Elio estimated that at least 5 minutes had passed, which would leave him 5 more minutes to get Mareen to kiss him.
'What if I'm mistaken? I have to kiss her at least in 2 minutes just in case.'
With this thought, he began counting internally, one breath representing one second.
'One... two... three...'
All this while, he was trying to come up with an idea. As for Princess Mareen, she was still crying, traumatized.
'...thirty two... thirty three... thirty four...'
He wondered if the guys in romance movies…
'I got it! I got it!'
He quickly pulled away, then raised his hands to whip her tears, staring into her gray eyes.
"I hate seeing you like this," he said, cupping her cheeks. "But I assure, these are going to be your last tears."
This made her cry even more.
"The next time you cry, they're going to be tears of joy. You're going to cry because of something beautiful like marriage or giving birth, not because of something terrible."
He added marriage to see her reaction, and, oh boy, it was like he expected. She tried to lower her gaze, blushing.
'...Fifty three... Fifty four... Fifty five... It's time!'
Elio put a finger on her chin, raising it so she could look him in the eyes. "Can you be my queen?"
'Sixty... One minute has passed! I shall finish it by this!'
Instead of answering, the Princess burst into tears... again!
"What did I say about crying just now?" asked Elio, whipping them with his thumb. "Please, tell me those are tears of joy, are they?"
Princess Mareen nodded her head, with an onomatopoeia that brought joy to Elio's face. "Hmm!"
He gave her a smile, then started applying the lessons he learnt from when he was watching romance movies with his girlfriend back on Earth.
Staring into the girl's eyes to create sexual tension. He never believed this was scientific whenever he saw people staring into each other's eyes for almost a minute before kissing, but now, seeing Maureen's reaction, he became a believer.
She stared at him intently, then bit her lower lip.
Elio leant toward her, and the Princess swallowed saliva.
'It's working!'
He pushed forward, then boom, the Princess met him midway, smacking her lips onto his.
[Congratulations! A Replacement Queen, acquired. Second quest, accomplished.]
[Congratulations! 1000 PPP, added.]
[Congratulations! More PPP, acquired!]
[Congratulations! Third quest, unlocked. Take the new queen's virginity for a surprise reward.]
A smile appeared on Elio's face.
'Not only she's a virgin, but I'm to get a reward for deflowering. Damn! Death continues to be so sweet!'
The notifications had only included the PPP gained from accomplishing the quest, but it didn't say the exact number of how much PPP Queen Mareen was worth. Elio wanted so badly to summon the system panel and see the total.
Perhaps it would be over ten thousand and allow him to buy a phone, or even a gun.
However, he dismissed the idea and turned all his attention to the kiss. Come to think of it, this was his first kiss in this world. Of all the maids he had fucked since his arrival, he had kissed none.
Plus, this was the only sexual act he had worked so hard for. The only one where his life was on the line, and the only one where he wasn't sure if the girl would agree.
He had to enjoy it.
He used his tongue to part her lips, but before he could push it inside, Princess Mareen pushed him away, pulling them apart.
"What's wrong?" Elio was quick to ask, concerned. Did he overdo it?
"It's the Queen's blood," Mareen replied as she whipped her lips, showing a disgusted expression.
The kiss, coupled with notifications, had prevented Elio from giving much thought about the salty taste, but now, looking at Mareen's face that was covered in Queen Liza's blood except the areas where Elio had whipped it along with the tears, he couldn't help but feel disgusted, too.
"Don't call her a queen anymore. You're the Queen now, remember? My queen. Now, go clean your face and come back to your king."
She gave him a smile, then scrambled to her feet, jumping into the pool.
"I've fantasized jumping into this pool a million times," she said, swimming like a toddler playing with water. "Every time I was thirsty, hungry or stinking and hot, I directly conjured the images of this pool and imagined myself in it. Thank you for making my dream come true, my love!"
Elio didn't expect her to use my love. Of course they were betrothed. Of course she loved him ever since she was little. And of course he had made her his queen when she was destined to be a concubine of a ruthless emperor, a prisoner forever, or worse.
Calling him that didn't sound rushed at all. It wasn't out of nowhere. He had earned the title in her heart.
"I'm glad I did, my love!"
'I feel weird saying this, but it's sweet! My first ever. Haha!'
"You're making me blush!" said the Princess... No. The Queen, splashing Elio with water before swimming away.
Elio let out a chuckle, then let out another when his gaze met General Maldor's who was smiling.
Past the General, the Blue Monster was still sitting in its cell, calm and composed. You wouldn't believe it was the one that almost killed him yesterday.
That it was the same abomination that could grow its head back, move with unmatched speed and throw vases with godly precision.
'Why is it calm? Isn't it supposed to behave like a beast?'
"My Love, is this thing quiet most of the time?"
Princess Mareen had been locked here with it for 2 years, so she surely knew it very well.
"Yes! It was always calm, except when anyone tried to disturb it, or stare into its eyes. But Father said it wasn't calm in the first days of its capture. It used to try to escape all the time and stopped when it realized it was impossible."
"That means it's so intelligent then."
"Yeah! Sometimes it behaves like humans behave when they're praying. Whenever there's moon light, it lets out eerie chants as if calling for something, dancing in chaotic patterns."
She got out of the pool and continued talking as she approached Elio. "I would have died of boredom if not for such entertainment."
"Any idea how to kill it?"
"Father had tried everything, but I never saw him using fire. If it were me, I would burn it to ashes and see how it recovers from that."
Elio couldn't help but burst out laughing. "That's actually a good idea. That's a very good idea."
A giggle escaped from Mareen's sensual lips. "I'm glad I'm of help."
Elio removed the strand of hair from her face, tugging it behind her ear. "Of course you are. That's why you're my Queen."
Her cheeks turned crimson as she said, "You said I should clean my face and come back to you. Here I am!"
"Are you sure you're clean?"
She bit her lower lip. "Uh-huh!"
'Damn! How is she a seductress all of a sudden?'
"What's that then?"
"What?"
Elio touched her soft lower lip to remove the blood stain, parting it from the other.
Such a simple gesture, but a tempting one. Her hot breath enveloped his thumb that was close to her lips, tempting Elio to push it inside her mouth. The thought alone made his dick throb.
It wouldn't be bad if he took her virginity right then and there to earn his surprise reward, right?