"Can't you concentrate, old friend?" - Eric asked as he noticed how Ren had all the documents scattered all over his desk as he grabbed his head - "Confused with these emotions you are experiencing?"
"Yes, I'm confused, I don't know what exactly to do" - replied Ren as he let out a sigh - "No matter how hard I look, I can't find any information about the problem that is troubling me."
"Doesn't the [Tower of Babel] possess information about love and attraction to people of the opposite sex?" - Eric asked in surprise.
Eric's eyes widened, surprised at these words - "Love? Is that how I feel about her?"
"Well, I'm not really sure, but that's what it seems like even though you have just met" - answered Eric while shaking his head - "I know because I experience the same [symptoms] that you are showing every time I talk to my beloved Elisabeth."
Ren was silent as he further analyzed his best friend's words. He understood what love was, or at least the technical side of it, after all, his life inside the palace had been extremely guarded, the only woman he had interacted with after his mother's death, was Elisabeth because all the maidservants kept ignoring him, they were more concerned with being blessed with the attention of his brothers, and it wasn't as if he could blame them, I mean, if any of them managed to get pregnant by one of the princes, then their lives would change drastically.
"I... I'm not sure if it's love, I mean, I feel like she's important to me..." - Ren said as he frowned.
Eric gave him a huge smile as he noticed how the prince started to blush, at which point he start laughing madly.
"If you already had your fun, it's time for us to continue working" - Ren said with a frown, because he didn't like his friend treating him like a fool.
"Sorry, sorry" - Eric said noticing how Ren was again starting to get annoyed - "I just never thought I'd see the day when the supposed jester of the royal family, would start acting according to his title."
Ren clicked his tongue, although he had to admit that he wasn't acting as he was supposed to, in fact, he hadn't even started working because all his thoughts were revolving around Erika, it was as if she was a poison that was slowly spreading through his body, and what made the situation worse, was that he was enjoying it, he liked thinking about this unknown girl, he wanted to know more about her, to have her by his side on this long and strenuous road he was about to travel, because instinctively something inside him was begging for her presence.
It was strangely seductive, but Ren was still pining for this girl, to the point where he felt how she was slowly starting to take a similar position as Eric, his best friend as an important person in his heart.
"Do you want me to call her?" - Eric asked with a small smile as he watched his friend act like a man his age.
"Yeah! I mean, no, I mean, I don't know..." - muttered Ren as he hid his face from the embarrassment of having overreacted in front of his friend - ". . ."
"Pff... Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" - Eric couldn't hold back anymore, he let out a laugh as Ren got more and more embarrassed - "Ok, I'm going to call her, I guess I'll give you guys some space, so the new couple can talk."
"W-we're not a couple!" - Ren exclaimed as he jumped up and out of his seat - "Just do it..."
A few minutes later, the door of his carriage began to be knocked delicately.
Ren walked over and opened it, revealing a beautiful girl who was wearing a tight dress.
"Y-You called for me, your majesty?" - Erika asked as she averted her gaze in discomfort, not because she didn't want to spend time with the prince, but rather because the dress was too tight.
Ren looked closely at the woman, carefully processing what was happening in front of his eyes. She appeared to be wearing an Elisabeth dress, and to her brown-haired friend's sadness, these clothes didn't fit Erika, not because she looked bad, but the size of her curves were too different.
While Elisabeth had a curvy figure, perfect for a girl of her age, Erika was a succubus in human flesh, her breasts were large and so was her hip while her waist was slim, it was like seeing a figure made by the goddess of love and lust herself.
Ren gawked at such a beautiful sight, though he quickly coughed to push his thoughts aside - "Ahem! Yes, I called you, so I could talk with you a little more."
"Ok" - Erika nodded as she walked to the seat in front of where the prince's improvised desk was.
Ren walked towards his desk with tense steps because he could feel his cheeks getting redder and redder because he could see the seductive sway of hips from the red-haired woman.
"What do you want to talk about?" - Erika asked as she took a long breath to calm her heart.
"Huh? Oh, right, I'd like to know a little more about you, about your life, even the moments before [that] happened..." - Ren replied as he tried to choose his words well, after all, he didn't want to make his companion angry or feel bad.
"The truth is that I don't like to talk much about the subject because it brings back bad memories, however, I can make an exception with you, if his majesty also tells me a little bit about your life" - answered Erika while nodding weakly, she said this because her interest in Ren, was much greater than her fear of revealing her past.
"I understand, I guess we will share some secrets" - Ren said as he stood up from his seat and took the woman by the hand.
Erika blushed at such an action, as she let him lead her to the seat next to his.
"Do you want me to start?" - Ren asked as he returned to his seat and looked the girl straight into her beautiful blue eyes, though this was dangerous because he felt like he was drowning in a crystal clear ocean.
"N-No, it's not necessary" - Erika replied as she slowly closed her eyes and took a long breath.
Ren swallowed hard as he saw how in the process, he made the Victorian blouse look like it was about to explode, in fact, he began to pray for the well-being of the buttons that barely containing the offensive power of the girl's breasts.
"It all started when I turned 5..." - Erika muttered as she lowered her head - "My family was a normal one that you could find anywhere outside the capital, but I was born [blessed], although I believe it was more of a curse..."
Ren immediately understood what she was trying to say - "Your beauty."
"Yes, from a very young age, I was beautiful, I was called the pearl of the poor because of my family's social status, and that was why I gradually began to gain popularity, until one day my appearance reached the ears of the nobles, many came to our doors to check the rumors" - Erika continued while biting her lip - "When they saw me, they quickly asked my parents if they could sell me, or if they wished to offer me as a concubine for their children, although I could see how disgusting they were when their gazes passed over my small body. My parents refused because they did not wish to see me unhappy, they wished for me to find love, but this was not something the nobles wished to hear.
"One night, criminals broke into my home and killed my parents, they kidnapped me and while they were moving me to a "safe" place, I heard how the one responsible for all this was a noble family who wished to train me to be the patriarch's concubine, luckily, or unfortunately, the criminals found that the pay was too low for a prey with my looks, that's why they sold me at auction many cities away from my home..." - Erika continued as she began to sob - "It was that night where everything got worse, my buyer was a slaver who traded in slaves of exotic breeds, I was tortured without food because I didn't accept the training to learn to please my new master, I wasn't allowed to eat, I was given torn clothes to suffer cold during the frigid nights, and I was only given what was necessary to keep me barely healthy, after all, my appearance was what made my value increase."
Ren couldn't take it anymore, he wrapped his arms around the red haired woman's body as he tried to tell her with his heartbeat that he was by her side.
Erika couldn't take it anymore, she burst into tears as she released everything inside her, how she had suffered through two years of resistance to the slaver's bidding, how the few friends she had made during those cruel years, were tortured and abused to break her, how the buyers were becoming more and more disgusting.
"You did a good job resisting all that..." - Ren murmured as he pressed the girl against his chest - "I'm proud of how strong you are..."