"Hey, small fry."
Lucrezia spoke suddenly, her voice carrying a hint of deliberately affected laziness and sweetness.
"Hmm?"
Leo had just finished setting up the alarm line. When he turned around, he saw a scene that made his blood pressure spike.
In the room with only one large bed, the dim magic light spilled over the girl.
Lucrezia hadn't crawled under the covers. Instead, she was kneeling by the bedside, her small feet, encased in white over-the-knee stockings, swaying gently.
"It’s... so hot in this room~"
As she spoke, she pinched the edge of her skirt with two fingers and slowly pulled it upward.
"Hot?"
Leo raised an eyebrow. He glanced at the cold early spring wind outside the window, a playful smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"Yeah... it’s so hot it makes one want to take off their clothes."
Lucrezia's face flushed slightly. Suppressing her inner shame, she tried her best to recall the poses of those 'wicked women' she had peeked at in the palace’s forbidden library.
She tilted her head slightly, using those watery red eyes to give Leo a glance that was thirty percent provocation and seventy percent shyness.
"Hey, small fry... don't you want to see?"
"Earlier, through the screen, you were actually holding it in quite hard, weren't you? Hmm?"
The girl's voice trembled slightly—from nerves, but also from excitement.
As she spoke, her fingers slid down the curve of her thigh, stopping at the lace edge of her white stockings.
Zip...
Her fingertips hooked the edge of the stocking, gently pulling it downward.
Snow-white skin was exposed bit by bit to the air, and the slight indent of flesh pressed by the elastic looked exceptionally enticing.
Though those legs were slender, they were perfectly proportioned; her arches were taut, exuding a youthful yet lethal allure.
"If you beg me... this princess might just let you admire them for a bit~"
Lucrezia tilted her chin up, exposing her long, fair neck, looking every bit the bratty 'mesugaki' demanding worship.
Heh heh! Scared, aren't you! Falling for me now, aren't you!
As soon as you show that perverted expression, this princess wins!
By then, you won't dare go west if I tell you to go east!
However.
Leo did not turn red-faced or breathe heavily as she had imagined.
On the contrary, he just stood there quietly, looking her up and down with a deep gaze, as if watching 'prey enter a net.'
"Oh?"
Leo walked over slowly. One step, two steps.
Every step felt like it was treading on Lucrezia's heartbeat.
Until he reached the bedside, knelt on the mattress with one knee, and braced his hands on either side of Lucrezia, trapping her between himself and the headboard.
Thump.
A textbook bed-thump.
A strong masculine scent instantly enveloped her.
"Wha... what are you doing..."
Lucrezia's momentum instantly halved. Her original composure turned into panic, and her body instinctively shrank back.
"Didn't Your Highness invite me to admire you?"
Leo leaned close to her face, his nose almost touching hers, his voice low and husky.
"What? Are you scared now?"
"Who... who's scared!"
Lucrezia bit the bullet, refusing to admit defeat. Her little canine tooth bit her lower lip.
"I... I just wanted to see if a small fry like you had the guts... Mmph!"
Before she could finish.
One of Leo's hands had already reached under her skirt, accurately pinning down the hand she was using to undo her stockings.
His palm was burning hot.
"Guts?"
Leo gave a light chuckle, his fingers grazing the most sensitive skin on the inside of her thigh.
"Princess, once some games start, there's no calling for a timeout."
"This behavior of yours... trying to fish with nothing but an empty hook... is very dangerous."
"Eek—!"
The moment she was touched, Lucrezia shuddered as if struck by lightning.
That strange, numbing sensation shot straight up her spine to the top of her head, leaving her brain instantly blank.
She wanted to push Leo away, but her body was so soft she couldn't muster any strength.
Looking at the Leo who was inches away, seeing the aggressive light in his eyes that looked ready to consume her, Lucrezia finally realized—
She had played herself!
This was no small fry! This was clearly a wolf in sheep's clothing!
"If you beg for mercy now..." Leo's fingers were still testing the dangerous edge, his tone teasing, "I might just let you off."
"I... I..."
Lucrezia had tears swirling in her eyes, but her pride as a princess made it impossible for her to say words of surrender.
And...
For some reason, amidst the extreme shame and panic, she actually felt a hint of... inexplicable anticipation?
If this continues... I'll be able to handle him, right?
If I make him addicted... he'll never be able to leave me, right?
"Hmph... whoever begs for mercy is a puppy..." She closed her eyes tremblingly, looking like she was ready for whatever came next.
Seeing the girl's 'heroic sacrifice' expression that also hid a secret expectation, the smile in Leo's eyes deepened.
The bait had been taken, and that was enough; he didn't continue.
Because he knew very well that the current Lucrezia was like a taut string.
If he actually forced the issue and 'ate' her, it would not only trigger a genuine stress response but also cause him to lose the control provided by this 'ambiguous tension.'
Besides...
Leo let go of her hand and, taking the opportunity, flicked her smooth forehead.
Snap!
"Ow!"
Lucrezia snapped her eyes open, clutching her forehead with a look of utter confusion.
"Go to sleep."
Leo rolled up the quilt, wrapping her directly into a silkworm cocoon. His movements were fluid and showed zero lingering attachment.
"Little kids need to sleep early and wake up early to grow."
Leo lay down beside her, his back to her, his voice lazy.
"Once you manage to turn those 'plains' into 'hills,' then come back and challenge me."
"YOU—!!!"
Lucrezia was stunned for a full three seconds before she realized she had been played!
Humiliated!
And it was the worst kind of body shaming!
"Leo!! You bastard! Small fry! Eunuch! You just wait! This princess will eventually make you kneel and lick my toes!!"
She squirmed wildly inside the quilt, so angry she wanted to bite someone.
But as she cursed, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up slightly.
Hmph... and you said you weren't interested... your hand was clearly so hot just now...
It seems this princess's charm is still very great!
That stubborn tsundere small fry is just putting on an act!
Just you wait, I'll take you down sooner or later!
Carrying this delusional sense of victory—despite being teased, she felt she had 'Won! Won big!'—Lucrezia drifted into a deep sleep from exhaustion.
...
Hearing the breathing beside him gradually steady.
Leo opened his eyes in the dark and let out a long breath.
"Damn, I almost didn't hold back."
He silently recited the heart-cleansing mantra a few times, trying hard to suppress the surging heat in his body.
Although he strategically looked down on the 'plains,' as a normal, hot-blooded adult male, facing this top-tier modeled 'brat' throwing herself at him, it would be a lie to say he had no reaction.
But it was only that.
All this back-and-forth was merely for the sake of survival and maintaining control.
Don't forget, this little girl still held two nuclear weapons called Command Seals, not to mention that damn 【Life Link】.
She was young, inexperienced, and had a nasty personality.
This kind of adolescent 'powder keg'—once that unique youthful impulse was triggered, what if she did something impulsive in the heat of the moment and dragged him down with her in a self-explosion?
Furthermore, if he slept with her, the nature of the situation would change.
It would mean not only taking her body but also accepting her entire pile of 'trouble.'
The empire, the church, the great cause of restoration... these behemoths would swarm over like sharks smelling blood, and he wouldn't be able to shake them off.
As for being a scumbag who 'leaves after finishing and only makes empty promises'?
In front of that cursed Life Link, that simply wasn't realistic.
If she felt like she couldn't live with herself afterward and slit her throat, he would have to go to the grave with her.
However, using feelings as bait to handle her was indeed a good tactic, but he had to be careful not to play with fire and get burned; he had to maintain the right balance.
So...
Leo looked at the ceiling, his gaze firm.
I, Leo, even if I starve to death! Die out there! Jump off from here! It is impossible for me to take down this troublesome little girl!
Compared to this undeveloped, sour little apple...
A-Ling's figure instinctively surfaced in Leo's mind.
It was that image from before the bath, of her turning her back to him to take off her leather boots.
As the zipper slid down, the plump calves wrapped in black silk, the taut lines of her thighs, and that staggering curve that swayed as she walked, seemingly containing infinite maternal nature...
Hiss—
Leo took a sharp breath, feeling the fire he had just suppressed surging up again.
That is the ultimate dream of a man...
Leo wailed in his heart.
He looked at the 'flat-chested princess' beside him sleeping like a log, then thought about the big-breasted onee-san in the next room.
No, I can't live like this.
Once I earn enough money, I have to go see the red-light district. I heard there are even succubi... I wonder if they're expensive...
As Leo's thoughts wandered, he finally drifted into dreamland amidst his beautiful aspirations for the future.
Only, before he fell asleep, he was still wondering:
What exactly is wrong with this little brat lately? Wasn't she quite cold and aloof before?
Why has she suddenly started these flashy, provocative maneuvers?
Rate on N.U.
