise called the visitor in, they heard the refreshing ringing of a bell.

"…?"

Curious, they all exchanged a glance until the woman in question finally entered the audience chamber.

Gloriana had claimed this would be boring government business, but her expression changed when she saw the visitor.

Felix also carefully observed her every action to see what kind of person she was.

She was a tall, slender woman. She looked taller than Gloriana but shorter than Ursula.

Her hair was a dark but vivid midnight blue. She wore it up with some hair falling across the left side of her face. She wore a long, blue coat that hung loosely from her body. Below that, she wore a see-through black shirt and miniskirt.

The ringing they had heard came from the small bell attached to her clothing.

(Why the bell?)

That was not in fashion, but it looked like a fashionable accessory. Perhaps she had a fairly unique aesthetic sense.

It also took a good looking person to pull off a unique fashion like that.

She had slender features, a long bridge of the nose, and a skinny jaw. She had angled eyes, long eyelashes, a large mouth, thin lips, a long and slender neck, and well-defined collarbones. Her limbs were long and skinny, as were her fingers.

She had the perfect beauty of a doll with no raw wildness, indicating she was from the privileged class. She had the look of a born noble.

(She's so incredibly attractive. Is this what you call a slender beauty? Those long legs have to make up over half her height.)

Felix was charmed by the slender legs coming from her miniskirt, so he ran his gaze along her body. When he reached her almost nervous-looking face, he could have sworn he saw a thin, daring smile on her lips.

Feeling like she was reacting to his indecent thoughts, he blushed and quickly looked away.

She was still young, but he could tell at a glance she was not your average person. However, she had the air of a genius artist or scholar who was nigh impossible to please. She did not look like a great strategist who could repel a much larger army.

"I cannot thank you enough for so generously forgiving the citizens and soldiers who fought alongside me."

Shakti bowed in a showy way and spoke with a voice as beautiful as her silver bell.

"Well, you were most insistent," bluntly stated Gloriana while resting lazily on her armrest. "By the way, General Sehnsucht, who you fought against, has put in a recommendation for you to work in the palace. He says your military talent would be most welcome."

Ishtar was in bad need of personnel to fill their ranks after Hilmedes's rebellion. Especially higher in the ranks.

They had to let bygones be bygones and use what talent was available. But this woman shook her head.

"I appreciate the offer, but I must decline. My actions led to many deaths on both sides. That is not something we can pretend never happened. I intend to take responsibility for that by withdrawing from society."

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"At your young age? Are you planning to pursue the Hilcruz boy?"

Gloriana's gaze sharpened here, but Shakti shook her head and smiled.

"I have never met Prince Hilcruz. Hence why he never tried to escape to my territory while on the run. If he had, I considered presenting him to you as a gift when I surrendered. The truth is, I feel no affinity or loyalty to that prince."

"Really? Then why did you fight?"

Gloriana tilted her head in surprise.

"My father told me to defend our territory, so I fought to protect our people's everyday lives. I never intended anything more or less than that."

"If you are allowed to withdraw from society, what do you intend to do? Find a nice man and get married?"

The defeated commander actually laughed at that suggestion.

"Unfortunately, I have no interest in that. I am much more interested in farming. I would like your permission to cultivate some land in our territory."

"Farming?"

Gloriana had not expected that answer in the slightest, so she simply blinked. Then she laughed.

"Ah ha ha. What an interesting girl. Then go farm and cultivate to your heart's content."

The queen gave her permission with an alluring smile on her lips.

That signaled the end of the politically significant portion of the audience.

Still smiling, Queen Gloriana suddenly stood from her throne and descended from the elevated throne area.

"Your Majesty!"

The visitor was slender and unarmed. She looked harmless at first glance, but she was also a talented strategist.

Louise gave a warning, but Gloriana held a hand out to stop her before placing a hand on Shakti's cheek and carefully viewing her face.

"I was expecting a genius tactician to be a wild boar of a woman, but you are quite the beauty♪"

"Thank you."

The noblewoman politely responded just before the queen grabbed her breast.

"…"

Felix gasped, but Shakti did not even bat an eye.

"You look quite skinny, but your boobs are another matter entirely."

"…Yes. I have great confidence in my body."

"Hee hee. Modest too, I see."

After Shakti's brazen comment, Gloriana placed a hand on her inner thigh. Then she rubbed upwards until her hand was inside the miniskirt.

"Wh-wait, what are you doing!?"

Felix started to stop her, but he was surprised to find Ursula stopping him.

"We must observe how that woman reacts," she whispered to him.

"O-okay…" he replied, still confused.

He was admittedly curious how Shakti would respond to this.

Meanwhile, the queen's hand worked its way further up the skirt, pulling the skirt up as it went.

(Oh, I can see her underwear.)

Once the miniskirt was all the way up, her full lower body and the deep ultramarine panties were revealed right there in the audience chamber.

They were risqué high leg panties.

"…"

Shakti showed no sign of embarrassment even with her skirt pulled up in public.

Gloriana rubbed her crotch through the panties, but she still stood there like nothing was happening.

"You have guts, I'll grant you that, but what about this?" asked Gloriana with a mischievous smile.

Then she pushed her hand down the front of the panties.

Her fingers visibly moved below the ultramarine fabric and then her middle finger pushed in.

"…Kh."

Even Shakti let out a quiet breath there.

"My, my♪" Gloriana had a smile in her purple crystal eyes. "You have never been with a man, have you?"

"…That is correct."

With her greatest weak point compromised, even that poker face woman was knitting her brow, but she still managed a bold response.

"Hee hee. You pass the test." The queen removed her hand. "Work as one of my adorable boy's maids."

"Eh!?"

Felix's eyes widened, but then a thought occurred to him.

(Did she make all of my maids pass this test?)

He glanced over at those maids. Magali and Sasha must have guessed what he was thinking because they blushed and looked to the floor.

"He has not had anyone like you by his side. And if you are lucky, he might even sleep with you."

"I do apologize, but I again must decline," replied Shakti, fixing her clothing like nothing had ever happened.

Gloriana narrowed her eyes like she could not believe her ears.

"Being chosen to share my adorable boy's bed is more valuable than being buried in a mountain of treasure. Are you sure you don't want that?"

"I am. I am sorry to say that is not the life for me."

Gloriana carefully observed Shakti's face during that response, but then she simply turned her back.

"I see. What a boring woman."

"My apologies."

Shakti gave an almost excessively formal bow.

"You may leave."

Gloriana had lost all interest in the pathetic surrendering commander.

She waved her hand behind her like she was shooing away a cat.

Shakti bowed again and quickly exited.

Felix felt like she looked him in the eye for a moment before she did, but she must not have meant anything by it since she immediately looked away again.