"This is his face… This is his chest… This is his body… This is my first time… This is my first time seeing his body, touching his body and breathing in his scent. I can't help it. I can't think when I feel, see and smell these things. All the mental preparation I did has vanished. All that's in my mind is him. My heart is racing, and I panic so much that I want to leave right away when I touch him, but I still want to touch him so desperately…
"This must be love… These must be my feelings… Whenever we touch, I feel shy and nervous, yet my desire to touch him grows even more. I want to spend longer at his side. I prefer my current life over the throne or whatever. This is everything that I want. It's only been two days, but spending time together with him in a room has been the two most beautiful days in my life. The delicate bliss I've felt for the last two days is so joyful… This is all I ask for…
"I want to sleep with him in my arms… I want to see him when I wake up. I want to spend an entire day by his side. It feels as though, regardless of how I act spoilt, mess around or what mistakes I make, he'll be there to correct me. In spite of what happened in the expedition against the elves, he could rescue me. When the entire world turned its back on me, he would come to me no matter where I am.
"All I want is him… I want to touch him more… spend more time with him… interact more with him. I just want to always be by his side… I want to always be by his side… It's okay for me to touch him more, right…? He won't resist, will he? He won't, will he…?" Queen Sisi inwardly conversed.
I sure never imagined a Queen would personally shave for me. Queen Sisi's hand was shaky when she first started for she was afraid of scratching my face. Thankfully, her hand gradually steadied itself, thereby allowing her to pick up the pace, as well. I didn't know if it was deliberate or not, but her hand swam over my face and chest. I slouched in the chair, letting her do her thing, and contemplated my next step.
As Queen Sisi said, ten thousand gold coins were enough to allow me to do a multitude of things. In saying that, I was unsure if it was enough to reinstate Queen Sisi. Perhaps asking for ten thousand was too conservative.
Next up was the merchants. I needed Achilles' help. Actually, I also needed the succubi's aid. Even though few were willing to visit the succubi anymore, their interpersonal connections could help me spread the news. Word of mouth always goes fast. Then, I needed to have the food merchant prepare. The moment the merchants did something, the entire city would shake. If the entire imperial capital's foundations shook, the entire empire would be shaken. The military would never allow their imperial capital to be shaken, which was why I needed to start from the imperial capital.
Sure, the military wouldn't allow the imperial capital to be plunged into disorder. Even so, it was impossible for them to stop me. As long as I was alive, I wasn't going to stop. They refused to negotiate, which meant that they insisted on crowning Veirya and abandoning Queen Sisi. When the military could no longer hold it together, they wouldn't compromise and accept my request. Instead, they'd most likely try to end the battle with me as swiftly as they could. I, too, didn't want to drag it out. If we did, it wouldn't work out in our favour, as Queen Sisi would be discovered.
Queen Sisi dipped her hand in some water ten gently stroked my chin. She remarked, "You should be good now…"
Queen Sisi suddenly straddled my hip, nearly throwing my pelvis out.
"What are y-"
Queen Sisi leaned her face in and firmly sealed my lips with a kiss… I shuddered in response. There was something wrong about Queen Sisi. She seemed as though she had lost all sense of rationality. As she forced her passionate kiss on me, somebody knocked on the door behind and opened it. Queen Sisi vigorously raised her head and looked at our visitor in shock. I surprised myself because I felt relieved that it was Sophia.
"What exactly… is your relationship? Are you planning to become a Prince?" Out came a mouthful of smoke. Sophia narrowed her eyes: "I did tell you not to wrong a succubus, or the consequences would be grave, did I not? What exactly is your relationship with Queen Sisi now?"
Queen Sisi stepped aside. She patted her face to calm herself down. She carried the basin of water out. Sophia watched her pass by and then chuckled: "Your Majesty, being a woman does not suit you. A Queen should not be helping her man shave. Do you not intend to be a Queen anymore?"
"They're two separate matters; they don't clash. I want to be the Queen but also a woman."
"Avarice is not a virtue."
Sophia shifted her line of sight to me. Sternly, she reproached, "Think this through, Sir. I told you: do not wrong a succubus. If Miss Leah sees that in the imperial palace, the consequences may be very severe. To add, you claim to love Lord Veirya, which is supposedly the motivation for coming here. You said that you wanted to take Lord Veirya back and reinstate Queen Sisi, but right now, Queen Sisi, she, aaaahhh!"
Steam evaporated from the succubus' head. Sophia wildly shook out her hair while screaming. She staggered backwards, while Queen Sisi stood at the door, her wrath gushing out of her heterchromia eyes. She threw aside the basin and brayed, "Don't stick your nose in my business. If you dare butt into my business again, I'll kill you!"
There wasn't a tinge of sympathy or benevolence. She was a Queen. Despite what she had gone through, she was still a Queen. I suddenly realised that the current gentle and considerate Sisi wasn't Queen Sisi. Sophia was spot on. The Queen wasn't a woman. Sisi was gentle and considerate with me. Nonetheless, with outsiders, she was still Queen Sisi.